the union learning fund receives public funding gbp million in to develop the capacity of trade unions to work with employers employees and learning providers to encourage greater take up of learning in the workplace the learning offer generally reflects government skills policy with the current focus on basic skills and apprenticeships the union learning evaluation survey revealed that learners acquire both soft skills selfconfidence professional development and planning skills and hard skills vocational literacy numeracy language and it skills and most believed that the skills they developed could be transferable to a new job union learning representatives perform an advocacy role in promoting learning to their colleagues both union members and not these representatives engage with lowskilled workers who are less likely to participate in training