{"id":16436,"date":"2018-10-02T15:50:01","date_gmt":"2018-10-02T14:50:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=16436"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:58:11","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:58:11","slug":"unite-aviva-learning-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=16436","title":{"rendered":"‘Inspiring’ agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In a significant step forward for Unite and its relationship with insurance provider Aviva, the union and the firm have together hammered out a learning agreement that will give staff the opportunity to gain qualifications and advance their careers.<\/p>\n

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The agreement came in the wake of a highly successful pilot programme that saw 300 Aviva employees gain qualifications. Through the new learning agreement, all 14,000 of Aviva\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s workers will have access to training in courses ranging from business management, financial services, team leadership and more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ade Carter is one Aviva employee who completed a level\u00c2\u00a0 5 adult apprenticeship through Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s learning programme.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHaving not done any formal qualifications since I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d finished school, I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really sure what to expect,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Ade said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI found the course to be really useful — \u00c2\u00a0the ability to draw on things I did during my working day as evidence for my development was fantastic.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI certainly found it much easier and much more enjoyable to learn in this way and found the support from the assessor to be brilliant as she frequently challenged my assumptions and made me realise just how much I was learning.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now as a result of a completing the level 5 apprenticeship, Ade was able to apply\u00c2\u00a0to and be accepted for a Master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in Business Administration at Cranfield School of Management.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI never imagined I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be in a position where I was studying towards a Masters and wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have got to this point without Unite and Aviva.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Aviva employee relations and global policy lead Anthony Fitzpatrick (pictured right) praised the learning agreement.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been working with Unite for four years now and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re thrilled that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve now put a formal arrangement in place to support our colleagues,” he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“This Learning Agreement means people can improve their skills and knowledge – and ultimately pick up qualifications \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in a way that suits their lifestyles,” he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve also seen so many people grow in confidence and take on new challenges as they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve learned, and a number have gone on to pursue further studies. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m delighted that now even more people can benefit from the scheme.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite learning rep Danny Davis, who is now retired, first put forward the idea for a learning programme several years ago, which eventually turned into the pilot scheme through his efforts and has now blossomed into a full-fledged learning agreement.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite regional learning manager for the North East Yorkshire and Humber (NEYH) region Gill Pearson likewise hailed the agreement, which she said will give thousands of staff the opportunity to make a real and lasting difference in their lives.<\/p>\n

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She called it \u00e2\u20ac\u015btruly inspiring\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 that Unite was able to negotiate a learning agreement of this scale when the union is not yet recognised by Aviva. The agreement is thought to be the largest of its kind between a union and an insurance company.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gill Pearson said Aviva has been \u00e2\u20ac\u015bvery positive\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 about the learning agreement from the very beginning and it was one of the many examples of how the union has sought to strengthen its relationship with the firm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re very much hoping that the positive publicity we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get from this learning agreement will help to grow our union within Aviva, which is a major employer across the UK,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

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Unite lead officer for the financial and legal sector Andy Case (pictured left) agreed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He explained that Unite has gone from having a poor working relationship with Aviva only a few years ago to a very strong one now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe really feel as though Aviva listen to us \u00e2\u20ac\u201c even though we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have union recognition yet, Unite reps are very influential within Aviva and with this learning agreement we hope that our positive relationship only continues to grow.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe agreement will allow our Unite learning reps to build on their work of helping to deliver important learning opportunities to Aviva staff,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite believes strongly that this Learning Agreement offers important opportunities for individual development and growth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe opportunities to staff and members from this agreement include improving existing skills and gaining new qualifications.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Find out more about Unite Learning here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a significant step forward for Unite and its relationship with insurance provider Aviva, the union and the firm have together hammered out a learning agreement that will give staff the opportunity to gain qualifications and advance their careers.   The agreement came in the wake of a highly successful pilot programme that saw 300 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16438,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[1031,34,1032],"wps_subtitle":"Unite and insurance firm Aviva hammer out major learning agreement","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16436"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16436"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25816,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16436\/revisions\/25816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}