Chapter 8: Expanding and Improving Opportunities 8.1 There has to be a rapid expansion in the scale and diversity of opportunities available to help adults to improve their basic skills. Current provision meets little more than the 'tip of the iceberg' of need, and unless more and more effective opportunities exist the needed transformation in national life will not be achieved. 8.2 However, whilst expanding the scale of what is available, consistency and quality need to be assured. Poor quality opportunities will let people down again, and another let-down will discourage further attempts. Programmes for young people 8.3 For young people aged 16-19, a universal mechanism to help those with poor basic skills is already being put in place. Key Skills are an integral part of study for GNVQs, Modern Apprenticeships and National Traineeships, and a free-standing qualification in application of number, communication (and IT) is being piloted which will enable young people taking any post-16 route to develop these skills further. This is now a central part of the Government's 16-19 strategy for Investing in Young People, which aims to raise participation and attainment among 14-19 year olds in line with the National Targets. 8.4 The DfEE will soon be consulting on proposals for key elements of that strategy, including new pre-vocational provision covering outreach, assessment and guidance functions, as well as basic, key, personal and social skills. It is widely believed that people can only improve their Key Skills if, as part of this, they improve their literacy and numeracy. Therefore, in developing the Investing in Young People Strategy, we propose that the Government should consider ways of ensuring that: the proposed "gateway" for 16 and 17 year olds includes a focus on basic skills through initial assessment and pre-vocational training; young people aged 16 and 17 who are entitled to Time Off for Study under new legislation are identified by careers services and colleges as a priority group for targeting basic skills support; National Training Organisations (NTOs) and employers ensure that Modern Apprenticeships and National Traineeships include intensive basic skills support where appropriate. 8.5 We realise that the focus of Government and employers is on key skills. However, as a basis for employability, since basic skills are the foundation for this, we suggest in Chapter 10 that it is worth considering whether all Key Skills qualifications should require the achievement of a qualification in basic skills. Programmes for the unemployed 8.6 The New Deals are well placed to provide effective basic skills provision. With New Deal 18-24, young people with basic skills needs can be offered training within the initial Gateway stage of up to four months. Basic skills training can also be undertaken after Gateway, either within the full time education and training option or as part of the training which is required for all other options. The New Deal for 25 plus, New Deal for Lone Parents and New Deal for Disabled People all offer a range of intensive and tailored advice for Jobseekers. This too can involve identifying opportunities for basic skills training where this is required. 8.7 It is essential that periods of unemployment are used to improve skills levels. The link between employability and skills levels is well known, and recent research has provided evidence that the skills levels of those with skills below Level 2 are likely to deteriorate substantially when unemployment occurs . 8.8 It is against this background that we make our recommendation (Recommendation 15) on the way the New Deal can be used to help in the National Strategy proposed here. 8.9 It is also important that as arrangements for the Single Work Focused Gateway are developed, benefit claimants are entitled to assessment of their basic skills and the offer of effective provision to improve their skills. Whether they take up the offer must, of course, be their own decision. Workplace programmes 8.10 At work, basic skills matter crucially. They are a key to employability - of getting into and staying in work. They are the pre-requisite skills for the development and use of key skills that employers increasingly demand of their employees. And there is evidence that they are growing in importance, employers rate them ever more highly. 8.11 Moreover, poor basic skills affect the efficiency and competitiveness of the economy. The pace of development and change in business is undermined. They represent a significant cost to British industry. 8.12 One of the prime motivations for many adults to improve their basic skills can be their work. They join programmes to get work, to stay in work, and to be promoted and move on to other work. The purpose is to enhance their employability. However, all too few have the opportunity to learn in the workplace. The provision of more such opportunities is a key element in the National Strategy. 8.13 We start from a position where workplace provision is regrettably limited. Many employers do not see it as their responsibility to take on the improvement of basic skills. We were struck - and shocked - by this limited commitment within industry and business generally. It represents one of the most important areas for change. 8.14 Left to chance, we doubt if many more employers would get involved. We have been persuaded by our discussions and evidence that high level pressure would not convince most companies, nor would the much-needed publicity campaign or leadership from the CBI, the TUC, the TEC National Council or Chambers of Commerce. The problem goes deeper. 8.15 It is therefore important to assess: what would motivate employers to set up basic skills programmes for their employees? What barriers need to be overcome? how could employer bodies and unions stimulate the growth of workplace basic skills programmes? how will the new University for Industry help to develop workplace programmes in small and medium size, as well as large, companies? 