EC Meeting Papers July 2018

2.14 The annual budget setting round for approval by the EC in November now begins and the Senior Management Team and Heads of Departments have been requested to commence this.

3 Education. 3.1 The draft Education Programme is attached for your consideration and comment. It currently omits the Trade Union Management Programme which will be included in the final draft, it omits the training the trainers’ programme and history course and GFTU 120 events that will be in the final version also. 3.2 A very constructive meeting to formally establish the Trade Union Officers’ Apprenticeship programme was held. The minutes of this meeting are attached. Please note that it is not too late for unions who have not declared an interest to sign up. In my view this is potentially an extremely important initiative for the movement. 3.4 The Graphic Novel on the history of the Labour Movement particularly aimed at the younger generation which we are supporting through the Trust and which I am the history advisor on is slightly delayed and will not be ready for the TUC. I have to say that the artwork and the narrative are absolutely brilliant. I think it is a publication that could have a real impact. 3.5 I have spent a great deal of time lobbying for the inclusion of a statutory Youth Service in the Labour Manifesto and very considerable success is now underway. There was a very successful lobby of Parliament which I chaired on the day of the Ten Minute Bill and there is now a wide consultation from the All Party Parliamentary Committee on Youth. 3.7 Ruskin College is 120 years old next year and so is the GFTU. Both organisations have a long history of joint working, the apprenticeship trailblazer is a recent example. Ruskin remains probably the biggest provider of trade union education. The GFTU has two seats on its council and Brother Neil Crew of AEGIS is also on the Executive. I have been on the Executive since 1995 and Vice Chair for a couple of years. The Chair recently resigned and I have been elected Chair. I discussed this matter fully in advance with the President and Vice President. A former General Secretary of the GFTU Peter Potts was also Chair of Ruskin. The former Principal of Ruskin the late Chris Wilkes was a loyal member of the GFTU Educational Trust. 3.8 It has been a time of immense change at Ruskin and of putting it into a position to be a viable and powerful contributor to working class education for the future. I will report further at the meeting. 3.9 Ruskin College and ourselves initiated the Trailblazer Group to develop an apprenticeship for trade union officers. This is now registered with the Institute for Apprenticeships and a programme of work leading to the launch of a new apprenticeship in September 2019 has commenced. The GFTU has facilitated this group and I chair the meetings. Formally the Head 3.3 A play Burning the Books by local poet and playwright Jess Green will be performed and opened to the Movement at our November EC. Please make every effort to attend. 3.6 GFTU 120 plans are proceeding well and will be reported on in full at the next meeting.

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