TRADE unions are launching a nationwide campaign today against government plans to axe a skills training programme which helped 200,000 workers last year.

The government is withdrawing a £12 million annual grant from the Union Learning Fund, a union-backed scheme established in 1998 and funded by the Department for Education in which workers had access to learning new skills, such as IT, and training in workplaces.

A number of unions have joined the TUC campaign to Save Union Learning, with Unite saying the decision to end the fund was “short-sighted and self-defeating” in the face of an approaching jobs crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, while Aslef slammed it as a “staggering — but not surprising” decision.

It comes weeks after PM Boris Johnson announced the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, allowing adults without an A-level or equivalent qualification to take a free college course.

Unite director of education Jim Mowatt said: “The announcement from the Education Department seems to contradict the Prime Minister’s own promise that funding will be available for everyone to get a qualification at level 3 — the equivalent of A-levels — through a national skills fund.

“Boris Johnson’s oft-repeated mantra to ‘level up’ the disadvantaged regions of the UK will need every training lever at his disposal, including the continuation of the Union Learning Fund.

“By axing the fund, the Prime Minister’s pledge will be seriously compromised and undermined.

“We should be looking forward to a post-pandemic economic world; when a country’s skill base will provide the foundation for economic regeneration, the growth in employment opportunities and increased prosperity for all.

“A skilled workforce is the lifeblood that will spearhead the UK’s economic future in this new and changing global economy, when education and training will be at a premium.

“That’s why the Union Learning Fund should remain as an important pillar of the UK’s overall training programme — we call for the proposal to axe the fund to be rescinded immediately.” 

Kevin Lindsay, who runs Aslef Education, said: “The Prime Minister, a week ago, promised a ‘skills guarantee’ for adult learners. Some guarantee that turned out to be.”

It came as the Confederation of British Industry said that nine out of 10 people will need new skills by 2030, requiring an additional £13 billion a year.