Community WULF project for
2008 – 2010
(WULF - Welsh Union Learning Fund)
Re-training for future employment – a skills based approach!
The main aims of the project will be:
1. To increase participation in learning and skills retraining
programmes by people in the workplace who are currently under threat of or may
be facing the prospect of redundancy.
2. To raise the standard of qualifications held by the workforce to
enable them to quickly move back into employment without too many delays.
3. To increase awareness of the benefits of learning whilst in
work to individuals within Wales.
Many of the manufacturing industries Community has membership in throughout Wales are under threat from the relocation of
facilities to Eastern Europe and the Far East.
This has subsequently resulted in job losses in many large and small companies,
for example the steel making business Corus and many of its subsidiaries.
The union suspects that many others have uncertain futures and are the subject
of review by local, national and international level management.
With the need for new skills to become re-employed there is currently a high
level of need to up-skill and indeed diversify into other areas of employment
by the workforce in Wales.
There are currently large gaps in skills and this is not often rectified until
after the redundancy has taken place. The problem of economical inactivity is
further evidence of the need to prepare an individual before redundancy hits.
Currently the lack of readily available opportunities for people to retrain
whilst currently in employment has caused members to be forced to look to the
unions to help them to do this. This project will go some way towards
retraining members in good time for such occurrences. Whilst the majority of
mainstream funding is available after redundancy has taken place or when
closure has already been announced, WULF can bridge this gap and help.
This project will ensure the opportunity for a supply of highly skilled and
motivated individuals who are ready to move into new jobs as soon as
practically possible. This will ensure that the needs of employers and
employees can be brought together to ensure a Welsh workforce fit for the next
economic cycle.