RMT MEMBER WINS LEARNING AWARD

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: march 2011 :: RMTnews 22 J ohn Wright, a guard at Merseyrail and RMT member for over 11 years, has won the Go Skills Achiever of the Year Award for Literacy, Numeracy and Language, sponsored by the life long learning organisation NIACE 2010. John left school in the eighties with no formal qualifications, when comprehensive education in Liverpool was on its knees due to the Thatcher government’s so-called educational reforms. He joined the railway and the union as a young member in 1999 as an underground station assistant but quickly progressed to his current role as a guard. After a number of years in the role of guard and after Merseyrail’s recognition of the Union Learning Representative (ULR) role, John was encouraged by his ULR to take advantage of the adult learning opportunities that were being organised. He enrolled on to an on-line learning programme with LearnDirect and immediately began his long learning journey with the support of his local ULR. Such was his desire to learn that he quickly progressed to the nationally recognised Level 2 qualification in both literacy and numeracy. Throughout his learning, it was his enthusiasm and self-belief that helped him to achieve the qualification despite very difficult personal circumstances at the time. Due to his learning successes, John has now developed the confidence to undertake the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) IT training programme and believes that the opportunity to access educational development, supported by his trade union, has led to him being able to look at and further his own career progression. Level 2 qualifications are recognised as being the equivalent to GCSEs and John can use his qualifications as a springboard for access to higher academic qualifications – as many other RMT members have already found. John would not have been able to aim higher without the confidence gained by achieving his level 2 qualifications. “The work that union learning representatives do is integral to the success and sustainability of the trade union movement of the future. “To help support the learning needs and skills required to make sure that our members have the right tools to adapt to the ever changing demands of their job roles,” said John. John’s successes have certainly given him the ‘learning bug’. “The opportunity to access courses which fit around my work and home commitments, with the support of RMT, have made it possible for me to be such a successful learner. “I really think it has made all the difference to my life by turning me into a lifelong learner,” he said. John went on to say how proud he was to have been awarded the Go Skills National Learning Award and how it will spur him on to continue his learning journey. John acknowledges that RMT Learning, and its team of development workers support the efforts of ULRs across the union and especially in their work to improve the English, maths and IT skills of all RMT members. He is certainly a successful outcome for the government funding behind RMT Learning. John Dougherty RMT learning Midlands development worker R MT was presented with a certificate of success in Edinburgh recently for the union’s contribution to the workplace learning in the last ten years in Scotland. The presentation was made to RMT project worker Dan Henderson by STUC general secretary Graham Smith and Michael Russell MSP and cabinet secretary for education and lifelong learning. A further presentation was held at a Scottish union learning event in the Scottish parliament as part of trade union week. This was to commemorate 10 years of learning and the certificates were presented by graham smith and Kevin Lindsay, vice chair of the Scottish union learning board. Receiving the certificates on behalf of the union were learning rep and conductor Mary Jane Herbison, Dan Henderson and RMT member and conductor Margaret Hanlon, a student has benefited from trade union learning. Workplace learning has seen a lot of changes in Scotland over the last ten years and the RMT learning team north of the border is looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that the next ten years will bring to RMT members. CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF TRADE UNION LEARNING IN SCOTLAND LEARNING: left to right Graham Smith, Dan Henderson, Mary Jane Herbison, Margaret Hanlon and Kevin Lindsay. RMT MEMBER WINS NATIONAL LEARNING AWARD AWARD: John Wright (right) with TV’s Dom Littlewood