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Workers 'let down' by poor basic skills

Poor basic skills are costing £823 million every year as people are regularly short-changed or miscalculate the cost of purchases, new figures released today reveal. The research, commissioned by learndirect, the UK’s adult e-learning network, reveals almost half of all adults in the UK (49%) feel their basic maths and English skills let them down. The survey projects that 1.4 million people believe they have missed promotion because of weaknesses with literacy and numeracy, and it also highlights the extent to which poor basic maths and English skills can affect other aspects of everyday life.

One in five find they are unable to convert foreign currency into pounds when on holiday. Everyday shopping is also problematic, as a further one in five cannot work out which retail offers are better value when comparing between packs containing different weight measurements. Maths isn’t the only problem, as almost half of the population struggles with the meaning of words. One in five does not know the difference between words that sound the same but have different meanings such as ‘there’ and ‘their’.

Sally Coady from learndirect said: “Recent studies have shown there are 26 million adults across the UK who have a maths or English need. However, many of these people may not realise their basic skills are holding them back. “Our aim, via the support of learndirect centre staff and the flexibility of our courses, is to overcome any barriers to learning and equip people with the skills they need to get the most out of their lives.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .