Member Article

Call for staff to get time off for training

UK workers should be given the right to paid time off for training to tackle the skills crisis, a trade union has said. A survey of TUC’s union learning representatives (ULRs) said that lack of access to paid time off was the biggest barrier to training for workers. Long hours and lack of employer support were also cited as major obstacles.

Liz Smith, Director of unionlearn, the TUC’s learning and skills organisation, said: “The findings in our report support two key demands that the TUC and unionlearn has being calling on Lord Leitch to address in his forthcoming final report. We need new legal rights to paid time off to train. Such rights are especially important for those without a qualification at the standard expected of school leavers. And unions should have the right to request that in workplaces with Union Learning Reps employers should enter into a ‘learning agreement’ with unions, and establish a workplace learning committee, to support the employers workforce development strategies.”

Download the full survey.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .