download the complete Newsletter for printing PDF - SfLIP

Out of the shadowsand into the spotlight– focus on numeracyNoyona Chanda, Head ofthe Numeracy Division andAssistant Director of LLU+LLU+ team working on SfLIP Numeracy activities‘It is clear that poornumeracy has anadverse economic aswell as social effect.’Numeracy is important. Indeed,in their succinct booklet, DoesNumeracy Matter More? 1 ,Samantha Parsons and JohnBynner showed that poornumeracy makes it difficult tofunction effectively in all areas ofmodern life. They pointed out thatpoor numeracy has a particularlynegative effect on women, evenwhen their literacy is competent.Parsons and Bynner assert thatnumeracy skills decline if theyare not used and practised inemployment, leading to a viciouscircle: ‘poor numeracy leads tolimited employment, which leadsto declining numeracy, whichmakes it harder to obtain and stayin employment.’‘The ImprovementCompetitiveness andProgramme … isemploymentConcern about the UK’splacing increasing economic competitiveness andthe link between Skills for Life,emphasis onskills and employment are keydrivers of Government educationnumeracy.’and skills policy and strategy. Thegoal of an economically advancedsociety is full employment.The current target is to raiseemployment among the workingage population from the currentlevel of 75% to 80%. Only theSouth East is currently at thislevel; lowest employment ratesare in London, at 70%, and in theNorth East, at 71%. Employers’demand for qualifications(1) Does Numeracy Matter More? continues to rise, even for jobsS. Parsons & J. Bynner. NRDC, Institute that would have been consideredof Education, 2005unskilled not so long ago, for8 SfL Improvement Programme Updateexample in waste managementand industrial cleaning.McDonald’s and numeracyParsons and Bynner do not saywhether work as a crew memberfor the fast-food restaurant chainMcDonald’s falls within the scopeof their term ‘limited employment’.Speaking at the Skills for Lifeconference in London last month,David Fairhurst, McDonald’schief people officer in northernEurope, said that neither literacynor numeracy were importantskills in many crew members’job roles. He did however highlyvalue numeracy and literacy asthey contributed to people’sconfidence, an attribute he prizedhighly in McDonald’s employees.Numeracy targetsIt is clear that poor numeracy hasan adverse economic as well associal effect. The Department ofInnovation, Universities and Skills(DIUS) is strongly aware of thelink between literacy, numeracyand employability, which isincreasingly confirmed by newresearch. New Public SectorAgreement (PSA) targets for DIUSinclude a separate target fornumeracy for the first time. DIUShas an ambitious achievementtarget to help build numeracycompetence throughout theworkforce, and throughoutsociety. Lack of numeracy isoften a major barrier to accessingvocational and other learningprogrammes.