Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland show England what it's missing

I wish I had more time to write about this (sadly, all focus is on the book at the minute), but over the past couple of weeks I’ve been in Scotland and Wales, and talking to colleagues in Northern Ireland, about their Union Learning Funds — which continue despite being axed in England back in 2020.

My emotions are equal parts impressed and depressed.

The first stop was Wales, where I visited Community’s Learning Centre at the Aberafon shopping centre. The brainchild of the union’s Learning Organiser, Lisa Francis, it was set up in the wake of large-scale redundancies at Port Talbot steelworks. It’s a truly exceptional example of a trade union knowing its members and tackling the barriers they face. On a Friday morning, the place was buzzing with steelworkers and their families — getting advice from Jobcentre Plus or guidance on starting a business. In just the first month, over 600 people came through the door! The IT learning centre was kitted out by Google, who have already trained around 100 people in AI and digital skills.

In Scotland, I attended the STUC Learning conference, where the Minister laid out his vision for skills and how unions support the Fair Work Convention — not a 1970s folk-rock band, but a drive for decent work across the nation. Most inspiring, though, were the ULRs. Talking to reps from the RMT, PCS, NUJ and many others really brought home what we’re missing in England. Every single one had stories about workers they’d supported — workers who simply wouldn’t have had that chance without them.

Sadly, I haven’t made it to Northern Ireland, but a great chat with their Union Learn Development Officer, Julie Gorman, confirmed what I suspected: all three nations are thriving when it comes to union learning. They’re reaping the rewards of a government that can pick up the phone to the union and ask, “What can we do together to support working people?”

The question I asked at the start of my research is now louder than ever: why has this disappeared from the conversation in England and why are the unions not talking about it? Whilst it's thriving in Northen Ireland, Scotland and Wales we have silence in England.