Our learning partners

In 2004 UNISON and The Open University joined forces to open up doors to learning for public service workers, and over two decades thousands of UNISON members have taken advantage of our partnership to get qualifications, broaden their skills and knowledge, and move on in their careers.

We’re now working together to review and refresh the continuing professional development (CPD) offer for UNISON members, making it more relevant in a world of work and education that’s changing all the time.

UNISON and the WEA signed a national agreement in 1996 as a way of recognising and codifying decades of joint work between the two organisations. This work has always focused on non-traditional learners – workers who have traditionally been excluded from learning, who may have been failed by the education system, and who are stuck in low paid, often part time, jobs. 

UNISON, The Open University and the WEA are part of the Partnership for Lifelong Learning, which is working to create a more diverse higher education system. The aim of the partnership is to advance the social inclusion agenda and develop ways of reaching out to potential adult learners. 

We are working together to develop strategies to meet the needs of diverse learners, supporting lifelong learning, social mobility, and workplace learning. The partnership membership includes the Open University, WEA, unionlearn, NIACE, NEC, NCVO, Leonard Cheshire Disability, Learndirect and the Association of Colleges.

The Trades Union Congress is the body that brings unions together. It offers introductory training for union reps, which UNISON recognises as an alternative to our own courses for reps. 

UNISON College uses TUC tutors to deliver some of our activist training. We also encourage UNISON activists to investigate the TUC’s follow-on training, which goes up to diploma level.