Union learning projects across the country are helping employers develop high quality traineeships and apprenticeships that meet the needs both of the people who enrol on them and the organisations they work for.

Unilever has set up an apprenticeships working party at its Port Sunlight UK research and development site, thanks to Usdaw ULR Coordinator Dave Randles taking the initiative and sharing his ideas with management and union colleagues.

Dave was inspired to make a presentation at a recent meeting of the National Joint Coordinating Committee (NJCC) by what he discovered at a unionlearn apprenticeship briefing in Liverpool earlier this year.

Dave said:

I learned so much I just had to share the information with management and Usdaw colleagues.”

The best way to do this was at the NJCC meeting, as it is attended by key union officials and management.”

Keen to ensure that apprenticeships are at the heart of the onsite learning programme, Dave set out what he had learned about the Apprenticeship Levy at the Liverpool briefing, alongside some of his own ideas about how the company and the union could work together to develop the agenda.

Usdaw National Officer Daniel Adams, was at the NJCC meeting and explained:

Dave did a great job in delivering an overview of the levy and what would be the proposed next steps and areas for the company to consider.”

As a result, the company agreed to set up a working party, with joint union involvement allowing for apprenticeships to continue as union business.”

Dave and Daniel are both members of the new working party, which has a remit to plan and develop an apprenticeship strategy with the company and all the recognised unions on site at Port Sunlight. It will ensure that all recognised unions can work collaboratively with the company to ensure that apprenticeships are equal and accessible, of a high standard and regularly monitored and evaluated.

Daniel said:

Apprenticeships continue to be a key negotiating item, even more so now the Apprenticeship Levy has been introduced.”

Unilever – supported by the union team at Port Sunlight – has been active in delivering vocation-led learning, which is a good basis for moving forward on apprenticeships.”

Usdaw Project Worker Julia Baldwin says that the joint work at Unilever showcases what can be achieved by reps at a local level and the impact it can have on national negotiations.

Julia said:

By having a good idea of the national picture, Dave has the knowledge needed to raise issues locally through Unilever’s own negotiation structures to the benefit of the company and our members.”

This case study first appeared in the Learning Rep – download the full magazine here.