8.16 Many employers feel that improving standards of literacy and numeracy is a matter for schools, that the education system has failed and that it was never their role to provide basic education. In a sense they are of course right. In due course this will hopefully be the case. But it in no way lessens their responsibility in helping today's adults. Nor have the plethora of qualifications and inadequate and confusing standards in the past encouraged employer involvement. Once the proposed strategy is being implemented, the context for employer participation will be encouraged. 8.17 Most employers are at least aware of the problem. The recent National Skills Task Force report, Towards a National Skills Agenda, noted that 'significant numbers of employers also said that their employees lacked basic literacy and numeracy skills' . 8.18 Many employers do appreciate that a grasp of basic skills is essential to employability, and for acquiring wider, and higher level, key skills. Key skills in turn are an integral part of developing vocational qualifications. But persuading the great majority of employers of the value of basic skills as part of overall training remains a major task. One problem seems to be, as the CBI has noted, that employers in general can deal with key skills, but do not have the expertise to tackle basic skills. They need help. 8.19 They need to be convinced that improving the basic skills of their workforce will help with the 'bottom line'. Waste will be reduced, productivity per employee will increase and staff turnover will fall. The "cost" to a company of poor basic skills can reasonably be at the front of employers' minds. 8.20 New mechanisms must therefore be developed to help employers to recognise, identify and tackle these needs. Employers should be able to get free advice on how to organise effective courses. This should include guidance on assessment, programme development, qualifications and achievement, and quality assurance. The example of excellent provision, such as with Ford, GKN and Glaxo-Wellcome, should be widely publicised and, hopefully, copied. To encourage employers we recommend below the establishment of a separate Workplace Basic Skills Development Fund. 8.21 A specific help would be via release from work for people with poor basic skills. Often it is the cost of cover that prevents an employer from providing basic skills support, either in the workplace or elsewhere. Clearly this must be limited because of expense and disruption. However, a Government-financed scheme to cover the wage cost of release for 1 day a week for 13 weeks (for people below Level 1) would allow people with problems to receive valuable 'booster' periods of teaching. 8.22 A key role can be played by the new National Training Organisations (NTOs). Their remit is to raise standards of education, training and development in their sector, and the development of national occupational standards, and some already recognise the importance of basic skills. We believe that all NTOs should ensure that basic skills needs in their sectors are identified and addressed in their work. The National Skills Task Force can, in its future work, support this initiative. 8.23 Companies which seek to become Investors in People have an excellent opportunity to identify the basic skills needs of employees. This standard is one of the main tools for improving business performance through the training and development of people, and a major review of the Standard is now taking place. In conducting the review, Investors in People UK, the responsible national organisation, should consider how the Standard can be revised to support basic skills at work. Current plans to strengthen the recruitment and induction process in Investors in People should include explicit advice for employers on the identification of basic skills needs, and advice on measures to tackle them. 8.24 A key question in the development of workplace basic skills is how to get more small and medium size companies [SMEs] involved. Although some do have training or personnel staff many do not. Often staff training is one of many responsibilities falling to a general manager. Increasing employer awareness through campaigns is not enough. We recommend that incentives should be introduced to help companies, particularly small and medium size companies, to introduce relevant programmes. The principle here is that a learner should be treated equally - as regards funding of programmes - whatever his or her employment status. This leads us to recommend that the Government should set up a Workplace Basic Skills Development Fund. This would provide seed funding for companies to set up basic skills programmes either in the workplace or at a local institution such as a college or adult education centre. It would provide the funding required for essential advice and guidance, the training of key staff and the costs of courses. 8.25 Amongst the other proposals set out below in Recommendation 6, there is the important proposal that training for basic skills at work should be funded on a par with funding from FE Colleges. Trade unions 8.26 Trade unions have a long tradition of involvement in education and training, and there are many examples of successful partnerships in the public and private sector. Though the Employment Relations Bill will not give unions a right to negotiate on training, we believe that this should be promoted to employers and unions as good practice. It could significantly boost the effective involvement of unions in education and training provision in the workplace. 8.27 We know that the TUC already provides practical assistance to unions through TUC bargaining for skills projects. The Learning Age has also encouraged trade unions to play a strong role, and there is now a Union Learning Fund to support trade union led innovation in lifelong learning. Union-led programmes are often seen by employees as safe, credible and relevant, and therefore employers should, where possible, work closely with unions in the development of workplace provision. 