First UK Bus and Unite the Union have joined forces and today revealed £120k worth of support over three years to improve Workplace Lifelong Learning Centres across First’s UK Bus operations.
The investment is earmarked for improving technology within First’s award winning Lifelong Learning Centres. First and Unite will give each of the 40 Lifelong Learning Centres the opportunity to apply for funding for equipment such as tablets, laptops and updated software.
Talking about the Investment, FirstGroup’s Head of Learning, Linda Guthrie, said: “Across the UK 85% of our staff have access to our Workplace Lifelong Learning Centres. With our partners Unite we’ve invested significantly in these facilities – providing our employees with the opportunity of improving their skills and helping them reach their potential is a key business objective for First.”
Meanwhile, David C Pugh, National Education Coordinator from Unite the Union said: “I’m delighted that our partnership with First will bring further benefits for our members. This investment will encourage more bus drivers, cleaners, engineers, mechanics and indeed all employees to use the Lifelong Learning Centres and improve their skill sets.”
Lifelong Learning Centres at First UK Bus were first established in 2000. Since then First with its partners Unite have opened 40 in total providing more than 85% of its 18,000 staff with access. Many of the courses provided are designed to improve numeracy, literacy and IT skills. However, users can also access a range of other options including various management courses and even scuba diving and conversational Spanish.