I am the Learning Co-ordinator for the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) region 11, covering Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex. For the past three years I have been promoting the value of returning to learning for all employees of the Fire and Rescue services in the South East. Working with a range of providers and accessing various funding streams we have brought learning into the workplace and begun to deliver a wide range of courses.

The FBU’s long-term aim is to promote a learning culture throughout the Fire and Rescue Service that delivers skills for both work and everyday life, and to support all learners whatever their age or status.

I have been a union official for some 10 years and have been a firefighter with Kent Fire and Rescue for 23 years. I know the benefits of returning to learning and can speak from personal experience about how it has changed my life. That’s why I wanted to get involved in this project.

Many of the 3000 FBU members in this region could benefit from FB U-Learn, gaining new and valuable skills to help them in their work and with other aspects of their lives. I am working to build positive, constructive partnerships with our employers and with learning providers so that we can offer our members learning opportunities that meet their needs.