8.28 Unions clearly have a central role to play in raising standards of basic skills of adults. We recommend that: (i) unions should provide basic skills programmes for their members based on the new National Strategy; (ii) unions should work with the TUC to train and develop 'union learning representatives' who should support and advise learners and work with employers on the development of basic skills provision in the workplace; (iii) unions should be encouraged to submit bids to the Union Learning Fund and the Workplace Basic Skills Development Fund for the development of basic skills programmes. University for Industry 8.29 The University for Industry will bring new opportunities for companies, particularly SMEs, to boost their competitiveness and for individuals to enhance their employability. Basic skills opportunities for adults have been identified as one of the four initial priorities, which is most encouraging. In order to reach its target of reaching 200,000 basic skills learners over 3 years, the UfI will need to be active in a number of areas. We hope that it will take the lead in promoting the value and 'bottom line' benefits of basic skills programmes. It should make help with basic skills, and guidance on how to get such help, widely available. 8.30 Clearly, the UfI will reach out beyond industry and workplace. Its learning centres will draw in new groups of learners with other interests and motivations. It will develop a range of high-quality distance programmes, using the world-wide web and the power of digital TV and other technologies. This will bring the chance to learn into the home. All this will greatly encourage many new learners. 8.31 Based on the successful models of basic skills programmes, in particular the Open Learning Centres, which made successful use of new technology to stimulate learning in basic skills, we believe and hope that the University for Industry's work on basic skills will include: the construction of an overall framework of assessment, induction, guidance and basic skills training; initial and summative assessment material; a series of programmes that deliver training and practice in common basic and key skills required in the workplace and everyday life; a 'capture' facility that will allow authentic workplace materials to be inserted into and supported by basic skills programs; a set of basic skills learning packages accessed by learners through video or broadcast means; an intensive staff training package to enable basic and key skills staff to use the UfI material effectively. 8.32 With our emphasis on standards and quality in mind, we hope that the UfI will; (i) ensure that learners on UfI-endorsed courses below Level 2 have access to, and guidance on, basic skills help; (ii) ensure that materials, tutor support and qualifications used in UfI-endorsed study meet the quality standards we propose; (iii) commission multimedia basic skills products, on-line learning and digital TV programmes, to provide for adults with basic skills needs through learning centres and at home. Community-based programmes 8.33 It is wrong to regard a large number of adults with poor basic skills as permanently hard to reach. Arrangements need to be made to package provision in a way that is attractive to all. The best examples of community-based provision have motivated some of those not otherwise attracted by the simple device of linking provision to common concerns. 8.34 Only by harnessing the energy and outreach of community organisations will the message of basic skills get across to large numbers in the target group. Community organisations are often close to those who are not participants in formal education or in civic life. Their contribution within the National Strategy is vital. 8.35 Such organisations operate in many spheres: in housing, crime prevention, credit unions, self-help groups, social action bodies and elsewhere. Many workers in these organisations know that their clients, members, or colleagues have basic skills difficulties, but may not have the knowledge or skills to help them. 8.36 Schools have a key role to play in increasing the opportunities available for adults to improve basic skills. Schools are central to the Government's strategy to raise standards of literacy of children and young people but this should not mean that they do not have a part to play in our National Strategy. In many communities the local school is the main resource available and, particularly in rural areas, schools are often the centre-piece of the community. Of course, some adults - with bad memories of school - will not want to relive them. However, experience - particularly the experience of family literacy and family numeracy programmes - indicates that for some adults the local school is the most convenient venue. Population movement also means that it is now much less likely that someone attending a school-based programme actually attended the same school. 8.37 It is also worth mentioning that the Government's New Deal for Communities programme will fund comprehensive strategies to regenerate small neighbourhoods in some of the most deprived areas of the country. It will bring together local people, community and voluntary organisations, public agencies, local authorities and business in an intensive local focus to make lasting improvements. Basic skills should form an integral part of these plans. 8.38 Through its newly established Adult and Community Learning Fund, the Government has made a commitment to enable community-based organisations to help in tackling basic skills. Some 100 organisations have already been supported. The work of the Fund over the next two years will have a crucial role in funding valuable work. However, it cannot fund all that needs to be done. 8.39 We therefore think it is vital that a sizeable part of the funding made available for the proposed Local Partnership Action Plans should be devoted to community-based basic skills work. The adequacy of what is proposed should be a factor in the Secretary of State's decision in approving the plans. Basic skills support in colleges 8.40 The National Strategy envisages a major expansion of initial assessment in colleges and of basic skills support programmes, and we recommend that by 2002: (i) all colleges in the further education sector should be required to assess all appropriate students enrolling in the college and that this initial assessment and offer of additional support is a requirement of funding; (ii) initial assessment should be part of the college/student 'contract'. Literacy and numeracy courses 8.41 We have already expressed our view that more, and more diverse, literacy and numeracy courses for adults need to be made available. The current level of provision will not accommodate the additional learners envisaged in the Learning Age target, let alone our proposed targets. Nor is it just a matter of providing more of what exists now. If new groups of adults are to be attracted, the range of opportunities needs to change radically. We must ensure diversity. 