Green Light for learning

The Northern TUC has announce that, following a fourth successful year of Learning for All Fund projects, we have secured funding from One NorthEast and the Learning and Skills Council to continue the Fund for 2006/07.

With the green light firmly on go, the next LfAF bidding round has been set for March when Unions can seek funding for workplace learning projects to run from April 2006 to March 2007. Bids need to be submitted by the lead Union to the Northern TUC by no later than 4pm on Friday 3rd March 2006.

As previously, bids should be for trade union-led activity, and should identify clear objectives, and demonstrate how those objectives are to be achieved. Bids will be assessed against set criteria, and the LfAF Assessment and Monitoring Panel will consider each application for innovation, aims and objectives, capacity building, partnerships, organisational development, equal opportunities and sustainability. Specifically, projects should look to address the following objectives: Increase the number of Union Learning Representatives trained in the region Develop and strengthen union/employer partnerships with regard to lifelong learning Assist adults in the region in their skills development and increase the number of adults participating in learning Address the needs of adults in the region with poor numeracy or literacy skills Address barriers to learning Engage new employers in lifelong learning initiatives Establish effective delivery partnerships with providers

The Learning for All Fund was the first regional fund of its kind in England when it was launched by the Northern TUC in April 2002.

Over the last 4 years, the LFAF has enabled 48 projects to deliver workplace or community learning initiatives to their members, resulting in:

• over 700 new ULRs trained in the North East,
• 250 employers engaged in learning partnerships,
• 27 workplace-learning centres established,
• 13,000 adults in the region participating in learning and,
• nearly 4,000 adults working to improve their literacy and numeracy skills.

Barney McGill, Northern TUC LS Co-ordinator, believes the success of the Fund is down to the drive, determination and commitment of the leading ULRs who seek funding to open up learning opportunities for their members, the strong partnerships developed between unions and employers to run effective projects, and the high quality progression support provided by the Northern TUC team:

'We are extremely proud to be in a position where we can continue to offer the fantastic opportunities the Learning for All Fund provides for 2006/07. The fantastic achievements of the many projects funded through the LfAF over the last four years are an inspiration for anyone wishing to apply, and for our team, who get to see the results first-hand. The Northern TUC is firmly committed to assisting and supporting trades unions who wish to access funding to run lifelong learning initiatives and make a valuable contribution to upskilling their members and the region.'

Members of the Work Place Learning Centre team are available to provide journalists and media organisations with expert comment on all aspects of learning at work.

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