Improving Adult Literacy and Numeracy...Appendix 2: Evaluation of Gremlins campaign 57 Appendix 3: Evaluation of Essential Skills strategy (October 2006) – progress 59 made in implementing

Improving Adult Literacy and Numeracy

REPORT BY THE COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL9 December 2009

BELFAST:TheStationeryOffice £5.00

ReportbytheComptrollerandAuditorGeneralforNorthernIreland

OrderedbytheNorthernIrelandAssemblyto be printed and published under the authority of the Assembly, in accordance with its resolution of 27 November 2007

ImprovingAdultLiteracyandNumeracy

ThisreporthasbeenpreparedunderArticle8oftheAudit(NorthernIrelandOrder1987forpresentationtotheNorthernIrelandAssemblyinaccordancewithArticle11ofthatOrder.

KJDonnelly NorthernIrelandAuditOfficeComptrollerandAuditorGeneral 9December2009

TheComptrollerandAuditorGeneralistheheadoftheNorthernIrelandAuditOfficeemployingsome145staff.He,andtheNorthernIrelandAuditOfficearetotallyindependentofGovernment.HecertifiestheaccountsofallGovernmentDepartmentsandawiderangeofotherpublicsectorbodies;andhehasstatutoryauthoritytoreporttotheAssemblyontheeconomy,efficiencyandeffectivenesswithwhichdepartmentsandotherbodieshaveusedtheirresources.

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NorthernIrelandAuditOffice106UniversityStreetBELFASTBT71EU

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Contents

Page

ExecutiveSummaryandNIAORecommendations 3

PartOne: Introductionandbackground 10

Betterliteracyandnumeracyskillsareassociatedwithahigherprobability 10 ofemployment

NorthernIrelandhasrelativelyhighnumbersofadultswithlowlevelsof 10 literacyandnumeracyskills

TheDepartmentforEmploymentandLearningischargedwithimproving 10 theessentialskillsofliteracyandnumeracyamongtheadultpopulation

The‘Essential Skills for Living’ strategyaimstoraiseliteracyandnumeracy 11 levelsinNorthernIreland

Weexaminedtheeffectivenessofactionbeingtakentoincreaseliteracy 11 andnumeracy

PartTwo: AdultliteracyandnumeracyinNorthernIreland: 14 Thescaleandnatureoftheproblem

ThefirstadultliteracysurveyinNorthernIrelandwascarriedoutin1996 14aspartoftheInternationalAdultLiteracySurvey

Researchhasshownthat1in4adultsinNorthernIrelandhavedifficulty 15withsimpleliteracyandnumeracytasks

InternationalcomparisonssuggestthatNorthernIreland’sadultpopulation 17performsrelativelypoorlyonbasicskills

Littleresearchhasbeenundertakensince1996tomeasureadultliteracyand 17numeracyskillsinNorthernIreland

Untilfurtherresearchisundertaken,theimpactofGovernmentintervention 19ontheNorthernIrelandskillsbasewillbedifficulttodetermine


PartThree: Strategiesforraisingadultliteracyandnumeracyskills 22

NorthernIreland’sstrategyforimprovingadultliteracyandnumeracy 22needswaslaunchedinOctober2002

Thestrategyaddressedissuesofcapacityandqualityaswellas 24approachestoengagement

Thestrategyincludedaninitialtargetthat,byMarch2004,14,500 24EssentialSkillslearnerswouldhavebeensupported

The“Success Through Skills”strategy,launchedinFebruary2006, 25encompassedtheEssentialSkillsprogrammeasacomponentofthestrategy

The“Success Through Skills”strategyincludesPublicServiceAgreement 26targetsfortheachievementofrecognisedEssentialSkillsqualifications

PartFour: Reachingmorelearnersandincreasingparticipation 28

Advertisingcampaignshaveraisedawarenessofopportunitiesandbenefits 28

TheDepartmentisseekingtoengagemorewiththeunemployedand 30economicallyinactive

Thevoluntarysectorisbeingusedmoretoengagethehardest-to-reachsector 31

TheDepartmentisworkingcloselywiththeDepartmentofEducationto 34promotearangeofFamilyLiteracyprogrammes

FromSeptember2008,newarrangementshaveplacedFurtherEducation 35collegesastheprincipalcourseprovidersandthevoluntaryandcommunitysectorsinanengagementandsupportrole

TheDepartmentisengagingwithmoreemployersbutmoreneedstobedone 37topersuadethemofthebenefitsofliteracyandnumeracytrainingfortheirstaff


Contents

PartFive: Achievementsandcosts 42

TheDepartmenthasmadegoodprogresstowardsmeetingitstargetsfor 42EssentialSkills

WorthwhileliteracygainshavebeenmadebyadultsattendingEssential 43Skillscourses

AnevaluationoftheEssentialSkillsstrategy,publishedin2006,was 44generallypositive

Therehasbeenalargeincreaseinresourcesdevotedtoliteracyand 47numeracyservicesinNorthernIreland

Inspections,carriedoutuptoMarch2007,indicatedthatthequalityof 51trainingprovisionwasimproving

Appendix1: IALSInternationalComparisons 56

Appendix2: EvaluationofGremlinscampaign 57

Appendix3: EvaluationofEssentialSkillsstrategy(October2006)–progress 59 madeinimplementingrecommendations


Abbreviations

CAL CentreforAppliedLearning

DfES DepartmentforEducationandSkills

DEL DepartmentforEmploymentandLearning

DETI DepartmentforEnterprise,TradeandInvestment

EGSA EducationalGuidanceServiceforAdults

ETI EducationandTrainingInspectorate

ESOL EnglishforSpeakersofOtherLanguages

EU EuropeanUnion

FE FurtherEducation

GCSE GeneralCertificateofSecondaryEducation

GNVQ GeneralNationalVocationalQualification

IALS InternationalAdultLiteracySurvey

ICT InformationandCommunicationsTechnology

JBO JobsandBenefitsOffice

LEMIS LocalEmploymentIntermediaryService

LSDA LearningandSkillsDevelopmentAgency

NIAO NorthernIrelandAuditOffice

OECD OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment

ONS OfficeforNationalStatistics

PIAAC ProgrammefortheInternationalAssessmentofAdultCompetencies

PSA PublicServiceAgreement

SME SmallandMediumEnterprises

S2W StepstoWork

WEA Workers’EducationalAssociation

Executive Summary and NIAO Recommendations

• Increasedconfidence–EssentialSkillsincreasedtheirconfidencetoapplyforjobs,leadingtoincreasedchancesofemployment;italsogaveparticipantsconfidencetotrynewthings,suchasreadingabookorjoiningalibrary.

• Employability–participantswereabletocompleteforms,lettersandCVsconfidently;itprovidedincreasedjobsecurityforthosealreadyinemployment,aswellastheabilitytoapplyfornewjobsandpromotions.

• Improvedqualityandsecurityofemployment–participantswereabletosecuremorehighly-paidjobswithbetterprospectsandgreatersustainability.

• Educationalengagementandprogression–someparticipantshadsignedupforcollegecourseswhileotherswerelearninghowtohelplearnerswithEssentialSkills,forexampleasclassroomassistants.

Researchsuggeststhataround250,000peopleofworkingageinNorthernIrelandhaveverylowliteracyandnumeracyskills.ThereasonsforthisarepartlyduetothelargenumberofyoungpeoplethatleaveschoolwithoutagoodqualificationinEnglishorMathematics.Peoplewhodidnotlearntoread,writeandcarryoutsimplearithmeticinchildhoodarethenoftenreluctant,unwillingorunabletoimprovetheirskillsasanadult.

Literacyandnumeracyunderpinvirtuallyalltheotherskillsneededineverydaylife.Peoplewiththelowestlevelsofskillscanexperiencepracticaldifficultiesincarryingoutvariousdailytasks.Forexample,theymaynothavetheabilitytounderstandwhatisbeingsaidintextorhowtousetheinternet.Theymayalsoexperiencetransportproblemsinnotbeingabletositthedrivingtheorytest.Inaddition,notbeingabletoarticulatewhattheywanttosaycanalsomeanthattheiropinionsandviewsareseldomheard.

However,improvingliteracyandnumeracyskillscandeliverarangeofbenefits.Forexample,thoseparticipatinginEssentialSkillscourseshavereported:

• Educationalsupport–participantswereabletohelptheirchildrenwithschoolwork,aswellasbeingabletoreadthembedtimestoriesandpromotingamorepositiveattitudetowardseducation.

• Positivepersonalitychanges–participantsbegantofeelmoreconfidentandsociable;feelingmorepositiveaboutthefuture.

• Greaterengagementinsociety–participantsweremorewillingtogooutandwerelessfrightenedofroadsigns,takingthebus,anddealingwithmoneyinshops.

• Reducedstigmaandfear–participantswerewillingtoaskforhelpifstuckwithsomething;tellpeopletheyweregoingtoEssentialSkillsclassesandwerenotembarrassedaboutit;andchampionedthecoursestofamily,friendsandcolleagues.

Why literacy and numeracy skills are important

1 in 41in4adultsinNorthernIrelandhavepoorliteracyandnumeracyskills.Foranindividualtheimpactisprofound.Forexample,theyare1:• fourtimesmorelikelytobeunemployed• ifemployed,morelikelytobeinalow-

skilled,low-paidjob• lesslikelytohavehadpromotion,orwork-

relatedtraining• morelikelytosufferfromill-healthand

depression• morelikelytobedependentonstatebenefits• morelikelytobeinpoorhousing

• lessabletogetthemostoutofhealthcareservices.

1 BasedonresearchcarriedoutbyDEL;theNationalResearchandDevelopmentCentre;and‘EveryChildaReader’(acollaborationbetweencharitabletrusts,thebusinesssectorandGovernment).

4ImprovingAdultLiteracyandNumeracy

AdultliteracyandnumeracyinNorthernIreland

1. AnInternationalAdultLiteracySurvey(IALS),carriedoutin1996,showedthataround1in4(or250,000)peopleofworkingageinNorthernIrelandhadlevelsofliteracyandnumeracybelowthoseexpectedofschoolleavers.Peoplewiththelowestlevelsofliteracyandnumeracyskillscanexperiencepracticaldifficultiesintheireverydaylives.Theymaybeunabletoreadandunderstandsignsandinstructionsorcheckwhethertheyhavereceivedthecorrectchangewhenshopping.Manywillbeunemployed,onbenefits,andmaysufferfromrelativelypoorphysicalhealthandmentalwellbeing.Theyarealsoleastlikelytobehomeowners.

2. TheIALSresultsshowedthattheincidenceoftheprobleminNorthernIrelandwashigherthaninallbutoneofthe14countriesparticipatingintheSurvey.Olderagegroupsintheworkingagepopulationperformedtheworst,althoughtherewasnosignificantvariationbetweenmenandwomen.Overathirdofthosewhofellintothelowestofthefivebandsofperformancewereunemployed.

