Union Academy appoints head

Liz Smith, the TUC's current head of learning services, is to become chief executive of the new "Union Academy" which will bring together all the TUC's learning and training work.

The academy, to be launched in April, will offer a range of services, including education programmes for union reps and officers, support for learning reps and a "brokerage" service to ensure that courses meet learners' needs.

It will also serve as a thinktank and research centre, identifying and disseminating good practice and promoting learning agreements.

"I am delighted to be appointed as chief executive of such a dynamic and exciting new venture for the trade union movement," said Smith last month. "The Union Academy is going to transform training at work in this country, with the individual having a far greater say in demanding the training they need."

The academy's launch comes at a time of "unprecedented growth" in trade union education. The TUC's Education Annual Report 2005, published towards the end of last year, showed that course enrolments rose by 12.6% in 2004 - the highest number of participants recorded since 1978, and part of a continuing upward trend.

The report attributes the rise in participation to "a secure funding mechanism which gives government backing to key areas of work" and "underscores the reputation of trade union education as an important part of the adult curriculum in further education".

The Union Academy: a guide for trade unionists is available at www.learningservices.org.uk/AGTU