Celebrating a New Start at Mount Pleasant

On Monday 27th January, Mount Pleasant International officially opened their new learning centre and celebrated CWU members’ achievements in receiving their Multiply maths certificates.

The event was attended by a wide array of Royal Mail managers and staff, CWU officers, reps and members and friends from the wider trade union movement and adult learning community, who heard from a number of guest speakers.

Christopher Davis, Royal Mail London Central Plant Manager, delivered an insightful speech regarding the work that had taken place to install new equipment within the new learning centre. He articulated his vision for the centre and expressed his pride in the learners receiving their certificates today, emphasising the many successful outcomes achieved.

Kate Hudson, CWU Head of Equality, Education & Development, addressed the critical role of Union Learning Representatives (ULRs) in workplace settings and learning centres. She explained that ULRs have been vital in advocating for workers’ education. Kate emphasised the reciprocal benefits of investing in employee development, highlighting its potential to lead to a more engaged and competent workforce. ULRs serve as a valuable resource, offering consistent support and guidance to learners at every stage of their educational journey, ensuring that individuals have access to the tools and information necessary for their growth, which can enhance organisational effectiveness and productivity for employers.

Roger Charles, former Mount Pleasant Branch Secretary, shared the inspiring story of how he and fellow rep Lloyd Harris initially created the Mount Pleasant Learning Centre, over 20 years ago, describing the proactive steps he took to promote the idea and successfully negotiate with Royal Mail to establish one of the first learning centres in the workplace. Roger emphasised the centre’s critical role in enhancing the workforce’s literacy, numeracy, and digital skills, which are vital in today’s rapidly evolving society. He underscored how these initiatives support employee development and contribute positively to the business. He expressed great pride in the enduring legacy of learning that the centre continues to foster.

Sam Gurney, Regional Secretary for the TUC London, East and South East, delivered a passionate speech about the importance of workplace learning. He emphasised that workplace learning should support individuals and organisations in developing skills and capabilities, ultimately driving performance. As working environments grow more complex, there is an increased need for agility in addressing learning needs. The employee voice plays a crucial role in communicating workers’ views to their employers and influencing matters that impact them at work. For employers, fostering an active employee voice helps build trust, encourages innovation, boosts productivity, and leads to organisational improvement. Sam highlighted the importance of raising awareness about the benefits of learning, offering advice and guidance to colleagues, ensuring equality in access to learning opportunities, and identifying and addressing any barriers to learning.

Adrian Ryan is the Principal Coordinator for the London Union Learning Project, which is part of the Greater London Authority and funded by the Mayor of London. Adrian thanked Royal Mail and the CWU for their support, describing how in the past year, he had visited Mount Pleasant several times to discuss new projects for CWU members, holding roadshow events in the canteen and driver mess-room, making learning more accessible to the workforce. He described how they were now offering twice monthly workshops for the Learn My Way online learning platform; free online learning for beginners, offering over 200 courses, and how in the coming months, they are hoping to promote a Google AI course.

Matt Herman, Head of Multiply at Capital City College. Multiply is a government-funded initiative aimed at helping adults improve their numeracy skills and offers a range of free courses based around everyday tasks, such as managing your finances and assisting your children with homework. Improving your maths skills can open new job or further educational opportunities. Improving numeracy skills is also vital for business. Companies that invest in developing their employees’ numeracy abilities can significantly boost productivity, increase profits, and improve employee retention. The Multiply project has successfully assisted over 3,000 adults in obtaining maths qualifications in London. We extend our gratitude to the Royal Mail Group for their support, as there were only a few participants in this effort.

George White, Lead ULR from Mount Pleasant and organiser of the event, then asked Neal Williamson, Ben Birch, Devraj Chohan, Snehal Sisodia, Ernestine Cheeseman, Deepa Sujelan, Medinat Bolaj and Nirojana Thivaharan to come forward to receive their certificates from the guest speakers. George, who was also awarded a Multiply certificate, expressed his gratitude to everyone for attending the event. He also thanked the ULRs and branch reps who had supported him throughout his journey, mentioning that the experiences have been outstanding. He congratulated the learners and said that with the support of all those concerned that learning in the workplace will continue indefinitely for CWU members.