{"id":24415,"date":"2020-10-29T16:11:29","date_gmt":"2020-10-29T16:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=24415"},"modified":"2020-10-29T16:38:33","modified_gmt":"2020-10-29T16:38:33","slug":"timing-of-the-decision-is-bizarre-in-the-extreme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=24415","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Timing of the decision is bizarre in the extreme\u00e2\u20ac\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision to axe the Union Learning Fund (ULF) has been met with growing opposition from major employers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 organisations and skills bodies.<\/p>\n

They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve written to education minister Gavin Williamson saying that the ULF provides vital funding for leading skills initiatives \u00e2\u20ac\u201c just as a wave of unemployment sweeps the UK.<\/p>\n

Employers and skills bodies have expressed \u00e2\u20ac\u0098surprise and disappointment\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 at the decision, which was announced earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Flies in the face of PM\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pledge<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The letter says the announcement flies in the face of the Prime Minister\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pledge for a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Lifetime Skills Guarantee\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 which recognised the need for workers to update their skills constantly.<\/p>\n

Funding for the\u00c2\u00a0Union Learning Funding (ULF) and UnionLearn<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0will cease in April. The TUC says the decision came without any notice and has led to the TUC general secretary Frances O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady to demand a meeting with Gavin Williamson.\u00c2\u00a0The union-backed schemes provides enormous economic benefits, supporting 200,000 learners in 2019 at a cost to government of just \u00c2\u014112m a year.<\/p>\n

The seven CEOs from employer organisations and skills bodies say the move will weaken the workforce, damage businesses and worsen the economic crisis.<\/p>\n

Ann Watson, CEO of engineering skills body Enginuity, said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe timing of this decision is bizarre in the extreme. These two vital skills operations are needed more now than ever \u00e2\u20ac\u201c just as a tsunami of redundancies will crash across the country.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThese two initiatives would have played a significant role in supporting employees, the businesses they work for \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and the UK economy. The government needs to urgently rethink this decision.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

Many workplaces have been supported by the projects, including thousands threatened by redundancy.<\/p>\n

An independent valuation by the Universities of Exeter and Leeds on the Union Learning Fund found that for every \u00c2\u01411 invested produced a return \u00c2\u014112.30 to the economy (\u00c2\u01414.70 to the employer and \u00c2\u01417.60 to the individual).<\/p>\n

The letter to Gavin Williamson says, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bSpeaking on behalf of the whole sector, we would urge you to reconsider the decision to remove funding for ULF and unionlearn. In the manufacturing sector this will lead to a reduction in support for workers and employers who are doing their utmost to upskill and retrain in these very challenging times.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

HELP SAVE UNION LEARNING<\/strong><\/p>\n