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30/08/2007
Minister Emphasises Need For Essential Skills
Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey, is calling on people who wish to improve their literacy and numeracy to sign up to free adult learning classes to address their problems.
The Minister was speaking today ahead of a new wave of the essential skills “Gremlins” advertising campaign, he said: “So many adults in our society have genuine problems with reading, writing and maths. The lack of essential skills affects many areas of people’s lives and help is now available. I would encourage all adults who face literacy or numeracy problems to sign up for free essential skills courses in their local area, to enhance their quality of life and job prospects.”
Since the launch of the Department for Employment and Learning’s Essential Skills Strategy in 2003 there have been almost 60,000 adult enrolments on literacy and numeracy courses.
Essential Skills provision is flexible and available in a wide range of settings within employer premises, further education colleges, training organisations and a range of voluntary and community groups.
The Minister continued: “Improving essential skills is a fundamental challenge and one of the key priorities for my Department. To minimise literacy and numeracy problems for the future generations, the Department is currently working with the Department of Education to ensure that these skills are developed at an early age.”
Sir Reg pointed towards the business community to help address the problems faced by employees with essential skills problems and said: "If businesses are to succeed in today’s increasingly competitive global marketplace, then employers must do more to develop their workforce. Providing the right opportunities for training helps to attract and retain confident, motivated and loyal staff, with knock on benefits such as greater efficiency, better quality, improved productivity and higher profits.”
About 24% of the Northern Ireland population have low levels of literacy, which is broadly comparable to the UK figure of 22%.
(SB/SP)
The Minister was speaking today ahead of a new wave of the essential skills “Gremlins” advertising campaign, he said: “So many adults in our society have genuine problems with reading, writing and maths. The lack of essential skills affects many areas of people’s lives and help is now available. I would encourage all adults who face literacy or numeracy problems to sign up for free essential skills courses in their local area, to enhance their quality of life and job prospects.”
Since the launch of the Department for Employment and Learning’s Essential Skills Strategy in 2003 there have been almost 60,000 adult enrolments on literacy and numeracy courses.
Essential Skills provision is flexible and available in a wide range of settings within employer premises, further education colleges, training organisations and a range of voluntary and community groups.
The Minister continued: “Improving essential skills is a fundamental challenge and one of the key priorities for my Department. To minimise literacy and numeracy problems for the future generations, the Department is currently working with the Department of Education to ensure that these skills are developed at an early age.”
Sir Reg pointed towards the business community to help address the problems faced by employees with essential skills problems and said: "If businesses are to succeed in today’s increasingly competitive global marketplace, then employers must do more to develop their workforce. Providing the right opportunities for training helps to attract and retain confident, motivated and loyal staff, with knock on benefits such as greater efficiency, better quality, improved productivity and higher profits.”
About 24% of the Northern Ireland population have low levels of literacy, which is broadly comparable to the UK figure of 22%.
(SB/SP)
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