Public and Commercial Services Union

Unions have been proactive in the education of working people since the 19th century, when colleges such as Ruskin were first established for the purpose.

Historically, a great deal of the union interest has been in training representatives, but since the 1990s there has also been considerable union involvement in training at the workplace.

For more information about the history of union involvement in vocational education and training see the Unionlearn research paper 'From voluntarism to post-voluntarism' available in pdf or hard copy.

The union learning fund was set up by government in 1998 to support union led projects promoting learning at the workplace.

The main initiatives supported are the development of union learning representatives (ULRs) and union learning centres, and the promotion of lifelong learning, with a strong, but not exclusive, emphasis on skills for life.

Unions also work closely with the relevant Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) to help secure the commitment of employers to training their workers.

There are currently 25 SSCs which are employer-led organisations that have been set up to help determine how training is delivered and funded in the UK.

Sector Skills Councils have a responsibility to government to meet the targets established in their sector skills agreement.

You can find out more about sector skills councils in general at the UK Commission for Employment and Skills website. 

If you want to find out which sector skills council you would come under you can find this out at Sector Skills Council. 

All SSCs have the same four key goals and each SSC is responsible for dealing with the skills needs within their sector UK-wide.

The four key goals are:

• Reduced skills gaps and shortages
• Improved productivity, business and public service performance
• Increased opportunities to boost the skills and productivity of everyone in the sector's workforce
• Improved learning supply through National Occupational Standards, apprenticeships, and further and higher education.

 

Employers have direct input into training funding and policy through sector skills councils and so do trade unions through their trade union network groups.

PCS Commercial Sector has a seat on the trade union network groups for e-skills, asset skills and the finance services skills council.

These network groups meet regularly to raise issues of interest to members within that sector and PCS is an active part of that.

Union members and union representatives can also access information from sector skills councils of relevance to them including what train to gain funding is available within your sector, career and labour market information, research information and the latest news on what is happening within your sector.

You can also sign up to receive a free newsletter at those websites to help you keep informed.

You can also access general career information to help you plan your career or a change in career at Career Advice.