Book chapter 2025

Off the beaten track: lessons from trade union education in Australia

LM
Leahy, Mary
 GA
Garner, Alice
 PJ
Polesel, John
 FA
Forsyth, Anthony
 BR
Burns, Renee
Handbook on Education and the Labour Market
Journal · pp. 88-106
Abstract

The Australian Trade Union Training Authority (TUTA) ran a program of training for unionists from 1975 to 1996. For many participants, the TUTA courses were transformative, developing skills and knowledge. For some, it was their first positive educational experience, one that recognised their expertise and gave them confidence in their ability to learn. This highlights not just the success of TUTA but the limitations of formal education, which remains structured around pathways to university. TUTA addressed some of the deficiencies of the education system, offering participatory, practical adult education programs aimed at workers who ranged from early school leavers to university graduates. Based on interviews and archival research conducted as part of the Australian Research Council linkage project Trade Union Training: Reshaping the Australian Industrial Landscape, this chapter examines the type of education provided by TUTA and considers the implications today, in another period of economic and educational transformation. © Ellu Saar and Péter Róbert 2025.

Keywords

Author Keywords

vocational education and training adult education Australian Trade Union Training Authority Trade Union Education Workers' education

Index Keywords

Employment Curricula Personnel training Australia Industrial research Vocational education and training Workers' Adult education International trade Industrial relations Australian trade union training authority Educational experiences Trade union education Trade unions Worker' education
Author Affiliations
Youth Research Collective, Faculty of Education, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Faculty of Education, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Australian Council of Trade Unions, TURRAMURRA, NSW, Australia
Funding & Acknowledgements
No funding information
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