Cooper was educated at Whitehaven Grammar School and the University of Edinburgh.
In 1976, he switched careers, becoming a negotiations officer with the Institution of Professional Civil Servants (IPCS).
[1] In 1991, Cooper was elected as General Secretary of the rival Engineers' and Managers' Association.
However, he remained keen to build links between it and the IPMS, leading in 2001 to the two unions merging to form Prospect, of which Cooper served as Joint General Secretary for the first year.
[1] Cooper served on a large number of committees, including the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Postal Services Commission and the Forestry Commission, the Government Energy Advisory Panel, and the European Union Energy Consultative, Strategy and Investment Committees.