OU and unions come together to support lifelong learning in Wales

The Open University in Wales and TUC Cymru have formalised a partnership agreement to help more workers and trade union members take part in lifelong learning. 

The agreement builds on both organisations’ current partnership projects, which include the unionlearning.wales website which helps workers develop new skills through learning; and Future Ready – an eight-week training programme to support them to develop their own careers. 

Through the partnership, the OU and TUC Cymru will look for more opportunities to design and promote learning to trade union members, including:

• Access courses to give people their first taste of higher education
• short courses to help staff upskill and reskill
• free learning through the OU’s OpenLearn platform.

Both organisations will also work closely together on research and evaluation, in order to show the impact of lifelong learning, and share best practice across the Welsh trade union movement.

Samantha Forde, Partnerships Manager at the OU in Wales said:

“The agreement reflects some of the values shared by the OU and TUC, including social justice, inclusion and lifelong learning. By combining TUC Cymru’s reach across the trade union movement with our expertise in supported distance learning, we hope we can help more people across Wales unlock their potential through education.”