A new WEA learning centre dedicated to providing trade union education has opened. Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) formally opened the WEA Trade Union and Workplace Learning Centre which is based near London's Liverpool Street station.

Courses at the centre are provided by the WEA for trade union representatives, safety reps and union learning reps. The vast majority of the courses are part of the TUC’s national programme, and all are externally accredited. The union representative courses help reps better defend the rights of their colleagues in the workplace through negotiating and organising skills. Other courses at the centre are specifically aimed at helping safety representatives maintain health and safety standards in the workplace – often an area where union reps and members are the first to identify problems that put public safety at risk. The courses for union learning representatives help them raise awareness amongst colleagues of education and training opportunities available to them.

Peter Norfolk, a member of the teaching team at the centre, says that the WEA is amongst the most successful providers of TUC accredited courses in London and the South-East. Peter received the Jack Evans award from the Fleet Branch of the RMT in recognition of the contribution of the courses to the work of trade unions on the London Underground.

Skills learnt on trade union courses helped learner Martin Valente win the Union Representative of the Year award from the London Transport Region of the RMT. Martin’s award came as a result of his success in recruiting union members at his workplace Grant Rail, and gaining official recognition of the union from the employer. He says, “the courses pointed me in the right direction and showed how to run meetings and organise members – it’s been great to be able to bring what I’ve learnt into real life.”

Currently over 9,000 learners each year currently engage in workplace learning through WEA courses. Fot further information about the centre contact:

Peter Norfolk
WEA Training Suite
Ground Floor, 70 Clifton St
London, EC2A 4HB

Tel: 0207 426 1850
Fax: 0207 729 9821
Email: pnorfolk@wea.org.uk