Community Union Learning Rep Audrey McJimpsey, from RSBi (Blindcraft) Glasgow, is the recent recipient of the prestigious STUC Helen Dowie Award for Lifelong Learning 2008. This annual award was established in 2006 to commemorate the life of Helen Dowie, an active trade unionist from Fife, whose life was devoted to supporting others through the trade union movement, and to support the development of education and learning in Scotland.
Audrey has been an active Union Learning Rep since 2006, and has worked closely with Communitas and the Scottish Union Learning Fund (SULF) project to promote and facilitate workplace learning within RSBi for Community members. In particular, she has been instrumental in encouraging members to take up opportunities within the area of everyday skills, and has worked with community learning partnerships and other organisations to support community members and non-members within her workplace to develop their basic skills.
STUC Helen Dowie Award for Lifelong Learning will be presented to Audrey at the STUC Annual Congress in Inverness 21st-23rd April 2008 by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and Audrey will have the opportunity to visit both the Scottish Parliament and Westminster as part of her prize for winning the award. During the week of congress, Audrey will be guest at the President's Dinner, Skills and Lifelong Learning Reception and STUC General Council Dinner, amongst other events throughout the year, such as Trade Union week at the Scottish Parliament. The recipient will also receive the prestigious prize along with book tokens, an award plaque and their name will be added to the Helen Dowie Award for Lifelong Learning recipient plaque which is housed at the STUC centre.
This award recognises the pivotal role Community Learning Reps play in the promotion of workplace lifelong learning, and is a credit to all learning reps who do outstanding work in the area of lifelong learning within the trade union movement.