The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) has teamed up with supermarket giant, Sainsbury’s to deliver training in-store.

The union has partnered with local colleges to run a series of Lifelong Learning workshops at local stores in the South West including Newton Abbot, Paignton, Torquay, Plymouth, Bristol, Taunton and Exeter.

Staff are being offered the chance to gain basic IT skills and are said to be ‘delighted’.

Christine Green, Usdaw’s Lifelong Learning project worker commented:

“The most rewarding part of this project is seeing first hand the real difference our courses make to people’s lives. Students who were terrified of computers are now sitting City and Guilds IT certificates and some are eagerly awaiting the results of national tests in literacy and numeracy.”

Usdaw now runs Lifelong Learning projects in more than 25 workplaces. The union claims that hundreds of their members have gained qualifications that have in turn boosted their careers and self confidence.