The evolving role of union learning representatives
Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: This article suggests that the union learning representative (ULR) is increasingly situated at the heart of trade union activity. The paper draws upon recent research based on interviews with national trade union officers and case studies of union learning activity to explore the competing demands being made upon ULRs and the implications for their role in the union and the delivery of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in the workplace. It finds that whilst the government’s learning and skills agenda has moved away from a broad conceptualisation of learning for social and self‐development and towards an increasingly narrow interpretation of lifelong learning based upon employability, ULRs and trade unions have not abandoned this vision. At the same time, union expectations of the role of the ULR appear to have shifted and they are increasingly seen as part of wider union recruitment and organising strategies. The case studies suggest that where efforts are made to integrate ULRs into the wider union, a number broaden their activism beyond learning and make a contribution to building workplace or branch organisation on the basis of learning.
Source: Journal of In-service Education
Authors: Sian Moore, Cilla Ross
Institution: London Metropolitan University
Language: English
Topic: Labor Movements and Unions
Subfield: Public Administration
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2005603720