3. Since1996,therehasbeennoobjectivemeasurementofliteracyandnumeracylevelsinNorthernIreland.TheDepartmentofEducationhasreportedthataround4,000youngpeopleareleavingschooleachyearwithouttheappropriatebasicliteracyandnumeracyskillsandresearchhasindicatedthatthenumberofworkingageadultsinNorthernIrelandwhohave

noqualificationsisthehighestintheUK,bysomemargin.

4. Itisnowmorethanadecadesincethefirst,andonly,adultliteracyandnumeracysurveycarriedoutinNorthernIreland.However,duringourreview,inNovember2008,theDepartmentforEmploymentandLearning(DEL)decidedthatitwillparticipateinthenextInternationalAdultLiteracySurveyinordertoobtainaclearpictureofthecurrentstateofliteracyandnumeracyskillsamongtheworkingagepopulationinNorthernIreland.Becausethisisnotduetocommenceuntil2011,theresultswillnotbeavailableuntil2013.Asaninterimmeasure,theDepartmenthascommissionedresearchtomodelexistingdatafromarangeofothersourcestoinformongoingpolicyandassesstheimpactofitscurrentstrategy.

Strategiesforraisingadultliteracyandnumeracyskills

5. InOctober2002,DELlaunchedthe‘Essential Skills for Living’strategywhichmarkedaradicalnewapproachtoliteracyandnumeracyinNorthernIrelandandbeganalong-termprogrammeofimprovement.Thestrategyaddressedissuesofcapacityandqualityaswellasapproachestoengagement.Itplannedfortheintroductionofaregionalcurriculum;accreditationforadultlearners;andimprovedtutorqualifications.

6. Thestrategyhadaninitialtargetthat,byMarch2004,14,500EssentialSkillslearnerswouldhavebeensupported.


ImprovingAdultLiteracyandNumeracy5

Sincethen,othertargetshavebeensetandDEL’scurrentCorporatePlan2008-2011showsthat42,000adultlearnersareexpectedtohaveachievedarecognisedqualificationinEssentialSkills,inthethreeyearsendinginMarch2011.

7. InFebruary2006,DELlaunched

the‘Success Through Skills’strategywhichcoveredmanyaspectsoftheDepartment’swork,includingSkillsandIndustry,FurtherEducation,HigherEducationandPreparationforWork.Itfocusedonraisingtheskillsofthecurrentworkforce,enhancingthequalityofthoseenteringtheworkforceandaddressingtheemployabilityskillsofthosenotinemployment.Thisencompassedtheearlier‘Essential Skills for Living’ programmeasacomponentofthestrategy.

Reachingmorelearnersandincreasingparticipation

8. From2003,adultliteracyandnumeracyprovisionwaspromotedthroughtheUK-wide‘Gremlins’advertisingcampaign.Thishasnowbeenreplacedbyanew,NorthernIreland-specific,promotionalcampaign,fromSeptember2008,whichistargetingthehardest-to-reachgroupsandemployers.

9. DELhasfoundworkingwithemployerschallenging,particularlyintermsofpersuadingthemofthebenefitsofliteracyandnumeracytrainingfortheirstaff.Voluntaryandcommunity-basedgroupsarebeingusedmoretoengagethehardest-to-reachadultsandseveral

successes,intermsofenrolmentsandachievements,havebeenreported.

10. FromSeptember2008,newarrangementshaveplacedFurtherEducationcollegesastheprincipalprovidersofcoursesandthenon-statutoryandprivatesectorsinanengagementandsupportrole.ItistheDepartment’sviewthatnon-statutoryprovidersfromthevoluntaryandcommunitysectorsaremostadeptatattracting,engagingwithandsupportingclients,whiletheFurtherEducationcollegescanbestprovidethetuitiontohelpadultlearnersacquirethenecessaryqualifications.

Achievementsandcosts

11. WhiletheDepartmenthasmadeprogressinincreasinglearnerparticipation,itsthreeyeartargetendinginMarch2007,that18,500peoplewouldhaveachievedarecognisedEssentialSkillsqualification,was86percentachieved.

12. WorthwhilegainshavebeenmadebyadultsattendingEssentialSkillscourses.BetweenOctober2002andJuly2009,justover54,000peoplehadenrolledinEssentialSkillscoursesofwhichjustover34,000hadachievedoneormorerecognisedqualification.

13. Anevaluationofthe‘Essential Skills for Living’ strategy,publishedin2006,wasgenerallypositive,butpointedtotheneedtomakegreaterimpactwithemployersandthehardest-to-reachgroups.


14. Between2002-03and2008-09,some£40millionwasspentontheEssentialSkillsprogramme.Asignificantincreaseinresources(over£30million)isplannedforthefollowingtwoyears,despitesubstantialEuropeanUnion(EU)fundingceasingfromJune2008.

15. InspectionofEssentialSkillsprovisioninFurtherEducationcollegesuptoMarch2007indicatedthatthequalityoftrainingwasimprovingbuttherewasscopeforfurtherimprovement.

NIAORecommendations

16. Ourrecommendationsareasfollows:

OnmeasuringthestandardofadultliteracyandnumeracyinNorthernIreland

1. TheDepartmentshouldconsiderhowitcanobtainanobjectivemeasurementofthestandardofadultliteracyandnumeracyinNorthernIrelandonamorefrequentbasis.Itisnowsome13yearssinceNorthernIrelandparticipatedinthe1996InternationalAdultLiteracySurvey.WhilewewelcometheDepartment’srecentdecisiontoparticipateinthenextInternationalSurveyin2011,itneedstoconsiderhowitcanbestmaintainanup-to-dateviewonanongoingbasis.Thisisespeciallyimportantinthecontextofincreasedspendingontheprogrammeoverthenextthreeyears(paragraph2.3).

2. TheDepartmentalsoneedstobuildaclearerandmoreaccuratepictureofEssentialSkillsneedsatalocallevelinNorthernIreland.Therearediversesourcesofinformationrelatingtoregionalvariationsinadultliteracyandnumeracyskills.TheDepartmentshoulddevelopaprogrammetobringthisinformationtogetherinamoreintegratedwaytominimisetheriskofamismatchoflearningprovisionandlocalneeds(paragraph2.9).

Onreachingmorelearnersandincreasingparticipation

3. ItisimportantthattheDepartment’snewadvertisingcampaign,introducedinSeptember2008toencouragemoreadultstotakeupfurtherlearningopportunities,isevaluatedbytheGovernmentAdvertisingUnitatanearlyopportunity.ThisisvitaliftheDepartmentistoknowwhethertheintendedmessageisbeingcommunicatedeffectivelytotheintendedaudience,particularlythehardest-to-reachgroupsandemployers(paragraph4.4).

4. TheDepartmentshouldcloselymonitorthenewarrangementsintheFurtherEducationcollegestoensurethattherearesufficientEssentialSkillscoursesandtutors,andintherightlocations.TherehasbeenaninconsistencywithinNorthernIrelandintheprovisionofcommunityoutreachlearningfacilities.Withanexpectedincreaseinparticipationlevels,maintainingacomprehensivelevelofprovisionrepresentsaconsiderablechallenge.TheDepartmentwillalsoneed



toensurethattheprovisionofEssentialSkillstrainingremainsasflexibleasunderpreviousarrangementsandthatthehardest-to-reachandolderpeoplearenotbeingdeterredfromparticipating,nowthatprovisionhasbeenplacedprincipallywithinanFEcollegesetting(paragraph4.8).

5. TheDepartmentshouldbuildontheworkcarriedoutbytheEssentialSkillsSteeringGroupandothersupportnetworkstoidentifyandshareinformationonwhatworksbestinattractingadultsintoalearningenvironment.RegularfeedbackanditsdisseminationwillhelpFurtherEducationcollegesandtheirpartnerstostrengthenEssentialSkillsprovisionandattractthemorereluctantlearners(paragraph4.21).

6. TheDepartmentshouldcontinuetoworkwithlocalemployerstopersuademoreofthemtogivetheiremployeesaccesstoEssentialSkillscourses.Workingwithemployers,especiallysmallandmediumenterprises,hasprovedchallengingfortheDepartment.ThemessagethataworkforcewithgoodEssentialSkillshasadirectandbeneficialimpactonefficiencyandprofitabilityisanimportantoneforemployers(paragraph4.27).

Onevaluatingprogress

7. TheDepartmentshouldcontinueitsdevelopmentofacomprehensiveperformancemeasurementandreportingsystemforEssentialSkills

provision.Thereisscopetoenhancetheexistingsystemsanditwillbeimportanttoensurethateachbodyinvolvedintheprogrammemaintainsdataonaconsistentbasis,sothatprogressandrelativeperformancecanbeaccuratelyassessed,onatimelybasis.Datasetsshouldincludetheextenttowhichpeopleindisadvantagedareasarebeingbroughtintotheprogramme(paragraphs5.7to5.9).

8. TheDepartmentshouldcontinuetoliaisewiththeEducationandTrainingInspectoratetoensurethatthenewEssentialSkillsprovisionarrangements,introducedinSeptember2008,arereviewedineachoftheFEcollegesatanearlyjuncture.WhileinspectionspriortoMarch2007indicatedthatthequalityoftrainingprovisionwasimproving,theyalsohighlightedanumberofareasforimprovement.AnearlyreviewineachcollegewouldprovideassurancetotheDepartmentthatstandardsarecontinuingtoimproveunderthenewarrangements(paragraphs5.28and5.29).

17. TheDepartmenthaswelcomedNIAO’s

recommendationswhichitseesasconfirmingtheneedforinnovationandengagementwiththediversegroupsimpactedbypoorliteracyandnumeracycapabilities.Italsosaidthatitisfullycommittedtoensuringthecontinuedapplicationofresourcestoaddressnumeracy,literacyandICTasthethreeEssentialSkills.

Part One:Introduction and background


Betterliteracyandnumeracyskillsareassociatedwithahigherprobabilityofemployment

1.1 Inrecentyears,severalstudieshavebeenundertakenwhichdemonstratethatlowstandardsofliteracyandnumeracyamongtheadultpopulationcanhaveserioussocialandeconomicimplicationsforthepeopleconcerned.Foranindividualwhostruggleswiththeessentialskillsofreading,writingandmaths,theimpactcanbeprofound,notonlyaffectingthem,buttheirfamily,thelocalcommunity,societyandtheeconomy.

1.2 Onepieceofresearch2,carriedoutin2006,showedthatpeoplewiththelowestlevelsofliteracyandnumeracyskillswere:

• lesslikelytobeinfull-timework

• lesslikelytobehomeowners

• morelikelytobeexperiencingeconomicdisadvantageandtobeinreceiptofsocialsecuritybenefits3

• morelikelytosufferrelativelypoorphysicalhealthandmentalwellbeing.

