Motion 62 Training and skills

Congress recognises that over the last 14 years, the Conservative government has significantly underfunded training and skills provisions for working people. In addition to scrapping the Union Learning Fund in England, the Tories have overseen an Apprenticeship Levy scheme which has seen apprenticeship starts fall by a third and £3.5bn transferred from training budgets to the Treasury.

Working people must be given the best chances of succeeding in the workplaces of the future and to do that, the Labour government must deliver a whole new skills framework. Such a framework must be shaped around the needs of workers and include, as a minimum:

i. a significant and long-term investment in skills funding including the reinstatement of the Union Learning Fund across England.

ii. a right to paid time off for retraining to support the development of lifetime skills.

iii. the development of individual learning accounts.

iv. fundamental overhaul of the Apprenticeship Levy, including significant action to ensure that those who are disadvantaged in the labour market are able to access an apprenticeship programme as well as the promotion of Level 2 and 3 apprenticeships.

v. work to combat the unintended consequences resulting from a postcode-based skills funding system that can create additional barriers for some adult learners.

vi. the creation of a trade union innovation fund to be administered by the TUC that will support the vital role of trade unions in providing education and training.

vii. ensure the voices of workers are represented in all discussions on skills strategy.

Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers

AMENDMENT

At the end of the motion add new paragraph:
“Congress welcomes the announcement of the creation of Skills England as an important first step in attempting to boost skills across the workforce and an important opportunity to ensure that the voices of trade unions are heard alongside business, government and training providers.”
UNISON