Having a sound base of basic skills, including literacy, numeracy, ESOL and digital skills, is key to enabling people to progress on to further learning.
“9 million working-aged adults in England have low basic skills in literacy or numeracy, including 5 million who have low skills in both.”
The Learning and Work Institute have produced a report, Getting the basics right. The case for action on adult basic skills. This report outlines key findings on what works for improving adult basic skills learning and provision.
- There are positive relationships between most measures of economic and employment success and increased levels of basic skills.
- Basic skills learning results in a range of positive personal and social outcomes
- Adult basic skills enable learners to progress onto further courses.
- Across England 9 million working-age adults have low literacy or numeracy and 5 million have low skills in both.
- England is 15th out of 31 OECD countries in literacy skills and 19th in numeracy skills.
- Over the last decade, participation in adult basic learning in England has fallen significantly.
- The Adult Education Budget in 2019-20 was approximately half the size (52 per cent smaller) of the budget in 2011-12.
- There are key measures which can drive up adults’ participation in basic skills learning.
Click here to access this report.