1.3 Thereportalsosuggestedthattheconsiderabledisadvantagessufferedbyadultswiththelowestskillswerelikelytobepassedontotheirchildren.However,thereisalsoevidencethataspeopleimprovetheirskills,certainpositiveeconomicbenefitsaccrue,includinghigherwagesandimprovedchancesofbeinginemployment,aswellasnon-

2 ‘NewLightonLiteracyandNumeracy’,publishedbytheNationalResearchandDevelopmentCentreforAdultLiteracyandNumeracy,November2006

3 TheworkingageeconomicinactivityrateforNI,at28.7%,issignificantlyhigherthantheUKaverageof21.1%-MonthlyLabourMarketReport,DETI,November2009

economicbenefitssuchasincreasedself-confidenceandgreatersocialinvolvement.

NorthernIrelandhasrelativelyhighnumbersofadultswithlowlevelsofliteracyandnumeracyskills

1.4 AnInternationalAdultLiteracySurvey(IALS),undertakenbytheOrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment(OECD)in1996,showedthataround1in4(or250,000)peopleoftheworkingagepopulationofNorthernIrelandcouldmanageonlyBand1literacyandnumeracytasksonafive-bandscaleofdifficulty.Thismeansthattheyhaddifficultywitheverydaytaskssuchasreadinganewspaperorunderstandingsignsandinstructions,orcheckingwhethertheyhadreceivedthecorrectchangewhenshopping.Thelowskillswerespreadequallyacrossallagegroupsintheworkingagepopulation,withverylittlevariationbetweenmenandwomen.TheincidenceoftheprobleminNorthernIrelandwashigherthaninallbutoneoftheothercountriesparticipatinginthesurvey.

TheDepartmentforEmploymentandLearningischargedwithimprovingtheessentialskillsofliteracyandnumeracyamongtheadultpopulation

1.5 InNorthernIreland,providingindividualswiththeskillsandqualificationsrequiredbyemployersisakeythemerunningthroughtheDepartmentforEmployment



andLearning’sworkandiscriticaltothecontinuedgrowthoftheNorthernIrelandeconomy.TheDepartmentworkswithotherdepartments,agencies,colleges,charities,voluntaryorganisationsandprivatesectorcompaniestoincreasethenumberandqualityoflearningopportunitiesforpeopletoimprovetheirliteracyandnumeracy.Potentiallearnerscanaccesslearningopportunitiesfromaccreditedtutorsacrossarangeoflocations,includingFurtherEducationcolleges,privatetrainingprovidersandcommunityorganisations.AllEssentialSkillscoursesarefreetothelearner.

The ‘Essential Skills for Living’strategyaimstoraiseliteracyandnumeracylevelsinNorthernIreland

1.6 InresponsetotheIALSfindings,theDepartmentlaunchedthe“Essential Skills for Living” strategyinOctober2002.ThismarkedaradicalnewapproachtoliteracyandnumeracyinNorthernIrelandandbeganalong-termprogrammeofimprovement.Thestrategyplannedfortheintroductionofaregionalcurriculum,accreditationforadultlearnersandimprovedtutorqualifications.Italsosettargetsforbuildingcapacityandlearnerengagement;inparticular,thattheDepartmentwouldsupport14,500learnersbyMarch2004.In2006,thenewly-launched“Success Through Skills”strategyencompassedtheEssentialSkillsprogrammeasacomponentofanewstrategyaimedatraisingworkforceskillsgenerally.ItincludedaPublicServiceAgreementtargetthatby2007,

18,500peoplewouldhaveachievedarecognisedEssentialSkillsqualification.

1.7 InthesevenyearstoMarch2009,nearly£40millionwasspentontheEssentialSkillsprogramme.DespitesubstantialEUfundingceasingfromJune2008,asignificantincreaseinresources(totallingsome£30million)isplannedforthefollowingtwoyears.

ScopeofNIAOreview

Weexaminedtheeffectivenessofactionbeingtakentoincreaseliteracyandnumeracy

1.8 ThisreportexaminestheDepartmentforEmploymentandLearning’sstrategyforimprovingadultliteracyandnumeracyneedsinNorthernIreland.OurworkfocusedonhowtheDepartmenthasimplementedthevariousstrandsofthestrategyandtheprogressthathasbeenmade.Inparticular,ourreportlooksat:

• thelevelsofadultliteracyandnumeracyinNorthernIrelandandwhythesehadtoberaised(Part2)

• thedevelopmentandimplementationofthestrategyforraisingthelevelsofliteracyandnumeracyskillsandhoweffectivetheDepartmenthasbeeninmanagingtheprogramme(Part3)

• whattheDepartmentisdoingtowidenparticipation,bothdirectlyandworkingwithotherorganisations(Part4)


• theprogressmade,since2002,inincreasingparticipationandachievementinadultliteracyandnumeracyandthecostsinvolved(Part5).

1.9 Ourexaminationincludeddiscussionswithvoluntarysectorprovidersandinterviewswithadultlearners.Inthisassignment,wewereassistedbyMrRichardBuchanan,aformerpublicsectorofficialwithsubstantialexperienceintheeducationsector.

RecentreviewbyNAOofadultliteracyandnumeracyinEngland

1.10 InJune2008,theNationalAuditOfficereported4onprogressinimprovingadultliteracyandnumeracyinEngland.ThereportwasthesubjectofaPublicAccountsCommitteehearingatWestminsterinJune2008andtheirsubsequentreportwaspublishedinJanuary20095.

1.11 TheCommitteenotedthatdespiteexpenditureofsome£5billion,theevidencewasthatalargeproportionoftheadultpopulationinEnglandstillcouldnotread,writeandcountadequately.TheDepartmentforInnovation,UniversitiesandSkillslong-termaim,announcedin2007,isthat,by2020,95percentofthepopulationofworkingagewillbeatleastfunctionallyliterateandnumerate-thebasiclevelofskillsneededtogetbyinlife.TheCommittee,however,notedthat,evenifthatambitionisrealised,Englandwillberaisedonlytothecurrentstandardsofthetop25percentof

OECDcountries,whowillprobablyhaveforgedaheadbythen.

1.12 TheCommitteealsonotedthatmoreprogresshadbeenmadeinimprovingliteracythaninimprovingnumeracy.ItrecommendedthatnewapproachestotherecruitmentofnumeracyteachersmustbeadoptedinEnglandandthattheDepartmentforInnovation,UniversitiesandSkillsmustalsodomoretoencouragepublicservicestopromotetrainingopportunitiesamongtheirclients.

4 SkillsforLife:ProgressinImprovingAdultLiteracyandNumeracy,NationalAuditOffice,HC482,June20085 SkillsforLife:ProgressinImprovingAdultLiteracyandNumeracy,PublicAccountsCommittee,HC154,January2009


Part Two:Adult literacy and numeracy in Northern Ireland:The scale and nature of the problem


2.1 Itisimportanttonotethatlowlevelessentialskillsdonotimplyilliteracy,butalevelofliteracyandnumeracyskillsthatmakecertaintasksineverydaylifeandworkdifficult.Thesetaskswouldbeconsideredroutinebyindividualswithgoodbasicskills.

2.2 Inthispartofourreportweprovideasummaryoftheresearchfindingsfromthefirstadultliteracysurveycarriedoutin1996andexaminetheworkthathasbeendonesincethattimetogaugethelevelofliteracyandnumeracyskillsinNorthernIreland.


KeyAuditFindings

• The1996InternationalAdultLiteracySurveyestimatedthat24percentofadultsinNorthernIrelandhadthemostbasicliteracyskills.ThiscomparedwiththeUKasawholeat22percent.

• Theunemployedandtheeconomicallyinactiverepresentedthemajorityofthosewiththemostbasicskills.

• TherehasbeennoobjectiveassessmentofliteracyandnumeracyskillsinNorthernIrelandsincethe1996InternationalAdultLiteracySurvey.InNovember2008,theDepartmentdecidedthatitwillparticipateinthenextSurveyin2011,withresultsbeingavailablein2013.Aninterimmeasuretoassesstheimpactofthecurrentstrategyandinformpolicydirectioniscurrentlybeingresearched.

• TheDepartmentofEducationestimatesthatsome4,000youngpeopleperyearleavecompulsoryeducationwithouttheappropriatebasicliteracyandnumeracyskills.

ThefirstadultliteracysurveyinNorthernIrelandwascarriedoutin1996aspartoftheInternationalAdultLiteracySurvey

2.3 TheInternationalAdultLiteracySurvey(IALS)beganin1994asasevencountryinitiativewiththeaimofcreatingcomparableliteracyprofilesacrossnational,linguisticandculturalboundaries.Thefirstresults6demonstratedastronglinkbetweenliteracyandacountry’seconomicpotential.Sincethen,asecond(1996)andthird(1998)roundofsurveyshavebeenconductedinafurther16countries,withNorthernIrelandtakingpartinthe1996Survey.

2.4 TheNorthernIrelandSurveywascarriedoutbytheCentralSurveyUnitoftheNorthernIrelandStatisticsandResearchAgencyandwasthefirstliteracysurveytobecarriedoutinNorthernIrelandonanationalsampleofadultsofworkingage.

6 “Literacyeconomyandsociety:resultsofthefirstInternationalAdultLiteracySurvey”(OECD),1995


Itsetouttoprofiletheliteracyabilitiesofadultsaged16-65usinganinternationallyagreedmeasurementinstrumentandsurveyimplementationprotocolswhichcovered,amongotherthings,interviewerinstructionsandscoringprocedures.TheSurveydefinedliteracyas:

“Using printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.”

2.5 Thesurveymeasuredthreecategoriesofliteracyskill:

• proseliteracy-theknowledgeandskillsrequiredtounderstandanduseinformationfromtextssuchaspassagesoffictionandnewspaperarticles

• documentliteracy-theknowledgeandskillsrequiredtolocateanduseinformationcontainedinvariousformatssuchastimetables,graphs,chartsandforms

• quantitativeliteracy-theknowledgeandskillsrequiredtoapplyarithmeticoperations,eitheraloneorsequentially,tonumbersembeddedinprintedmaterials,suchascalculatingsavingsfromasaleadvertisementorworkingouttheinterestrequiredtoachieveadesiredreturnoninvestment.

2.6 TheSurveymeasuredliteracyskillsbyassessingtheabilityofpeopletosuccessfullyundertaketasksofvarying

degreesofcomplexitywhichtheyencounterineverydaylife.PerformancewasgroupedintofivebandswithBand1representingthelowestabilityrangeandBand5thehighest.Becauseofthesmallpercentageofpeoplethatfellintothehighestcategory(Band5),thedataforBands4and5werecombined.Thedefinitionsforeachofthebandswere:

• Band1: peoplewithverypoor literacyskills

• Band2: peoplewhocandeal onlywithsimplematerial

• Band3: peoplewithroughlythe skilllevelrequiredfor successfulsecondary schoolcompletionand collegeentry

• Bands4/5:peoplewhodemonstrate commandof“higher orderinformation processingskills”.

