Usdaw launches innovative learning centre for staff in Portobello Road

Retail union Usdaw has launched an innovative learning centre aimed at boosting the basic skills of staff working at Tesco's Portobello Road Metro store.

The centre has 10 computers in an on-site learning suite offering a range of Skills for Life and IT courses to shop staff from Portobello and other local Tesco stores.

The Centre has just begun to offer English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) courses and has plans to run French and Spanish courses in the near future. To date over 90 shopworkers from 10 different stores have taken courses at the Centre with most of the students graduating in computer studies.

Vicky Nelson, an Usdaw rep, works for Tesco but has been seconded to run the centre full time. Her job is work with the company and other Usdaw reps to promote the centre to colleagues.

“We have already had some great successes,” Vicky said. “One member of staff was able to find and contact her long lost half-brother through the internet as a result of the skills she developed on a course.

“My store manager Eddie White has been really helpful. He promoted the centre to other store managers and encouraged staff to get involved. Staff need the support of both their union and the company to help them get back into learning and if they do it has benefits for everyone as staff self confidence is boosted.”

Ophelia Afoakwa is one of those students who have benefited from the learning centre being literally yards from where she works.

”It's not easy working and learning at the same time so it's great to have a learning centre upstairs,” Ophelia said. “I am really into computers so I'm doing a refresher in word processing and in the future I'd really like to do Web base design.”

The next step for Vicky and her students is to get a broadband connection for the centre which will help her expand the range of courses she offers.

Usdaw has been a pioneer in running in-store Lifelong Learning courses for Britain's booming retail sector and so far more than 10,000 students have graduated in a dizzying array of courses from IT to learning a new language.

"This initiative is about giving busy shop workers the opportunity to learn, says Usdaw National Officer Pauline Foulkes. “This is an inspiring example of what retail staff returning to education can achieve when companies like Tesco work together with Usdaw Union Learning Reps."

The courses are organised through Lewisham College Trade Union Studies Unit who provide a professional learning centre manager and IT tutor, Claude Fontwell, on Wednesday and Thursday to run a range of computer courses. This flexible approach allows employees from local stores to drop in anytime to access their course and get some help from the tutor.

Notes to Editors:

• Contacts for newsdesks: Usdaw's Media Officer, Paul Clarke, can be contacted on 0161 249 2469 or e-mail paul.clarke@usdaw.org.uk.
• Usdaw (the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union, with over 340,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
• More information and news releases are available at our online Newsroom.
• Journalists can subscribe to receive Usdaw news releases via our online e-news service.

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