Our Mission
Scottish Union Learning supports trade unions in Scotland to encourage and help workers take up opportunities to develop their learning and skills. Scottish Union Learning is the platform which shapes and develops a range of accessible learning services and activities, within the existing framework of the education sector. In partnership with Scottish unions and organisations, Scottish Union Learning provides services to union members to access everyday skills development and further education opportunities, ultimately to benefit Scottish workers and society as a whole.
Local Learning Forums
The position of the Union Learning Representative is based within the locality of the workplace while most union learners want learning to be organised at local level, either in the workplace or in their local community. In response to this, the STUC, in conjunction with our affiliate unions, are building a network of local forums designed to support the lifelong learning work of the union movement. The purpose of a Local Learning Forum is to give Union Learning Representative (ULR) and others who are interested in the union learning agenda an environment where they can meet and discuss the issues they face in the workplace. STUC hopes this will lead to the sharing of good practice and ultimately to cross-union work in the local area.
Local Learning Forums are being developed over a two year period with pilots in Motherwell, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Fife. Within the Highlands & Islands, successful Local Learning Forums already exist in Inverness, Fort William and Orkney. The Team hopes to pilot a forum in Moray and to expand into other areas of the Highlands & Islands in the coming months.
For more information on joining a Local Learning Forum in your area, contact contact John Slaven, Development Officer by email or by phone on 0141 337 8117.
For more information on Local Learning Forums in the Highlands & Islands, contact Pam Urquhart, Development Officer by email or by phone on 01463 248 905.
What is SULF?
The acronym ‘SULF’ stands for the Scottish Union Learning Fund. The fund was established
by the Scottish Executive in 1999 and to date has allocated in excess of £6 million to trade unions engaged in workplace learning.
We are currently in the 7th round of funding. According to the research conducted on behalf of the Scottish Government into the impact of the first 5 rounds of SULF, over 1800 learning awareness events were held; almost
10,000 individual learning needs assessments were undertaken; over 4,000 people were given advise on learning; 13 ,000 people undertook accredited and non accredited learning; a further 2,000 undertook other ICT training; and 6 new learning centres were opened. The amount of learning outcomes delivered would not have been possible without
the hard work and dedication of you - the workplace Union Learning Reps!
For more information on SULF, visit the Scottish Union Learning Website.
Helen Dowie Award for Lifelong Learning
The Helen Dowie Award for Lifelong Learning was established in 2006 to commemorate Helen Dowie’s lifetime achievements in lifelong learning and to recognise other outstanding trade unionists who continue to demonstrate their commitment to union values and lead the learning movement forward in Scotland.
To download a nomination form for this year's award visit the Scottish Union Learning website.
STUC Web Resources
Scottish Union Learning Website - The Scottish Union Learning website is a user-friendly core resource available to trade unionists to gather information and access learning opportunities throughout Scotland. The site is powered by the STUC Skills & Lifelong Learning Team. Log on for news, Union Learning Representative (ULR) resources, downloadable publications, interactive forums, Everyday Skills information and lifelong learning events for the whole of Scotland, including the Highlands & Islands.
STUC - The purpose of STUC is to co-ordinate, develop and articulate the views and policies of the trade union movement in Scotland and, through the creation of real social partnership, to promote: trade unionism; equality and social justice; the creation and maintenance of high quality jobs; and the public sector delivery of services.
UnionsWork - For workers in Scotland, this site gives easy access to information on rights at work and on the benefits of trade union membership.