Researchhasshownthat1in4adultsinNorthernIrelandhavedifficultywithsimpleliteracyandnumeracytasks

2.7 TheSurveyfindingsshowedthatthedistributionofliteracyskillsamongtheworkingagepopulationofNorthernIrelandwasbroadlysimilarforeachofthethreecategories,namelyprose,documentandquantitative.Theresearchshowedthatalmost1in4people(24percent)ofworkingagehaddifficultywithsimpleliteracytasks,suchasreadingthe


instructionsonamedicinebottle-i.e.withBand1tasksonthescaleoffivebands.Around30percentperformedatBand2andasimilarproportionatBand3,withjust15percentatBands4/5–seeFigure1.

2.8 SomeoftheothermainfindingsfromtheSurveywere:

• menperformedthepoorestontheprosescalewhereaswomenperformedworseonthedocumentscale

• theolderagegroupsperformedworsethanthe16-25yearolds;41percentofmenand37percentofwomeninBand1wereinthe56-65agegroup

• 36percentoftheunemployedwereintheBand1category

Figure1:Prose,DocumentandQuantitativeLiteracyBands

0 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Prose

Document

Quantitative

Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Bands 4/5

Source: IALS

• 44percentoftheeconomicallyinactivewereintheBand1category

• 19percentofpeopleinemploymentwereinBand1.

2.9 NIAOaskedtheDepartmentwhatinformationtheSurveyhadprovidedinrelationtoregionalvariationsinliteracyandnumeracyskills.Ittoldusthatnofigureswereavailable.TheDepartmentwentontoexplainthatitwasrequiredtoremainwithintherequirementsoftheOfficeforNationalStatistics(ONS)protocols,particularlyinrespectofconfidentiality.MostcountrieshadmodestsamplesizesintheIALSandthiswastrueofNorthernIrelandaswell.TheoverallsamplesizetakeninNorthernIrelandwas2,907andthislimitedtheextenttowhichsub-populationscouldbereportedwithoutbreachingONSprotocols.



Figure2:ProseliteracylevelbycountryatBand1

0

10

20

30

40

50

Pola

nd NI

RoI

GB

USA

Swiss

(Ger

man

)

Swiss

(Fre

nch)NZ

Belg

ium

Aus

tralia

Can

ada

Ger

man

y

N’La

nds

Swed

en

Perc

enta

ge o

f wor

king

age

pop

ulat

ion

43

24 23 22 2119 18 18 18 17 17

1411

8

Source: IALS

InternationalcomparisonssuggestthatNorthernIreland’sadultpopulationperformsrelativelypoorlyonbasicskills

2.10 TheIALSalsoprovidedaninternationalcomparisonoftheproseliteracybandsacrossthe14participatingcountries.Ofthose,onlyPolandwasshowntohaveahigherpercentageofitsworkingagepopulation(43percent)performingatthelowestofthefivebandsofperformancethanNorthernIreland(24percent).However,theresultsforGreatBritainandtheRepublicofIrelandwereonlymarginallybetterat22percentand23percentrespectively–seeFigure2.Afulllistingofthecountriesacrosseachof

thefiveperformancebandsisattachedatAppendix1.

Littleresearchhasbeenundertakensince1996tomeasureadultliteracyandnumeracyskillsinNorthernIreland

2.11 Sincethe1996InternationalAdultLiteracySurvey,theonlymeansofgaugingthecontinuingextentoftheproblemoflowstandardsofliteracyandnumeracyinNorthernIrelandhasbeenthroughthe‘NIOmnibusSurvey’.Thisisbasedonarandomsampleof2,200addressesacrossNorthernIreland.TheSurveyisdesignedtoprovideasnapshot


ofthelifestyleandviewsofthepeoplehereandisadministeredeveryquarterbytheNorthernIrelandStatisticsandResearchAgency.Onabi-annualbasisanEssentialSkillscomponentisincluded.Thepurposeofthisistoprovideacost-effectivemethodofmonitoringindividuals’perceptionsoftheirliteracyandnumeracyabilitiesineverydaylife.ThefollowingshowsasampleofthequestionsrelevanttoEssentialSkills:

a)Howcomfortableareyoureadinginformationonyourown?

(Forexample,instructionsonpackagedgoodsormedicinebottlesorinformationfromabank,employer,school,doctor,hospital,GovernmentdepartmentorAgency)

b)Howcomfortableareyoufillingoutformsonyourown?

(Forexample,adrivinglicenceorpassportapplicationform)

c) Howcomfortableareyouwhenyouhavetousemathsforeverydaycalculationsorsums?

(Forexample,workingouthowmuchsomethingwillcostorwhatchangeyoucanexpecttoreceiveorhowmuchofsomethingyoucanafford)

2.12 TheresultsinFigure3showthepercentageofrespondentswhoreportedthattheywere“not very comfortable”or“not at all comfortable”.

2.13 InconsideringtheresultsinFigure3,itisimportanttomakethedistinctionbetweentheIALSandtheOmnibusSurvey.Whereastheformerusedanobjective measurement instrumenttoassessability,thelatterreliesonindividuals’perceptionsoftheirability.IntheIALSitwasidentifiedthatamongthosewhoperformedinthelowestband,almostoneintenself-assessedtheirreadingskillsasexcellentandalmostaquartersaidthey

Figure3:NIOmnibusSurveyresults

Question Apr‘05 Oct‘05 Mar‘06 Sep‘06 Apr‘07 Oct‘07 Apr‘08 Sep’08 % % % % % % % %

Howcomfortableareyou 5 6 7 4 6 5 5 5readinginformationonyourown?

Howcomfortableareyou 13 12 14 12 15 11 13 13fillingoutformsonyourown?

Howcomfortableareyou 6 7 9 6 8 7 7 9whenyouhavetousebasicmaths?

Source: DEL



weregood.Inthatcontext,accordingtoDEL,theresultsinFigure3arelikelytobeatthelowerboundsofneedand,inpopulationterms,wouldcurrentlyequatetoover100,000peopleinNorthernIreland.

2.14 InApril2008,aReviewoftheCompetitivenessofNorthernIreland,undertakenbySirDavidVarney,pointedoutthatwhilethenumberofpeoplewhohaveonlybasicskillsinNorthernIrelandisonaparwiththerestoftheUK,thestockofworkingageadultswhohavenoqualificationsisthehighestintheUKbysomemargin,at24percent,withalargeproportionoftheinactivepopulationhavingonlypoorbasicskills.TheReviewgoesontodescribefunctionalnumeracyandliteracyasthe“building blocks of upskilling”andstatesthatthecausesoftheparticularlyhighnumberofthoseofworkingagewithoutbasicskillsarenotfullyunderstood.TheReviewstressestheneedfortheNorthernIrelandExecutivetotackleentrenchedpersonalbarrierstoeducation,oftenamongpeoplewhohavebeenoutofthelabourmarketformanyyears.

Untilfurtherresearchisundertaken,theimpactofGovernmentinterventionontheNorthernIrelandskillsbasewillbedifficulttodetermine

2.15 InNovember2008,duringourreview,DELdecidedthatitwillparticipateinthenextOECDsurvey,entitledProgrammefortheInternationalAssessmentofAdultCompetencies(PIAAC),inordertoobtain

aclearerpictureofthecurrentstateofliteracyandnumeracyskillsamongtheworkingagepopulationinNorthernIreland.TheDepartmenttoldusthatthiswillgivecertainresultscomparabletotheIALSandwillassessthelevelanddistributionofadultskills,coherentlyandconsistentlyacrossseveralcountries.WhiletheDepartmentanticipatesthatthedatacollectionmethodinthePIAACwillbesimilartothatoftheIALS,itsviewisthatthequestionswillprobablybedesigneddifferently.

2.16 Giventhatthelastcomprehensivebaselinestudywascarriedoutover13yearsago,anynewassessment,usingthepreviousbaseline,wouldhavetotakeaccountofanygrowthinthenumbersofadultswithoutbasicliteracyandnumeracyskills:i.e.thenumbersofyoungpeopleleavingcompulsoryeducationwithouthavingachievedthedesiredlevelsofliteracyandnumeracy.InformationconveyedfromtheDepartmentofEducationtoDELshowedthat,in2006-07,some42percentofschoolleaversleftwithoutEnglishandMathsgradedatA*-C.

2.17 TheIALSshowedthatexpectedperformanceontheliteracyscaleswasstronglyassociatedwitheducationalqualifications,withthepercentageofpeopleperforminginthehigherliteracybandsincreasingwithhigherqualificationsandcorrespondinglythoseperforminginthelowestbandslikelytoholdnoqualifications.Inspring1996,some31percentoftheNIworkingagepopulationhadnoqualificationsbutthispercentagedroppedto26percent


byspring2001andto22percentbyspring20067.UsingtheIALScorrelationbetweenqualificationsandliteracyandnumeracyskills,thiswouldsuggestthatthenumbersofyoungpeopleleavingeducationwithoutbasicskillsisdecliningyearonyear.However,inDecember2007,inastatementtotheAssembly8outlininghervisionforthefutureofoureducationsystem,theMinisterofEducationstated:

“I am the Minister of Education for all of our children. I cannot – and will not – ignore the fact that every single year there are 4,000 young people leaving school after 12 years of compulsory education who do not have the appropriate basic literacy and numeracy skills.” 9

2.18 DatacollectionforthePIAACisnotduetocommenceuntil2010,withthemainstudybeingadministeredin2011andthereportingofresultsin2013.Asaninterimmeasure,theDepartmentsaidthatithascommissionedresearchtomodelexistingdatafromarangeofsourcestoinformongoingpolicyandassesstheimpactofthecurrentstrategy.TheDepartmentnoted,however,thattheresultsofthistypeofexercisewouldnotbecomparabletotheIALS.Iffeasible,itsaiditmayprovidesomeindicationintermsofthedirectionofchangeoftheworkingagepopulationinnumeracyandliteracyfrom1996tothecurrenttime.ItwillalsohelptoassesswhetherEssentialSkillsprovisionisbeingdirectedatalltargetgroups.

TheDepartmentalsopointedoutthattheresultsarelikelytobeestimatesbasedonaseriesofassumptions,andnoin-depthassessmentswithindividualswouldbecarriedout.

7 NorthernIrelandLabourForceSurvey:HistoricalSupplement,Spring1984-Spring2006–DETI18July20078 TheAssembly–OfficialReport04December20079 InMarch2006,NIAOreportedontheDepartmentofEducation’sactionstoimproveliteracyandnumeracystandardsin

NorthernIrelandschools,i.e.atprimaryandsecondarylevel.ThiswasthesubjectofahearingattheWestminsterPublicAccountsCommitteeinNovember2006.Recently,theAssembly’sPAChaspublishedanupdateonprogress:• ImprovingLiteracyandNumeracyinSchools,NIAO,HC953,March2006• ImprovingLiteracyandNumeracyinSchools(NorthernIreland),HouseofCommonsPAC,HC108,November2006• SecondCompositeReportonIssuesDealtwithbyCorrespondence,NIAssemblyPAC,23/08/09R,February2009


Part Three:Strategies for raising adult literacy and numeracy skills



3.1 Inthispartofourreport,wepresentanoverviewofthedifferentEssentialSkillsstrategiesthathavebeenintroducedbytheDepartmentforEmploymentandLearningsince2002,whichaimtoraisethestandardsofliteracyandnumeracyamongtheadultpopulationinNorthernIreland.

