Raising numeracy and literacy to improve vocational opportunities

an article by Karen Nicholas, Jo Fletcher and Niki Davis (University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand) published in Journal of Vocational Education & Training Volume 64 Issue 4 (November 2012)

Abstract

In this paper, we examine interviews with 34 stakeholders including tutors, administrators and adult education policy analysts who were working in the area of adult numeracy and/or literacy education.

This provided opportunities for our research team to build up a clearer picture of the current status, plans, benefits and barriers related to improving adult numeracy and literacy with a particular emphasis on new technologies such as e-learning.

The interviews provide a wide-ranging perspective of the factors which can help increase the viability of programmes for improving numeracy and literacy skills within adult learning environments.

This includes a particular emphasis on new delivery methods, such as e-learning, mixed media and distance delivery to maximise student engagement and opportunities. Computer-related strategies provide new opportunities to meet learners’ individual needs.

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Learning to Grow: what employers need from education and skills

a report from the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) sponsored by Pearson

Executive summary

The fifth education and skills survey

• The CBI/Pearson education and skills survey was conducted in January and February 2012.
• Responses were received from 542 employers, collectively employing some 1.6 million people. Respondents came from all sizes, sectors and regions of the UK.

Employers investing in skills

• Despite current economic and trading pressures, four fifths (81%) of firms plan to maintain or increase their investment in training over the coming year.
• There are major variations between sectors: while a positive balance of +17% of firms in manufacturing intend to increase their training spend, widespread reductions are planned in the public sector.
• The proportion of employees involved in apprenticeships has risen to almost two thirds (63%), and over half plan to extend their programmes further or to start taking on apprentices in the next few years
• Government pledges to cut back on the bureaucracy around apprenticeships have yet to be felt in practice by employers, with more than none in ten (94%) reporting no change as yet
• Looking at workforce training more broadly, the leading issues on which employers would like to see progress are the business relevance of vocational qualifications (58%) and reduced bureaucracy around government funding (56%)

Raising standards in schools

• Employers say ther need to provide businesses with the skills they require is the single most important reason to raise standards in schools (73%). Other reasons cited are the importance of enabling young people to leaqd fulfilling lives (57%) and minimising the risk of educational undersachievement contributing to social breakdwon (57%)
• Employers want to see primary school concentrating on the key enabling skills of numeracy (61%), writing (58%) and reading (45%) that underlie success in all other learning
• For those in the 14-19 age group, employers believe schools and colleges should be prioritising development of employability skills (71%). They also want to see more done to strengthen literacy (50%), numeracy (45%) and technology skills (30%)
• While all types of qualifications are seen as aiding development of particular employability skills, no one type is seen as delivering on all essential areas

Employer commitment to schools and colleges

• Over half of the employers surveyed have built links with secondary schools (57%) and further education colleges (56%)
• Employers are stepping up their commitments, with a positive balance of a third (+32%) having increased their school and FE college engagement activity over the past year
• Business involvement goes beyond providing work experience for pupils (70%) to include careers advice (51%), employees acting as school governors (29%) and mentoring (25%)
• Employers see the quality of careers advice for young people as not good enough (by a balance of -68%) (my highlight)
• There is an appetite from employers to play a greater role in del;ivering careers advice – more than half (60%) would be willing to do more

Preparing for working life

• There is a pressing need to improve the literacy/use of English and numeracy skills of school and college leavers (35% and 30% respectively of employers report dissatisfaction)
• Employers also report weaknesses in employability skills, including school leavers’ self-management (61% unsatisfied), business and customer awareness (69%) and attitude to work (37%)
• Levels of employer satisfaction with the employability skills of graduates are higher, but there are still worrying weaknesses in teamworking (25%) and inadequate work experience (37%)
• Among existing employees, employers report widespread weaknesses: there are problems to at least some extent in literacy/use of English (56%), numeracy (55%) and IT skills (66%)
• Remedial training by employers is widespread (ranging from 5% reporting training in numeracy for some graduates to 50%^ reporting remedial IT training for some adult employees)

Employers seek high skills for the future

• Most employers consider skill levels among their employees to be satisfactory for their current activities, with two-thirds (68%) rating their high-skilled employees as good
• less positive ratings are given to low-skilled employees, with one in ten (10%) of the largest employers and 7% of employers overall assessing their competency levels as poor
• Looking ahead, far more businesses expect to increase the number of jobs requiring leadership and management skills and higher skills in the next three to five years than expect to reduce them (a positive balance of +67% and +61% respectively)
• More employers expect to decrease the number of low-skilled employees in the next few years than to increase the number (giving a negative balance of -3%)
• While most employers are confident there will be enough people available to fill their low-skilled vacancies (a positive balance of +51%), employers are not confident of meeting their need for high-skilled employees (a negative balance of -15%)

Full text (PDF 60pp)

Hazel’s comment:
I give you fair warning that the next time the CBI publishes a report in a format that will not allow copy and paste to bring you the executive summary then you will get a line saying “Report is here” and that will be it. I may have copy typing skills but what a waste of time.

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The role of numeracy skills in graduate employability

an article by Naureen Durrani (School of Health, Community and Education Studies, Northumbria University) and Vicki N. Tariq (School of Social Work and Social Policy, University of Central Lancashire) published in Education + Training Volume 54 Issue 5 (2012)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this article is to explore the role and importance of numeracy skills in graduate recruitment within a diversity of employment sectors.
Design/methodology/approach
The results of a mixed-methods study, involving three online surveys (including an employer survey), student focus group sessions and interviews with tutors, are presented.
Findings<
The results reveal the importance that employers attach to graduates’ numeracy skills and the extent to which employers use numeracy tests in graduate recruitment. They thus highlight the potential for poor numeracy skills to limit any graduate’s acquisition of employment, irrespective of their degree subject; especially since numeracy tests are used predominantly in recruitment to the types of jobs commensurate with graduates’ career aspirations and within sectors that attract graduates from across the diversity of academic disciplines, including the arts and humanities.
Research limitations/implications
Since participants were self-selecting any conclusions and inferences relate to the samples and may or may not be generalisable to wider target populations.
Practical implications
The paper highlights what actions are necessary to enhance undergraduates’ numeracy skills in the context of graduate employability.
Social implications
The vulnerability of particular groups of students (e.g. females, those not provided with any opportunities to practise or further develop their numeracy skills whilst in higher education, those with no (or low) pre-university mathematics qualifications, and mature students) is highlighted.
Originality/value
The article is timely in view of national policy to extend the graduate employability performance indicators within quality assurance measures for UK higher education.

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New “Brain Games” for literacy and numeracy skills

from LSIS Update 11 December

Brain Games has been developed for providers to help reinforce taught skills and enables learners to practise their literacy and numeracy skills. Recently launched, it applies the addictive gameplay of “brain training” to literacy and numeracy using sound pedagogic principles and will shortly be available in a form that can be downloaded onto a memory stick so it can be used in outreach situations where there is computer access.

Read more

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