Journal of In-service Education Vol. 34, No. 4, December 2008, pp. 423–440 ISSN 1367–4587 (print)/ISSN 1747–5082 (online)/08/040423–18 © 2008 International Professional Development Association (IPDA) DOI: 10.1080/13674580802386861 The evolving role of union learning representatives Sian Moore* and Cilla Ross Working Lives Research Institute, London Metropolitan University, London, UK Taylor and Francis RJIE_A_338853.sgm 10.1080/13674580802386861 Journal of In-Service Education 1367-4587 (print)/1747-5082 (online) Original Article 2008 Taylor & Francis 34 4 000000December 2008 Dr. SianMoore Sian.Moore@londonmet.ac.uk This article suggests that the union learning representative (ULR) is increasingly situated at the heart of trade union activity. The paper draws upon recent research based on interviews with national trade union officers and case studies of union learning activity to explore the competing demands being made upon ULRs and the implications for their role in the union and the delivery of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in the workplace. It finds that whilst the govern- ment’s learning and skills agenda has moved away from a broad conceptualisation of learning for social and self-development and towards an increasingly narrow interpretation of lifelong learning based upon employability, ULRs and trade unions have not abandoned this vision. At the same time, union expectations of the role of the ULR appear to have shifted and they are increasingly seen as part of wider union recruitment and organising strategies. The case studies suggest that where efforts are made to integrate ULRs into the wider union, a number broaden their activism beyond learning and make a contribution to building workplace or branch organisation on the basis of learning. Introduction It is a mark of the increasing importance of the role of the union learning representa- tive (ULR) in workplace learning that an edition of this journal is dedicated to it. In less than a decade we have seen the ULR capture the interest of not only trade unions and government policy-makers, but also academics and learning practitioners who may not previously have considered trade unions to be a fruitful source for research into learning. Whilst we are naturally concerned with the nature, impact, provenance and devel- opment of both the ULR and union learning more generally, our focus in this article is on how the role of the ULR appears to be evolving in response to the competing demands and expectations of both policy-makers and trade unions. *Corresponding author. Working Lives Research Institute, London Metropolitan University, 31 Jewry St, London EC3N 2EY, UK. Email: Sian.Moore@londonmet.ac.uk