NorthernIreland’sstrategyforimprovingadultliteracyandnumeracyneedswaslaunchedinOctober2002

3.2 FollowingthepublicationoftheresultsoftheInternationalAdultLiteracySurveyin1996,aBasicSkillsCommittee10

wasestablishedbytheDepartmentasarepresentativebodycomprisingarangeofgroups,supportedbytheEducationalGuidanceServiceforAdults(EGSA)BasicSkillsUnit(seeparagraph4.16).

KeyAuditFindings

• The“Essential Skills for Living”strategywasintroducedinOctober2002asaresponsetotheIALSfindings.

• Thestrategyaddressedissuesofcapacityandqualityaswellasapproachestoengagement.

• Earlytargetsincludedonethat,byMarch2004,14,500EssentialSkillslearnerswouldhavebeensupported.

• The“Success Through Skills”strategy,launchedinFebruary2006,encompassedtheEssentialSkillsprogrammeasacomponentofthenewstrategy.

• Latertargetsincludedonethat,inthethreeyearperiodendinginMarch2007,18,500peoplewouldhaveachievedarecognisedqualificationinEssentialSkills.

TheCommitteechargedtheUnitwiththeresponsibilityfor:

• promotingcollaborationamongprovidersanddisseminatinggoodpractice

• providingfinancialsupporttocommunityandvoluntarygroupsforactivitiesrelatedtoinnovationinadultbasiceducation

• providingtheDepartmentwithadviceonstandards,curriculum,tests,qualificationsandthequalificationsfortutors.

3.3 TheadviceprovidedbytheEGSABasicSkillsUnitplayedakeyroleinhelpingtoinformandshapeDEL’s‘Essential Skills for Living’strategy11-NorthernIreland’sstrategyforimprovingadultliteracyandnumeracyneeds–whichwaslaunchedin

10 TheBasicSkillsCommitteeincludesrepresentationfromGovernmentdepartments,businessandindustry,FurtherEducationandthevoluntaryandcommunitysectors.

11 EssentialSkillsforLiving–EquippedfortheFuture:BuildingforTomorrow;aStrategyandActionPlanforAdultLiteracyinNorthernIreland,October2002


October2002followingthepublicationofaconsultationdocumentinAprilofthatyear.Theconsultationdocument12outlinedtheactionstobetakenbyDELoverthefollowingtenyears,setwithinthecontextofthe‘InvestinginEducationandSkills’sectionoftheAssembly’sthenProgrammeforGovernment.

3.4 Thestrategydefinedliteracyandnumeracyasessentialskills,whichrequire:

“the ability to communicate by talking and listening, reading and writing; to use numeracy; and the ability to handle information.”

Whilstacknowledgingthatthecontinuingdevelopmentofliteracyandnumeracyskillswasforeveryone,regardlessoftheirlevelofachievement,thestrategystatedthatparticularpriorityshouldbegiventothosewhohadnotyetreachedLevel2intheNationalQualificationsFramework.(Level2issetatachievementoffourormoreGCSEsatgradesA,BorC).

3.5 Atthattime,thereweretwoEssentialSkillsqualifications:

• CommunicationLevels1and2

• ApplicationofNumberLevels1 and2.

AnEssentialSkillsqualificationatLevel1iscomparableinstandardwithGCSEEnglishorMathsatgradesD-G.AnEssentialSkillsqualificationatLevel2iscomparableinstandardwithGCSEatEnglishorMathsatgradesA-C–seeFigure4.

3.6 Thevisionforthedeliveryofthe strategywas:

“to provide opportunities for adults to update their Essential Skills to assist them in improving their overall quality of life, their personal development and their employment opportunities and by doing so to promote greater economic development, social inclusion and cohesion”.

Figure4:EssentialSkillsqualificationscomparedwithGCSEs

EssentialSkillsStandards EquivalentLevelinNationalQualificationsFramework

EntryLevelCertificateinEssentialSkills- EntryLeveloftheNationalQualificationAdultLiteracyorNumeracy Framework

Essentialskillsqualificationincommunicationor GCSEEnglishorMathsatgradesD,E,ForGapplicationofnumberatLevel1

Essentialskillsqualificationincommunicationor GCSEEnglishorMathsatgradesA*,A,BorCapplicationofnumberatLevel2Source: DEL

12 EssentialSkillsforLiving–EquippedfortheFuture:BuildingforTomorrow;aFrameworkandConsultationPaperonAdultLiteracy,April2002


Thestrategyaddressedissuesofcapacityandqualityaswellasapproachestoengagement

3.7 ThestrategyhadfivekeystrandswhichcontainedanumberofactionsdetailingwhattheDepartmentwoulddo,andhowthiswouldbeachieved:

• leadership–strongleadershipwasrequiredatalllevelsforthestrategytobesuccessful

• buildingastructuredframework– theregimeshouldbebasedon

curriculumstandardsandrigorousassessmentandaccreditationproceduresdesignedspecificallytomeettheneedsandaspirationsofthelearners

• buildingquality–theprovidersofEssentialSkillsshouldworktoasinglesetofqualityassuranceindicatorsandaframeworkofqualificationsshouldbedevelopedtoimprovetheprofessionalismoftutors.Newandeffectivequalityassuranceproceduresshouldalsobeintroducedformonitoringandevaluatingthequalityofprovision

• buildingcapacity–thetraditionalprovisionofadulteducationshouldbesignificantlyexpanded.Effectivepartnershipswouldberequiredacrossawiderangeofprovidersandorganisationstoimplementthestrategyinarangeofcontextsandsettings.Inparticular,FurtherEducationcollegesshouldworkevenmorecloselywith

thevoluntaryandcommunitysector,employersandtrainingorganisations

• engaginglearners–acomprehensivepromotionalcampaignshouldbedevelopedandimplementedtoincreaseawarenessanddriveupdemandamongadultsforEssentialSkills.

3.8 Theaimwastodeliverthestrategyintwo

broadphases:

Phase1-coveringthefirstyear.ThiswouldbelargelytransitionalandaimedatbuildingthestructuredframeworkwhichwouldbeinplacebySeptember2003.Theframeworkwouldincludeasetofstandards,acurriculum,appropriateassessmentandaccreditationproceduresandamoreprofessionalisedtutorframeworkbase

Phase2-thiswouldaimtobuildcapacityandengagelearners.Capacitywouldbebuiltacrossallprovidersofliteracyandnumeracyandnewavenues,suchaswork-basedandfamilylearning,wouldbeexplored.ApromotionalcampaigntoengagelearnerswouldbegininJanuary2003followedbyamajordrivetosecureparticipationinJune2003.

Thestrategyincludedaninitialtargetthat,byMarch2004,14,500EssentialSkillslearnerswouldhavebeensupported

3.9 Theconsultationdocumenthadanoverallaspirationaltargettoreduce,byhalf,thenumberofadultswithpoorskillsin



literacyandnumeracyby2012.Asafirststep,itproposedtosetatargetthat,by2005,thenumberoflearnerssupportedbyFurtherEducation(FE)collegesandthevoluntarysectorwouldbeincreasedfrom5,500perannumto25,000,representing10percentoftheoveralltargetgroup(seeparagraph1.4)overthelifespanofthestrategy.However,feedbackfromtheconsultationprocessexpressedsomeconcernthatthetargetsforlearnerswereinadequateandthatthetimingoftheincreaseintutorprovisiondidnotcorrespondwithincreaseddemand.Itwassuggestedthatmoredetailedandspecifictargetswererequiredtoinclude,forexample,NewTargetingSocialNeed,urban/ruralsplitandESOL(EnglishforSpeakersofOtherLanguages)andlearnerswithlearningdifficulties.

3.10 Inresponse,DELagreedtosetthefollowingrevisedtargets:

• bySeptember2003,haveinplaceEssentialSkillsqualificationswhichenablesprogressiontoKeySkillsLevel2

• byMarch2004,haveestablishedatargettomeasurethenumberofadultswhohadimprovedtheirEssentialSkillsqualificationsagainstthenewqualifications

• byMarch2004,havesupported14,500EssentialSkillslearners.

The“Success Through Skills”strategy,launchedinFebruary2006,encompassedtheEssentialSkillsprogrammeasacomponentofthestrategy

3.11 InNovember2004,theDepartmentpublishedadraft‘Skills Strategy for Northern Ireland’ forconsultation.ThiscoveredmanyaspectsoftheDepartment’swork,includingSkillsandIndustry,FurtherEducation,HigherEducationandPreparationforWork.Itfocusedonraisingtheskillsofthecurrentworkforce,enhancingthequalityofthoseenteringtheworkforceandaddressingtheemployabilityskillsofthosenotinemployment.Inthiscontext,threedifferenttypesofskillsweredefined:

• theessentialskillsofliteracyandnumeracyand,increasingly,informationandcommunicationstechnology(ICT)

• employabilityskills,includingthekeyskillsofteamworking,problemsolvingandflexibility

• work-basedskills,specifictoaparticularoccupationorsector.

3.12 Thedraftstrategyconcludedthatskilllevels,generally,weretoolowand,ifNorthernIrelandwastocompetesuccessfullyintheglobaleconomicarena,therehadtobeaconcertedefforttodriveupthelevelofskillsonallfronts.

3.13 Thedraftstrategyattractedover100detailedresponsesfromawidevarietyofindividualsandorganisations.The


consultationprocessendorsedtheneedforastrategicapproachtoskillsandconfirmedwidespreadandclearsupportforthesuggestedprioritiesandproposedactionplan.

3.14 Havingtakenaccountoftheresponsestothedraftstrategy,theDepartmentlaunchedthe‘Success Through Skills’13strategyinFebruary2006whichsetouthowitplannedtoaddresscurrentandfutureskillsneeds,inordertoensurethattheeconomyremainedgloballycompetitivein2015andbeyond.ThevisionincludedareferencethattheworkforcewouldincreasinglybeliterateandnumerateandhavegoodICTskills.Mostsignificantly,thedocumentsetouthowDELwouldtaketheproposalsforwardinpartnershipwithemployersandtheirrepresentativebodies;individualsandtradeunions;trainingandeducationproviders;thecommunityandvoluntarysectors;andotherGovernmentdepartmentsandagencies.

