Arena Magazine 2007 Issue 3 Autumn Arena

Supermarket sweep

Usdaw’s latest campaign is to deliver learning to thousands of retail staff so they can improve both their skills and career prospects.

Check Out Learning is the union's latest drive to provide retail members with the opportunity to improve their skills and career opportunities by providing courses in or near their stores.

It is an ambitious campaign involving union reps, officials and local colleges who will work hand in hand with employers to give their staff the chance to study IT, improve their literacy and maths skills or take up recreational courses such as holiday Spanish or French.

Fifty five promotional days across the UK have already been held and have generated widespread interest among shopworkers keen to consider the options available. Stores at Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury's, IKEA and some Co-op stores were visited in the initial launch of the campaign part of the wider lifelong learning campaign, which has made a big impact in the home shopping and food manufacturing sectors.

"Usdaw has vast experience in offering courses to people who haven't set foot in a classroom since they left school," said general secretary John Hannett.

"The roadshows offer our members the chance to see what's on offer and how they can ease themselves back into learning in an informal atmosphere.

"I've visited a number of learning projects around the country and seen how they have boosted the confidence of thousands of our members enriching their lives and often providing new career openings.

"Our reps tell me that the campaign generates a lot of interest from members who want to get back into learning. It also raises the profile of Usdaw with new members signing up and existing members looking to become union learning reps.

"Our target is to hold 80 roadshows before October, to sign up 120 new reps, recruit 800 new members and hopefully get more than 1,000 learners signed up for a course to suit them."

Measuring success. In just five months...

• More than 2,300 members registered their interest in the Check Out Learning opportunities
• More than 438 new members were signed up to Usdaw
• More than 105 union learning reps signed up
• More than 34 members volunteered to become union reps
• More than 26 members volunteered to act as health and safety reps

What you said...

Union learning rep from London
"Staff are very interested in learning and the possibilities it brings"

Scottish activist after the first roadshow
"There's a real buzz in store and we need to keep the momentum going. Loads of people are asking me what's happening"

Union member from South Wales
"It was useful to speak to a learning rep and a representative from the local college"

www.usdaw.org.uk/lifelong_learning

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