Unions welcome Chancellor’s announcement that the Union Learning Fund will be restored

Unions have welcomed Chancellor John Healey’s announcement, at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, that a renewed Union Learning Fund will be restored, after the Tories cut it in England in 2021.

The Chancellor confirmed £15 million a year of funding to restore the Union Learning Fund in England, helping working people gain new skills, progress at work and adapt as technology, including AI, changes the workplace. The fund previously generated 180,000 learning opportunities every year and will draw on trade unions’ trusted workplace relationships to reach those people and help them access training through their employers and existing skills programmes.

Speaking at the conference, Healey said:

Today, I’m also announcing the rebirth of the Union Learning Fund, set up by Labour, abolished by the Tories, now re-established by this Labour government. I’m proud of the fact that last time, 180,000 workers every year got new training through that fund, and we’ll do that again. Better skills, better prospects for British workers because of the decisions taken by this Labour government and conference.

The Union Learning Fund (ULF) was launched by New Labour in 1998 to encourage training uptake in partnership between employers and unions, but it was cut by former Conservative education secretary Gavin Williamson in 2021.

Funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the ULF paid unions and the TUC to work with employers, employees and learning providers to encourage greater take up of education. It mainly did this by funding union learning representatives (ULR) to give workers advice, guidance and support to help study and upskill.

Spending on the fund peaked at £21.5 million per year between 2009 and 2012, with ULR advisors credited with getting over 233,000 learners back into learning in 2009-10.

The ULF was subject to regular independent evaluation. An evaluation in 2016 found:

• Over two-thirds (68%) of learners with no previous qualification got a qualification and just under half (47%) of those starting with Entry level or Level 1 qualifications got a qualification at a higher level – as a result of ULF support.
• Four-fifths (80%) of learners felt that union learning had given them skills that were useful in their current job; and the same proportion agreed they had developed skills that could be transferred into a new job.
• Nearly two thirds (62%) of learners said their learning helped them do their job better.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak called the restoration of the fund “common sense” and a “real boost for workers, businesses, and the economy:

The decision to scrap the hugely successful workplace skills fund by the previous Tory government was ideological and a disastrous own goal. The chancellor’s announcement today rights that wrong.

There is a reason that many employers, providers and unions are united in support for this scheme. Every pound spent pays for itself over time – boosting productivity, opportunity and economic growth.

We will be working closely with our affiliate unions, government and employers to develop this scheme and ensure it is an even bigger union learning success story than the last.

Usdaw has long campaigned for the return of the fund, saying that it is seeking a modern fund designed to deliver high-quality education and skills, that will support productivity, lifelong learning and economic growth. Usdaw also said that renewed investment in union learning will develop confident workplace representatives, organisers and activists; capable of strengthening collective bargaining, promoting equality, improving health and safety, and building stronger trade unions.

Joanne Thomas, Usdaw general secretary said:

Trade unions have always played a key role in educating members, improving their confidence and allowing them to progress in all areas of their lives. Helping members to gain essential skills in English, Maths and ICT, to build their careers through courses on CV writing and interview skills. Trade union learning reps reach the workers others cannot, often bringing members back into education for the first time since leaving school.

Lifelong learning benefits not just the individuals, but their employers too. When the Tory Government made the shameful decision to scrap the fund for England, many of the employers that Usdaw works with publicly lobbied the Government to change the decision. A shameful decision that was made against the interests of working people, the economy and the interests of employers.

So, we very much welcome the Chancellor’s announcement to reverse that decision, which is long overdue. We now look forward to working with the Government on the reintroduction of union-led lifelong learning in England and the renewal of the trade union studies element of adult education. By providing education to workers, we can win for workers.

Responding, Paul Fleming, Equity General Secretary, said:

John Healey’s speech shows that Labour is on a new track. Embedding trade unions in decision making and policy implementation across our economy is a good thing. And Equity welcomes the reintroduction of the Union Learning Fund, something that will benefit so many working people with skills for the future.

GMB Union also welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement. Warren Kenny, GMB London Regional Secretary said:

The Union Learning Fund had a proven track record of providing learning opportunities for hundreds of thousands of workers and offered real value for both learners and employers. With the onward march of new technologies including AI, it is more important than ever that workers can develop new skills and adapt to the ever-changing world of work. The restoration of the ULF represents an essential investment in our workforce, ensuring people can meaningfully progress their careers and help deliver the growth the country needs.