3.15 AlthoughitespousedavisionoftheNorthernIrelandeconomyin2015,andenvisagedaten-yeartimeframeforthefulleffectsofthestrategytoberealised,theinitialfocusfordeliverywasforaperiodofthreeyears,afterwhichtimetheimplementationplanwouldrequiretoberefreshed,programmesevaluatedandprogressassessed.Implementationofthestrategyconsistedof16programmesofactiongroupedintofourbroadthemes:

• understandingthedemandforskills

• improvingtheskillslevelsoftheworkforce

• improvingthequalityandrelevanceofeducationandtraining

• tacklingtheskillsbarrierstoemploymentandemployability.

Akeytargetwasalsosetoutinrespectofeachprogrammeofaction.

The“Success Through Skills”strategyincludesPublicServiceAgreementtargetsfortheachievementofrecognisedEssentialSkillsqualifications

3.16 Inthatcontext,thestrategystatedthatalthoughanumberofkeytargetsweresetoutwhichrelatedtooutputs,thesuccessoftheSkillsStrategywouldbejudgedonawiderangeofmeasures,someofwhichwouldbelinkedtotheDepartment’sPublicServiceAgreement(PSA)targets.ThosethatrelatedspecificallytoEssentialSkillswere:

PSAEssentialSkillstargetincludedinthe“Success Through Skills”strategy2006

• By2007,18,500peoplewillhaveachievedarecognisedqualificationinEssentialSkillscomparedto100inMarch2003.

PSAEssentialSkillstargetincludedinDEL’sCorporatePlan2008-2011

• Overthethree-yearperiodendinginMarch2011,42,000adultlearnerswillhaveachievedarecognisedqualificationinEssentialSkills.

13 SuccessThroughSkills–TheSkillsStrategyforNorthernIreland:AProgrammeforImplementation


Part Four:Reaching more learners and increasing participation


KeyAuditFindings

• SinceApril2003,adultliteracyandnumeracyprovisionwaspromotedthroughtheUK-wide“Gremlins”campaignbutthishasbeenreplacedbyalocally-orientatedcampaignfromSeptember2008.

• TheWorkersEducationalAssociation,theEducationalGuidanceServiceforAdultsandvariouscommunity-basedgroupshaveallplayedrolesinengagingwith,andprovidingcoursesfor,diversegroupsoflearnersincommunitysettings.

• FromSeptember2008,FurtherEducationcollegesbeganpilotingthenew‘LearnerAccessandEngagement’policy.ThenewarrangementsplaceFurtherEducationcollegesintheroleofprincipalcourseproviderswiththevoluntaryandcommunitysectorsoperatinginasupportandengagementrole.ThepilotextendstoallFurtherEducationcollegesandwillrunforathree-yearperiod,to2011.

4.1 RaisingparticipationofadultsinlearningthatimprovestheirliteracyandnumeracyskillsisanimportantstrandoftheDepartment’sstrategy.ThispartofourreportlooksatwhattheDepartmenthasdonetoengagepotentiallearners,bothdirectlyandthroughworkingwithotherorganisations.Inparticular,itlooksat:

• thesuccessoftheDepartment’spromotionalandadvertisingcampaign

• engagementwiththeunemployedandeconomicallyinactive

• theworkofthevoluntarysectortotargetthehardest-to-reachgroups

• liaisonwiththeDepartmentofEducationtopromotefamilyliteracyprogrammes

• thenewarrangementsthatplaceFurtherEducationcollegesintheroleofprincipalcourseproviders

• encouragingemployerstoaddresstheEssentialSkillsneedsoftheiremployees

Advertisingcampaignshaveraisedawarenessofopportunitiesandbenefits

4.2 ‘Gremlins’,whichwaspartofanationaladvertisingcampaigntopromoteadultliteracyandnumeracyandraiselevelsofawareness,waslaunchedbyDELin2003.Theadvertsfeaturearangeofsituationswherepeople’spersonalliteracyandnumeracy‘gremlins’makelifedifficultforthemorpreventthemfromdoingwhattheywant.Thedecisiontousethiscampaignwastakenprimarilyongroundsofcost-effectivenessasthedevelopment



andaMORIsurveywhichinvolvedover1,000face-to-faceinterviewswitharepresentativesectionoftheNIpopulation.Theresearchshowedthatthecampaignhadachievedahighlevelofawareness,understanding,andpositiveapprovaland,inachievingitsobjectives,thecampaignhadprovidedvalueformoney(thekeypointsarisingfromtheresearchareattachedatAppendix2).The‘Gremlins’campaignendedinJanuary2008andwasreplacedbyanewNorthernIreland-specific,promotionalcampaignfromSeptember2008.Thisistargetingthehardest-to-reachgroupsandemployers,andwasintroducedintimetocoincidewithnewdeliveryarrangementsthathavebeenputinplace(seeparagraph4.22)tohelpachievethechallengingtargetsthattheDepartmenthassetitselffor2011.

4.5 Inadditiontothe‘Gremlins’campaign,anumberofspecificgroupswithskillsneedshavealsobeentargeted.Theseincludesomepublicsectormanualemployees,familieswithliteracyandnumeracyproblems,low-skilledpeopleinemployment,unemployedpeopleandprisoners.Initiativesinclude:

• workingwiththewiderpublicsector,particularlythehealthandsocialcaresectorandlocalcouncils

• workingwiththeDepartmentofEducationonpilotingEssentialSkillsqualificationsinschools

• initiatingprovisionwiththeMinistryofDefenceandinprisons

costshadalreadybeenmetinfullbytheDepartmentforEducationandSkillsinGBforthepromotionofits‘SkillsforLife’programme.Thecampaignincludedtelevision,radio,cinema,outdoorandpressadvertisingandafreephonehelplinenumbertoallowpotentiallearnerstospeaktoanadvisoraboutenrollingonanEssentialSkillscourse.

4.3 InSeptember2006,thehelplinenumberwassupplementedwithatextmessagingservice.BytheendofSeptember2008,over3,800callsandtextshadbeenmadetothehelplinesincethecampaignbeganin2003.Figure5showsexpenditureontheadvertisingcomponentofthecampaign.

4.4 AnevaluationofthecampaignwascarriedoutinDecember2005bytheDepartment’sAnalyticalServicesBranch(usinginformationprovidedbythePRCompanyemployedbytheDepartmentatthetime);progressreportsfromDEL;

Figure5:DELExpenditureonthe‘Gremlins’advertisingcampaign2003–2008

Year Expenditure (£’000)

2003-04 481

2004-05 444

2005-06 454

2006-07 195

2007-08 150

TOTAL 1,724

Source: DEL


• workingwiththeDepartmentofEducationtoestablishapilotFamilyLiteracysteeringgroup,fundingpilotprojectsandencouragingschoolstodevelopfamilyliteracyprogrammesthroughExtendedSchoolsinitiatives

• developingastrategyforNICivilServicestaffwhichincludesapilotprojectfor100supportgradestafftoenablethemtoapplyfortransfertoadministrativepostswithintheService

• integratingEssentialSkillsprovisionintoDEL’sprogrammessuchasNewDeal,Pathways,StepsandTrainingforSuccess.

4.6 TheDepartmentalsousesarangeofinformationsourcestoinformitsapproachestoengaginglearners.TheseincludeinformationprovidedbytheEducationalGuidanceServiceforAdultsaboutreasonsfordropoutorfailuretofollow-upcoursesandprojectevaluationswhichdetailhowclientsweremotivatedtojoin.

TheDepartmentisseekingtoengagemorewiththeunemployedandeconomicallyinactive

4.7 FurtherEducation(FE)collegesarethemainprovidersofEssentialSkillscourses.SincethestartoftheEssentialSkillsstrategyinOctober2002untiltheendofJuly2008,FurtherEducationcollegescontributed60percentofenrolments,TrainingOrganisations(includingprivateandcommunityandvoluntarysector

organisations)30percentandtheremaining10percentbyanumberofcommunityprovidersunderPeaceII.

4.8 FEcollegesworkwithotherorganisations,includingthevoluntaryandcommunitysectors,toengagethosehardest-to-reachandeconomicallyinactiveadultstoparticipateinEssentialSkillscoursesandachievequalifications.ThecollegesoperatethroughanetworkofoutreachcentresthroughoutNorthernIrelandandaimtocontextualisetheirprovisiontomakeitrelevanttovarioustargetgroups.Inrelationtotheunemployed,muchoftheprovisionwouldfocusonhealth,familyandfinancialissues.FromtheinformationsecuredfromtheDepartmentoncommunityoutreachlearningfacilitiesprovidedbycolleges,thereisinconsistencyintheextentandnatureofthistypeofprovisionbetweencollegeswithsomeareas(suchasArmaghandNewry)betterprovidedthanothers(suchasEnniskillen).TheDepartmenttoldusthatthecollegesareworkingtoaddressthisissueandtheintroductionoftheLearnerAccessandEngagementpilot–seeparagraphs4.22to4.26-willprovideafurthermeansofaddressingimbalancesinprovision.

4.9 TheNewDealProgramme14providesanopportunityforparticipantstoenrolonanEssentialSkillsTrainingOptionwhichlastsapproximately26weeks,withclassesdeliveredthroughoutNorthernIreland.Since2002-03,around1,100participantshaveenrolledusingthisoption,achievingsome340qualifications.From2004,asanincentivetogetmorecustomersto

14 Aprogrammethatgivespeopleonsocialsecuritybenefitshelpandsupporttolookforwork,includingtrainingandpreparingforwork.



enrolusingtheoption,theDepartmentintroducedatop-upincentivepaymentof£10perweekforthoseinreceiptofJobseekersAllowance.Afurther£100bonusispaidforachievementofanEssentialSkillsqualification.

4.10 InSeptember2007,apilotprogrammeentitled‘StepstoWork’(S2W)beganinfourJobsandBenefitsOffices(JBOs).TheDepartmenthasexplainedthattheaimistoextendNewDealProvisiontoawidertargetaudience,includingthoseinreceiptofIncomeSupportandIncapacityBenefit15aswellasthosewhoarenotinreceiptofanybenefits.Thepurposeoftheprogrammeistoprovideadditionalmentoringandsupporttohelpcustomersgainsuitableemploymentandtodateover335peoplehavebeenscreenedforessentialskillsneeds.S2Wadvisersaretrainedtoencouragecustomerstoaccessandcompletetheirlearninginawaythatbestsuitsthem,whetheraspartoftheirnewjoborintheirleisuretime.Atpresent,guidelinesarebeingreviewedandbookingessentialskillsscreeningwillbeincorporatedasamandatoryconditionforthosewithoutaLevel2EssentialSkillsqualification.TheS2WprogrammewasrolledoutacrossallJBOsandJobcentresinSeptember2008andwillhelpthosehardest-to-reachlearnersingainingessentialskills.

