Education and Training

CWU Learning Centres

BT Management locally in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire together with the old Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire branch of the CWU formed a Management Committee to set up three Learning Centres at Milton Keynes, Oxford and High Wycombe on BT premises for members and all BT employees.

Other centres that have opened so far have proved to be highly popular with BT employees and CWU members who attend them. Tutors from the Further Education Colleges provide courses to enhance member's essential skills, in literacy and numeracy.

What are Essential Skills?

DEFINITION

Essential Skills is the ability to read, write and speak in English and use mathematics at a level necessary to function and progress at work and in society in general.

Over recent years the level of competence in Essential Skills we need has increased dramatically. Employees - our members - are increasingly asked to respond to changes in working practices especially those involving technology. The CWU recognises that a competent skilled workforce can compete move effectively in global markets.

Courses

Members can develop a range of skills that can be applied to a variety of working situations and prospects for promotion can be enhanced as employees work towards vocational qualifications. Historically, unions have been committed to training and up-skilling the workforce. Recent government initiatives have enabled us to play an even more prominent role in promoting learning opportunities for our members.

The Learning Centres are able to provide the following courses:

Computer Literacy and Information Technology (CLAIT);
European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL);
Literacy & numeracy;
Key Skills - communication & problem solving;
And many other exciting educational opportunities.

Lifelong Learning

One of the most significant developments over the last few years has been the forging of real links between Trade Unions, Employers, Learning Skills Councils and academic institutions. These developments have been supported, by a government, with a deep and genuine commitment to lifelong learning. The CWU is totally committed to the principle of lifelong learning.

For individuals rapid changes in the labour market mean that what they earn will increasingly be related to what they learn. For organisations to survive and prosper employers will need to invest in the skills of the workforce.

The CWU has a vision of a learning society. It is a society where learning throughout life is the norm; where individuals become learners and manage their own learning. The CWU believes that it can make a genuine contribution to building a lifelong learning culture by participating in formal partnerships with the employer and education providers.

The CWU recognises that the provision of Essential Skills at the workplace in partnership with education providers and the employers, is only the first step in creating a lifelong learning environment. As soon as learners achieve the required improvements in Essential Skills we rapidly move them on to the Key Skills agenda

Key Skills

There are six KEY SKILLS:
	COMMUNICATION	APPLICATION OF NUMBERS
	INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY	WORKING WITH OTHERS
	IMPROVING OWN LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE	PROBLEM SOLVING

Learning Reps

As a central part of the Union strategy we will be encouraging union members to be trained as CWU Learning Reps. After training, Learning Reps will be able to:

Offer help and advice to colleagues, which will include identifying their learning needs and goals, provide information on local learning resources and opportunities, support learners during their learning experience;
Assist members to produce learning and development plans, help members to manage their own learning and review their progress;
Promote learning - promoting the value of learning to members in the workplace;
Assessing members’ progression towards achievements of nationally recognised qualifications.

If you would like to train as a CWU Learning Rep and gain recognition in this regard, contact the Branch office. This is a very worthwhile and important commitment and the Government is keen for union learning reps to be an essential part of the Lifelong Learning agenda.

Commitment

The unions are doing everything in their power to build partnerships with education providers and the employers. We have a vision for the future that all CWU members will become engaged in lifelong learning and we are pioneering the development of open and distance learning techniques to bring this dream to reality.

The CWU believes that the Governments commitment to lifelong learning will offer an unprecedented opportunity for all employees to develop Essential Skills where these are required and for other workers to ensure that they are regularly up-skilled and can make a real contribution to the UK economy.