Learning representatives in UK organizations: A review of current developments

Lifelong learning links vocational education to learning for both career and personal development. Such learning clearly has benefits for the employer, the employee and society as a whole. Recently in the UK, trade union learning representatives (ULRs) have become an important tool in the pursuit of lifelong learning and a learning society. The 2002 Employment Act gave legal recognition to ULRs and allowed them paid time off to organize learning for other employees. In this regard, ULRs now enjoy the same legal status as other trade union lay officials. The purpose of this short article is to provide an outline of those rights and to discuss some of the interesting initiatives that have taken place regarding ULRs, to help highlight best practice to date. The article will discuss in turn, learning representatives and the provisions of the 2002 Employment Act, learning agreements, learning committees and learning centers, and draws on the research we are conducting here at the University of Sheffield.