We are delighted to be sponsoring this event and to be here again at Congress.

We, at Axia CitizenConnect, admire and applaud the commitment by the Trade Union movement to provide, arguably one of the greatest services to your members, which is to offer them the opportunity and motivation to re-engage with learning and we are passionately committed to opening up learning opportunities using the power of the Internet.

We are not, as our name might imply an insurance company, but a small group of experts in Adult Learning and in the development of internet based applications who have come together to work in developing innovative ways to use ICT to transform the learning process especially for adults.

Our two major projects are ‘learndirect-futures’ developed for Ufi/learndirect and the ‘Learning Zone’ that was developed for the Royal College of Nursing.

learndirect-futures is an internet based information, advice and guidance application which is available via the learndirect website. It has also recently been adopted for use by 10 provinces in Italy.

The Learning Zone provides a "one stop shop" for everything a nurse needs to keep them updated about their work and to capture evidence that they are engaged in their professional development.

We are currently working with the Learning and Skills Council on the creation of an application entitled NVQnow.
This application will enable the assessment of an NVQ candidate’s portfolio to take place on-line, as well as injecting pace into the assessment process by enabling the candidate’s progress to be easily tracked.

Our focus is always on the needs of the end user and responding to the requirements of the sponsoring organisation. We are able to respond to requests from organisations, whatever the scale of the project.

We are also currently talking to the Institute of Archaeologists who are working with PROSPECT to enable their small membership to achieve NVQ’s in order to improve their bargaining position.

As ever, though, it is one of our customer’s users who can provide the best testimony to our work - Gareth a Steward with the RCN told his story at the RCN annual congress earlier this year:

Gareth used the Learning Zone to create a case for the re-introduction of 12 hour shifts as an option at the hospital that he was based at in Wales. He first researched the issue using the documents that were available on the Learning Zone and through a direct link into the RCN Library. Gareth then asked for the experience of other nurses and stewards in dealing with this issue using the "Meeting Place" section of the Learning Zone. In his words,

‘Those who had opposed flexible working times were overwhelmed by the quality, amount and depth of information I had compiled from the Learning Zone and our members won their case.

It was a great feeling to have carried out most of the legwork at home without having to go out and spend hours looking for misplaced documents.’

We are acutely aware that the Internet on its own cannot provide the total solution. The dot.com boom has been followed by a period of reflection, in which the role of the Internet has been reassessed.

In the Adult Learning world this has produced the concept of blended learning in which the Internet has a part to play but there is recognition that other support systems are required.

But the Internet can make a difference. With the trend in current flexible working patterns, attending courses for set periods, at set times, is becoming increasingly difficult. The Internet allows people to access learning at a time and at a place that suits them.

It also can also easily provide organisations with important statistical information about the engagement of their members in learning. But of greatest significance is the contribution it can make to enabling learning to be supplied on the scale that is required to meet the challenges set in the Government’s recent white paper on skills for the 21st century.

On a personal note I am delighted to see in that paper the entitlement to free learning up to NVQ Level 2.

The Adult Learning Centre I managed in East Leeds was offering this to residents from the local communities living around it five years ago

I am also pleased to see the recognition that Trade Unions and employers have a critical contribution to make.

When I was the Manager of the East Leeds Family Learning Centre I also chaired the Seacroft Partnership that pioneered the job guarantee programme
with TESCO and USDAW. What is often lost sight of with this project was that as well as securing jobs, the trainees achieved 663 qualifications.

The prospect of work and progression at work motivated many non-traditional learners to learn.

We therefore welcome the opportunity to work with organisations to meet the challenges set by the Government in the white paper.

Chris Peat is Director of Business Strategy for Axia CitizenConnect. Prior to joining the company he worked for Leeds City Council where he worked on a number of innovative adult learning projects. In 2002 he was awarded an OBE for services to Adult Learning.