Thevoluntarysectorisbeingusedmoretoengagethehardest-to-reachsector

LocalEmploymentIntermediaryService(LEMIS)

4.11 InMay2007,DELcontractedwithanumberofcommunity-basedorganisationsinLondonderry,StrabaneandBelfast,allareaswithrecognisedhighlevelsofunemployment,todeliveranewserviceknownasLEMIS(LocalEmploymentIntermediaryService).Thisprogrammeaimstoprovidetailoredassistancetohelplong-termunemployedandeconomicallyinactiveandthosewhomightnototherwiseengagewiththestatutorysectortoovercometheirpersonalbarrierstoemployment.Therearecurrentlyover1,200peopleontheLEMIScaseload,withasignificantlyhighproportionofthoseidentifiedashavinganEssentialSkillsneed.Thecommunity-basedprovidersencouragecustomerstoparticipateinlocalEssentialSkillscourses.

Workers’EducationalAssociation(WEA)

4.12 DELalsoenteredintocontractswiththeWorkers’EducationalAssociation(andEGSA–seeparagraph4.16)totargetthehardest-to-reachEssentialSkillsgroups,largelyseenasthelong-termunemployedandtheeconomicallyinactive.WEAisanot-for-profitorganisationthatprovidesadulteducationincommunityandworkplacesettings,includingcommunityhalls,artscentresandtrainingrooms.TheyhaveaccountedforapproximatelysixpercentofallEssentialSkills

15 IncomeSupportandIncapacityBenefitwasreplacedbyEmploymentandSupportAllowanceinOctober2008.


enrolments.During2007-08,WEAundertooktoengage450learnerswithatargetof315achievements.AsthecontractwithWEAwasoutput-related,paymentwasmadeontheactualnumberoflearnerswhoachievedaqualification.

4.13 AhallmarkofWEAisthatitofferslearningfacilitiesthatarespecificallyadaptedtomeettheneedsofitsclients,whethertheyarecommunities,employersorindividuals.Asanexampleofthis‘tailor-made’service,oneoftheWEA’sclientsisParcelforceinLisburnandBelfast,forwhomclassesareprovidedbetween10.00pmandmidnighttoaccommodateworkingpatterns.WEAalsotakesbothaproactiveandreactiveapproachtomakingprovisionforadultlearning.Asanexampleoftheformer,informationonproposedclasseswouldbesenthomewithchildrenfromschoolstostimulateinterestineitherindividualorfamilylearningopportunities.

4.14 In2007-08,WEAengaged615EssentialSkillslearnersandachieved333qualifications.Intotal,sincethelaunchofthestrategyinOctober2002,WEAengagedapproximately2,000learnerswithover1,500achievements.ThecontractwithWEAexpiredon31August2008.

4.15 WeaskedtheDepartmentifthenewarrangementswhichwereintroducedfromSeptember2008(seeparagraph4.22),andplaceFurtherEducationcollegesintheroleofprincipalprovidersofEssentialSkillscourses,willofferthesameflexibilityintutoringservicesas

formerproviderssuchastheWEA.Ittoldusthattheguidanceissuedtocollegespromotedflexibilityinthedeliveryofcourseprovision.Inparticular,itisexpectedthattheprovisionforthoseinthe“hard-to-reach”categorieswould,whereverpossible,beofferedlocally,incommunityoutreachsettingsandtailoredtotakeaccountoflocalcircumstancesandindividualneeds.

EducationalGuidanceServiceforAdults(EGSA)

4.16 TheEducationalGuidanceServiceforAdultsisavoluntaryorganisationthatprovidesinformation,adviceandguidanceonlearningandwork.Itprovidessupportforthosemostinneedthroughone-to-onecounsellingandgroupawarenessraisingsessions.Since2002,theDepartmenthasfundedEGSAtoengagewithpotentialEssentialSkillslearners,eitherthrough:

• supportedreferral–whereEGSAcontactsthelearningprovideronbehalfoftheclientandarrangesforatutortocontacttheclienttoarrangeasuitableclass

• directreferral–whereEGSAprovidestheclientwiththerelevantcontactdetailsiftheclientfeelsconfidenttomakecontactthemselves.

4.17 EGSAcarriesouttrackingontheselearnersatfourandtwelveweekintervalstocheckiftheyhavestartedaclass,arestillinprovisionor,ifnecessary,toprovidefurthersupportandadvice.Thetrackingallows



themtorecordthereasonsfordrop-outandnon-uptake.InthethreeyearstoMarch2008,itprovidedsupportto1,300,1,400and1,345adultsrespectively,whowereidentifiedashavingEssentialSkillsneeds.TheDepartmenttoldusthatEGSAisontracktosupportafurther1,400adultsin2008-09.

4.18 WemetwithEGSAstafftodiscusstheobstaclesthatsomelearnersfacedinaccessingsuitablecourses.Theyexplainedthatthesecomeinavarietyofformsandprovidedthefollowingexamplesbywayofillustration.

CaseStudy1

GeraldinewascontactedbyEGSAinDecember2007andasupportedreferralwasmadetoherlocalcollegeforEnglishandmathsclasses.AtwelveweekcallwasmadetoGeraldineinJanuary2008,butshehadstillnotbeencontactedbythecollege.AnotherreferralwasmadebyEGSA,witharequesttobeinformedoftheoutcome.Thecollegereturnedanemailon25JanuarytosaythattheyhadspokentoGeraldineandhadtoldherthattherewouldbenoclassesuntilSeptember2008asalltheclasseswerefull.TheCollegeundertooktoletGeraldineknowiftherewereanychanges.

CaseStudy2

JosephwasreferredtoaproviderinOctober2007.AfourweekcallwasmadetoJosephinDecember2007buttherehadbeennocontactfromtheprovider.EGSAmadeasupportedre-referral.Josephwascalledagainat12weeksandrespondedthathehadbeentoldthathe

wouldhavetowaituntilSeptember2008astherewerenoclassesavailable.

CaseStudy3

IrisenrolledinEssentialSkillsclassesandwhilesheattendedclasseshermotherlookedafterherchildren.ThisarrangementsubsequentlyceasedforpersonalreasonsandIriswasforcedtodropoutofprovisionastherewerenoplacesleftinthecollege’scrèche.ThecollegenotifiedIrissomeweekslatertoadvisethatthereweretwoavailableplacesinthecrèchebutitwouldcosther£18perweekfortwochildren.Iris,asasingleparent,couldnotaffordthisandalternativesweresoughtbyEGSA.Acommunityproviderwasfoundinherareawithfreecrèchefacilities.

CaseStudy4

Patriciaisalearningadvocatewhohas6-8peoplewantingtolearnwholiveinanareawheretherewerenoprovidersofferingEssentialSkillsclasses.ShecontactedLearndirectwhotoldhernonewereavailableandshethencontactedEGSA.Providershaveadvisedthataclasscannotbestartedunlessthereare10ormoreclients.WEAhavebeencontactedtoseeiftheycanmakeprovision.

Case Studies provided by EGSA

TheDepartmentinformedusthatEGSAhassincecommented,atameetinginFebruary2009,thattherehadbeenarecentimprovementingettinglearnersintoclassesatcolleges;thatretentionrateshavealsobeengood;andcollegesarebeingmoreresponsiveandflexibletodeliveryrequirements.TheDepartment


hasalsosaidthattrainingorganisations,includingthefurthereducationsector,havetraditionallydeliveredprovisioninarangeofsettingstofacilitatetheneedsoflearnersandemployers.TheDepartmenttoldusthatitcontinuestoencourageinnovationindeliverytoallowanenhanceduptakeoftheprovisionavailable.

TheDepartmentisworkingcloselywiththeDepartmentofEducationtopromotearangeofFamilyLiteracyprogrammes

4.19 DELisliaisingwiththeDepartmentofEducation’sRegionalTrainingUnitaboutitsExtendedSchoolsProgrammeandhasplacedinformationonthelatter’swebsitehighlightingbestpracticeprogrammesandFurtherEducationcontactsforfamilylearningprovision.ThroughtheExtendedSchoolsprogramme,DELencouragesanumberofactivities:

• promotionalevents–toencourageparentstoparticipateinschoolactivitiesandtheirchildren’slearningthroughdevelopingtheirownlearning,skillsandqualifications

• free,short,activity-based‘taster’courses–toattractparentsbackintonewlearningopportunitiesandeventuallyprogresstolonger,traditionalfamilylearningandfamilyliteracyandnumeracycourseswhichleadtoqualifications

• freefamilyliteracyandnumeracycourses–whichfocusondevelopingtheliteracyandnumeracyskills

ofparentswithinthecontextofrelevantfamilylearningissuessuchasparenting,children’shealth,playandchildren’sbehaviour.Thesecoursesareaimedatenablingadultstoachievenationallyrecognisedqualifications.

4.20 TheDepartmenttoldusthatotherfamilylearningprojectshavebeenfundedbytheEUPeaceIIfundingpackage.Forexample,theBelfastEducationandLibraryBoardprojectsinvolvedFamilySupportOfficerswhotargetedparentsandcarersofchildrenattendingthreelocalschools–BlythefieldPrimary,StKevin’sPrimaryandGlenwoodPrimary.TheprojectsemphasisedthebenefitsofparentsandchildrenlearningtogetherandprovidedadultswiththeopportunitytoreceiveEssentialSkillsandICTtraining.OtherBelfast-basedfamilylearningprojectsincluded:

• workingwithyoungsingleparentswithEssentialSkillsneeds,usingtopicssuchaswomen’shealth,parentingskillsandchilddevelopmentasameansofengagingtheminlearning

• improvingparents’employabilityskillstoenablethemtomovetowardsalearningenvironmentathomeandbebetterabletoassisttheirchildrenwithhomework.

TheDepartmenttoldusthatitencouragesproviderstomarketfamilyliteracywiththeirlocalschoolsthroughleafletdropsandengagingparentsinotherschoolactivities.



Thereareanumberoffactorswhichhaveprovedsuccessfulinattractingadultsintothelearningenvironment

4.21 WeaskedtheDepartmentwhetherithadcommissionedorconductedanysurveystoascertainfromsuccessfuladultlearnerswhattheyfeltworksbestintermsofattractingadultsintoalearningenvironment,andwhatconstitutedthebarrierstolearning.Ittoldusthatcasestudymaterialwasobtainedbyconsultantsin2006duringanevaluationofthestrategy(seeparagraph5.10)onbothcurrentandpastEssentialSkillsparticipants.Thissuggestedthatthe‘Gremlins’campaignwasapowerfulmotivatorinencouragingpeoplebackintolearning.Otherfactorsincludedsmallclasssizes,flexibilityofprovision,relaxedatmosphere,relevantmaterials,gainingaqualification,incorporationofICTintothecourseandasupportivetutor.Barrierstolearningweremostlypractical,forexample,notbeingabletogettimeoffworktostudy,familycommitments/childcare,lackofpublictransport,andfindingthecollegeenvironmentoff-putting.Learnersalsoreportedembarrassmentasafactor.

