Case Study: Linda Halford, ULR Orkney

The ULR role is recognised as being the cornerstone of trade union learning, nowhere more so than in the Highlands and Islands, where smaller workplaces may have only one ULR or the ULR may cover several workplaces. Kirkwall based Linda Halford, who has been a ULR for UNISON since 2014, typifies the ‘can-do’ approach and love of learning that characterise ULRs who successfully bring union members and employers together to deliver mutually beneficial workplace learning. In her main job as a part-time residential Social Care Assistant in Supported Accommodation, Linda supports adults with extra learning needs in their own home, working a three-week rolling rota with shifts ranging up to 24 hours at a time. Linda credits her past Branch Secretary, Karen Kent, with encouraging her to become a ULR, after she asked Linda to represent the Branch at the Scottish Union Learning Conference in Dundee in 2014. Linda said: “Knowing my interest with training, Karen thought I might enjoy it...how right she was, I got hooked!” Once back in Orkney, Linda set about organising two cross-union certificated Basic IT and Computer courses through the local college, funded by the Learning Fund, plus a Your Skills Your Future course funded by UNISON, for its members.