TUC: Union academy would radically overhaul training

The TUC has launched its plans for the creation of a union academy which it believes would radically overhaul the training offered to workers in the UK.

It envisages the academy would offer guidance to employers and employees on training ranging from basic skills to MBAs.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “Britain’s skills gap is a key cause of our relatively poor productivity. Unions have a proud track record in helping people at every level from brushing up or improving basic skills to gaining MBAs. The new academy will provide a major boost to the quantity, quality and coherence of the training available to our workforce.”

Education Secretary Ruth Kelly has also voiced her support, saying: “I welcome the TUC’s ambitious plans to develop an academy to act as a centre of excellence and best practice, as well as a very real catalyst for the learning revolution.”