8.42 The changes needed can be summarised as follows: an increase in the number of full-time courses to enable adults to gain skills more quickly; shorter intensive 'booster' courses, including weekend, and residential and non-residential summer school courses; more open learning provision, through drop-in centres linked to the UfI; an increase in specialist individual help, outside normal learning centres and at times to suit adults with specific needs; greater targeting of provision, including specific programmes, to ensure that adults get substantial help to meet immediate needs. Family-based programmes 8.43 Family literacy and family numeracy programmes are very effective in attracting parents. They help to prevent early failure in young children and improve the literacy and numeracy skills of adults. 8.44 These programmes have been expanded in the last few years primarily through specific funding as part of the Standards Fund. It is important for this expansion to continue and eventually for all infant and primary schools in areas with greatest need to have a family literacy and family numeracy programme. 8.45 We also want to see further exploration of effective models of family literacy and family numeracy. Different models are required for different circumstances. For example, we were impressed by the family basic skills programmes based in Ford in Dagenham, and feel that more employers need to provide similar programmes for workers and their families. The active involvement of trade unions will help in attracting families. 8.46 Whatever new models are developed will need to be rigorously evaluated. Resources are too scarce for trial and error, and we cannot afford to encourage expenditure on programmes that may not work effectively. The Basic Skills Agency should continue to develop and evaluate new approaches in this area. RECOMMENDATION 5 - Programmes for the Unemployed (i) The Government should: (a) ensure that the basic skills of all New Deal clients are assessed soon after they make contact with their Personal Adviser, and that intensive basic skills courses are offered early on to those with basic skills at Entry Level or below; (b) ensure that all claimants for benefit are entitled to assessment of basic skills and offered effective provision to improve their skills if below Level 2. (ii) The New Deal Task Force should be asked urgently to ensure that clients with basic skills below Level 2, on options other than the education and training option, get access to basic skills support. (iii) Training should be provided for all Personal Advisers so that they can identify basic skills needs and encourage the take-up of basic skills opportunities where this is necessary. RECOMMENDATION 6 - Workplace Programmes (i) The Government should set up a Workplace Basic Skills Development Fund. This would provide seed funding for companies to set up basic skills programmes either in the workplace or at a local institution such as a college or adult education centre. (ii) Up to a fixed budget limit, the Government should finance the wage cost of day release for up to 13 weeks for people with basic skills below Level 1. (iii) The revised Investors in People guidance should include a requirement for companies to have effective arrangements for assessing and dealing with basic skills difficulties. (iv) Training for basic skills at the workplace should be funded on a par with funding of such programmes in FE Colleges. (v) A 'pledge' scheme for companies should be introduced to allow them to indicate their support for raising standards of basic skills among adults. RECOMMENDATION 7 - Trade Unions (i) Unions should provide basic skills programmes for their members based on the new National Strategy (ii) Unions should work with the TUC to train and develop "union learning representatives",who would support and advise learners and work with employers on the development of basic skills provision in the workplace. (iii) Unions should be encouraged to submit bids to the Union Learning Fund, and the Workplace Basic Skills Development Fund, for the development of basic skills programmes. RECOMMENDATION 8 - The University for Industry In pursuing its commitment to making basic skills a priority, the UfI should: (i) ensure that learners undertaking courses below Level 2 through UfI-endorsed programmes should have access to, and guidance on, basic skills help available; (ii) ensure that in working towards its targets for basic skills support in the workplace and elsewhere materials, tutor support and qualifications meet the quality standards we propose; (iii) commission multimedia basic skills products, on-line learning and digital TV programmes, to provide for adults with basic skills needs through learning centres and at home. RECOMMENDATION 9 - Community-Based Programmes Local Basic Skills Action Plans should specifically include community-based provision to meet increased local need, for which particular resources should be identified. The Secretary of State should take account of the adequacy of such community-based provision in approving local Adult Basic Skills Action Plans. RECOMMENDATION 10 - Basic Skills Support in Colleges (i) As soon as possible, and no later than 2002, all providers funded by FEFC should, as a requirement of funding, be required to assess all appropriate students enrolling and offer additional support. (ii) By 2002 all students assessed as requiring additional support with basic skills in colleges should be able to take up this help. RECOMMENDATION 11 - Family-Based Programmes (i) All infant and primary schools in educationally disadvantaged areas should have family literacy and numeracy programmes by 2002. (ii) The Basic Skills Agency should continue to develop and evaluate new models of family literacy and family numeracy programmes.

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