Usdaw Union Learning Reps get national recognition

Unionlearn named two Usdaw Union Learning Reps (ULRs) among the seven 2007 ULR Skills for Life Advocates Award winners.

Tracy Jane White who works at Tesco in York and Stephen Anderson who works at Jus-Rol in Berwick, Usdaw ULRs, were both presented with a Skill for Life Advocate Award by Unionlearn chair and CWU General Secretary Billy Hayes.

The presentation took place at the prestigious ‘one year on’ conference celebrating the first year of Unionlearn, the TUC’s learning and skills organisation. Among the keynote speakers were Alan Johnson, Government Minister and Usdaw’s own Hayly Pickles, a rep from Tesco in Scarborough.

Tracy White – Beating Dyslexia.

No one ever suspected Tracy Jane White struggled with reading and writing, even though undiagnosed dyslexia meant she only just managed to scrape through her GCSEs before leaving school.

“People at work would laugh at a joke in the paper then give it to me to read: I’d take a look, wait for a second or two and then laugh and say it was funny,” she recalls.

Not even her husband knew about her dyslexia until he went away on exercise with the army and Tracy had to write her first letter to him. “When I heard about the ULR role, I thought it would be a good way for me to get back into education and this time my dyslexia wouldn’t stand in the way: I decided not to hide it, and to help people like me enjoy learning again,” she explains.

The buzz about learning throughout her branch of Tescos in York these days shows Tracy ’s definitely succeeded in her aim: a lot of her co-workers are now getting back into learning for the first time since leaving school through the courses she’s arranged from holiday Spanish and sign language to IT with English.

“We have not just got work mates involved but family members too, which has been important in helping people feel safe and gain confidence,” she says.

“This is something that has promoted Usdaw in a positive way, and it’s been great to show people that the union is not just about negative work issues: people have joined the union for the learning opportunities alone.”

Tracy says she is most proud of the IT with English courses she’s helped provide since 2005.

“Two years ago, there was a group of women aged between 35 and 62 who all had computers at home but didn’t know how to use them: family members would show them what to do but they were still none the wiser,” she recalls.

“Last year, they all got a certificate from the college when they passed their National Tests at Level 1, and now they’ve done the course they’re sending emails, searching the web for holidays, putting their photos onto discs – and their English is improving without them even realising.

“I’m in the class as well and this year we’re working towards Level 2: every week they can’t wait to go to college and tell everyone what they’ve been doing – seeing these ladies grow with confidence through this course has been the best part for me.”

Stephen Anderson – a Homework Advocate

Stephen Anderson always used to help his daughter with her homework, but as she got older the homework got harder, he began to realise that he had learning needs of his own.

That’s why, three years ago, he enrolled on a Skills for Life course at Northumberland College in Berwick-upon-Tweed, and encouraged his co-workers at the Jus-Rol pastry factory to join him.

He also trained as a Union Learning Rep around the same time, so he could raise awareness of the value of learning and development in the workplace and help prepare his co-workers for change in a business that’s introducing new equipment, technology and skills.

“It’s much easier to encourage people into learning when you’ve taken the same route yourself – you get a better understanding if the problems and the barriers that your members face,” he says.

“You can clearly see the difference learning is making to their lives and their way of thinking when it comes to taking on new roles or tasks: the individuals who have participated in learning are much more confident and contented,” he says.

Usdaw, Amicus and General Mills all signed a lifelong learning agreement in 2006 which aims to develop an inclusive learning culture on-site, create an accessible range of lifelong learning opportunities for employees and develop the role of the ULR at the company.

The partners have also established a Workplace Learning Committee, and set up a Learning Centre. “The future for our learning centre looks good, with some people who went through the same course as me now developing their IT skills, enrolling for genealogy or taking the National Tests at a higher level,” he says.

  “We’ve started developing a learning culture on site, but I know there is still a lot of work to do,” he says.

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Last Modified: Monday, 09-Jul-2007 22:30:33 EST