The Union Learning Fund

The Union Learning Fund (ULF) was established in 1998 to promote activity by trade unions in support of the objective of creating a learning society.  Its primary aim is to develop the capacity of trade unions and Union Learning Representatives (ULRs) to work with employers, employees and learning providers to encourage greater take up of learning in the workplace.

The fund is managed and administered by unionlearn, the TUC’s Learning and Skills Organisation under an agreement with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which directs the level and type of learning activity that should be supported by the fund. 

Unionlearn’s main functions are to help unions to:

• Become effective learning organisations.
• Broker learning opportunities for their members.
• Have an impact on learning and skills policy.
• Engage effectively with employers to develop learning and skills strategies that address both organisational and individual skills needs.

And to effectively manage and administer the Union Learning Fund to:

• Build union capacity to sustain and embed work on learning and skills so that this becomes a core activity for all trade unions.
• Develop the key role of Union Learning Representatives (ULRs) and learning champions in raising demand for learning, especially among workers with low skill levels and disadvantaged groups in the workplace.
• Maximise the union contribution to the development and delivery of the Government’s strategy to improve the skills of the workforce and the performance of the economy and engagement in learning.
• Help unions and ULRs develop a framework to provide high quality information, advice and guidance to stimulate the take up of learning and promote progression.
• Help unions to engage with the established network of union-led learning centres in the workplace, union offices, non-unionised workplaces and union learning centres to offer a growing range of learning opportunities.
• Help unions to form active partnerships with employers and develop learning agreements to tackle both organisational and individual skills needs.
• Help unions to form effective partnerships with learning providers to ensure learning opportunities are customised, quality assured, relevant and delivered effectively with appropriate support given to learners.
• Develop union capacity to engage in effective partnership working with regional and national skills organisations.