FromSeptember2008,newarrangementshaveplacedFurtherEducationcollegesastheprincipalcourseprovidersandthevoluntaryandcommunitysectorsinanengagementandsupportrole

4.22 TheDepartmenthassetchallengingtargetsforEssentialSkillsfortheperiodupto2011.Theyareparticularly

challengingwhenaccountistakenofthefactthattheconsiderableresourceswhichhavehithertobeenavailableundertheEUPeaceIIpackagearenolongeravailableasameansofsupplementingDELfundedactivity.TheDepartmenthaschosenthisjuncturetomakeotheradjustmentstoitscurrentapproach.TheWEAcontract,whichwasdirectlyfundedbyDEL,ceasedon31August2008.Thismoverepresentsasignificantdeparturefrompreviousarrangements,wherebyproviderssuchasWEA,andothergroupsfundedbyPeaceIIwhopreviouslyprovidedtutoringservices,willnolongerberequiredtodoso–thatisnowcarriedoutprincipallybytheFEcollegeswhosupplythetutorsandthematerials.ItistheviewofDELthatnon-statutoryprovidersfromthevoluntaryandcommunitysectorsandelsewherearemostadeptatattracting,engagingwithandsupportingclients,whilecollegescanbestprovidethetuitiontohelpadultlearnersacquirethenecessaryqualifications.Thenewarrangements,therefore,willseektoachieveclosecollaborationbetweenthetwoparties.

4.23 Thisnewapproach,whichextendsbeyondEssentialSkillsintargetingarangeof‘hardest-to-reach’adults,takestheformofathree-yearpilotprogrammefor‘LearnerAccessandEngagement’.TheprogrammewilloperatethroughoutNorthernIreland,withallsixFEcollegesparticipating.Intermsoffundingforthenewarrangements,atotalof£500,000perannumwillbeavailabletosupporttheprogrammeineachcollegeforthethreeyears.Underthearrangements,FEcollegeswillaward


learnersupportcontractsonthebasisofcompetitivetender.Organisationstenderingtodeliverthisservicewillbeaskedtosatisfyspecificcriteriaaroundstaffqualifications,competenceandaccountability.Importantly,allbidderswillalsoberequiredtodemonstratearecordofsuccessfulengagementatcommunitylevel,includingworkingwithpeoplewhohaveliteracyandnumeracyskillsneeds.

4.24 ThelearnersupportservicewillbetargetedatadultsnotinworkwhodonotholdaqualificationatEssentialSkillsLevel2orabove,whomayhavebarrierstolearningandwhoarenotcurrentlyenrolledonanFEcourse.Thesupportprovidedwillinclude:

• signpostinglearnerstoemploymentrelatedFEcourses

• pre-entryguidance,linkedtoplanningandpersonalgoals

• adviceonprogressionroutes

• on-coursesupportandassistancetostudy

• personalsupportandencouragement

• guidanceonexternalandFEsupportservices

• exitandprogressionguidance.

4.25 Theprogrammeisexpectedtodeliverincreasedadultenrolmentsinemployment-relatedFEprovisionandinEssential

Skillsprovision,aswellasincreasedadultparticipationfromthoselivingindisadvantagedareas.OtherlikelybenefitswillincludeanincreaseinthenumberofadultsachievingarecognisedqualificationandprogressingtoLevel2provisionandemployment.

4.26 TheDepartmenttoldusthat,asapilot,thebudgetallocatedtosupporttheprogrammeislimitedinnatureand,thus,notalllearnerswhoareeligibleforthissupportmaybenefitatthistime.Inaddition,eachofthevariousorganisationswhoareawardedcontractsbytheFEcollegesunderthenewarrangementstoprovidelearnersupportwillhavesufficientflexibilitytotesttheirownparticularapproachesto‘learnersupport’todelivertheprogramme’sobjectives.InNIAO’sview,theimplementationoftheprogrammecomesatacrucialtimeintheevolutionoftheEssentialSkillsstrategy.TomeetthechallengingPSAtargetof42,000adultlearnersachievingarecognisedqualificationinEssentialSkillsoverthethreeyearstoMarch2011willclearlyrequireachievementatanunprecedentedlevelinNorthernIreland.Inthatregard,theDepartmenttoldusthattheinitialprogressmadebyadultlearnersinthefirstyearofthePSAtargethasexceededitsprojections–seeparagraph5.5.



TheDepartmentisengagingwithmoreemployersbutmoreneedstobedonetopersuadethemofthebenefitsofliteracyandnumeracytrainingfortheirstaff

4.27 TheDepartmenthasfoundworkingwithemployerschallenging,particularlyintermsofgettingapositiveresponsetothemessagethataworkforcewithgoodEssentialSkillshasadirect,beneficialimpactonefficiencyandprofitability.Presentations,describedbytheDepartmentas‘highlevelawareness-raising’,havebeendeliveredtoarangeoforganisations:

• AllSectorSkillsCouncils

• HealthBoards

• LocalGovernmentAuthorities

• InvestNI

• InstituteofDirectors

• NIFoodandDrinkAssociation

• ConstructionEmployers’Federation.

4.28 TheDepartmenthasalsoimplementedarangeofinitiativesaimedatpromotingthebenefitsofEssentialSkillstoemployers:

• establishedanemployersub-groupoftheEssentialSkillsCommitteetoprovideadviceonspecificwaystoengageemployers

• createdaWorkplaceInnovationFundtopilotnewapproachestoworkplacelearning

• fundedadvisersfrom‘BusinessintheCommunity’tobrokerEssentialSkillsprovisiondirectlywithemployersandproviders(17employerswereengagedthroughtheproject)

• fundedlearningambassadorsinanumberoflocalcouncilsandpublicsectororganisations

• fundedaprojectwith‘GoSkills’toengagelearnersandlearningambassadorsinthetaxiandprivatehiresectorinBelfastandtheNorthWest

• helddiscussionswiththeDepartmentofFinanceandPersonnelandtheCentreforAppliedLearning(CAL)todevelopanNICS-wideEssentialSkillspilotCALprogramme

• organisedaseminarentitled‘EssentialSkills–LeadingtheWayinthePublicSector’topromotetheuptakeofEssentialSkillsinGovernmentdepartments,healthtrusts,districtcouncilsandEducationandLibraryBoards

• helddiscussionswithSectorSkillsCouncilstobringforwardpilotprojectstoengageemployersinEssentialSkillsthroughlearningambassadorprogrammes

• producedpromotionalmaterialforemployers,includingtheissueof10,000leafletstoemployers,includingthoseintheSmallandMediumEnterprises(SME)sector,to


explainandpromotethebenefitsofEssentialSkillsqualifications

• workedwiththeAssociationofNorthernIrelandCollegestobrokerEssentialSkillsprovisioninthehealthsector

• workedcollaborativelywithFurtherEducationcollegesandSectorSkillsCouncilstodeveloptailoredprovision-forexample,theBelfastMetropolitanCollegeandSocialCareproject,tojointlydeliverEssentialSkillsandNVQqualifications

• includedanemployerstrandintheWorkers’EducationalAssociationcontractwhichresultedintheengagementofsevenmajoremployers,includingFGWilsonandTranslink

• focusedPRactivity,includingcasestudies,tosellthebenefitsofEssentialSkillstoemployers

• usedtheUnionLearningFundforNorthernIreland16topromotetheuptakeofEssentialSkillsintheworkplace.

4.29 GiventhehighproportionofSMEsinNorthernIreland,weaskedtheDepartmentwhatpoliciesithaddevelopedtospecificallytargettheSMEsectortoimproveparticipationinadultlearningandencouragethereleaseofworkersforthatpurpose.IttoldusthatengagementwiththeSMEsectorinNorthernIrelandremainsachallengebecauseoftheextremely

smallsizeofmanybusinesses,whichmakesthereleaseofstafffortrainingverydifficult.In2007,attemptstoraiseawarenessofEssentialSkillsbyincludingpromotionalmaterialintheFederationofSmallBusiness’quarterlynewsletter,whichiscirculatedtoaround6,000localfirms,elicitedapoorresponse.Employers,includingthoseintheSMEsector,continuetobeakeytargetgroupandopportunitiestoaccommodatesmallnumbersoflearnerswithinexistingclassesarebeingexploredthroughworkwiththeSectorSkillsCouncilsandtheTradeUnions.Inaddition,workersareencouragedbytheDepartment’spromotionalcampaigntoenrolonacourseintheirowntime.

4.30 TheDepartment’sanalysisofenrolmentsshowsthatthenumberofpart-timeemployeesinprovisionisrising.Ithassuggestedthatthisappearstoindicatethatthestrategyistargetingthoseonthelowestrungoftheemploymentladder.Ittoldusthat,in2003,only12percentofenrolmentswerefrompeoplewhowereemployedpart-time,butby2008thishadrisentoalmost45percent.TheDepartmentconsidersthisawelcometrend,asthosepart-timeemployeesinEssentialSkillsprovisiontendtobelowpaid,poorlyskilledandoftenwomen.

4.31 CaseStudy5,providedbytheDepartment,showssuccessfulparticipationandprogressioninEssentialSkillscoursesfromsomeonealreadyintheworkplace.CaseStudy6,alsoprovidedbytheDepartment,givesanemployer’sperspectiveoftheICTelementoftheprogramme.

16 TheUnionLearningFundforNorthernIrelandwasestablishedbyDELin2002.ItaimstopromoteactivitybytradeunionsinsupportoftheGovernment’sobjectiveofcreatingalearningsociety.



CaseStudy5

JameshasbeenstudyingEssentialSkillsfornearly3years.HeiscurrentlystudyingLevel2numeracy,havingpreviouslycompletedLevels1and2LiteracyandLevel1Numeracy.JamessignedupforEssentialSkillsforvariousreasons,butprimarilytogetqualificationstoimprovehisjobprospects.Healsowantedtoprovetohimselfandothersthathecoulddoit.Jameshadpreviouslycompletedothercourses,anddecidedtosignupafterseeinganadvertisementinthelocalnewspaper.Thevenueatthecollegealsosuitedhimwell.

Jamesdescribedthequalificationasoneofthemostimportantaspectsofattendingtheclassandsomethingthatcontinuedtokeephimmotivated.Hebelieveditwasveryimportantinhelpingtoimprovehisjobprospects.

JamescurrentlyworksforanEducationandLibraryBoard,buthisambitionistogotocollegeandbecomeanengineer.HedescribedEssentialSkillsashavinghelpedhimtoagreatextent.Hehasbecomemoreorganised,moreconfident,andfeelsheisclosertohisdreamjob.AchievingLevels1and2LiteracyandLevel1Numeracyhasenabledhimtounderstandmoreaboutthevalueofmoneyandmadereadingaloteasier. Case Study supplied by DEL

CaseStudy6:Anemployer’sperspective

Businessfocusesonthebottomline.Whenwewereseekingacompetitiveadvantagewerealisedthatourstaffcouldgiveusthatedge.Acrosscompanyprocesstodevelopthelatenttalentwithinourcompanyrequiredustolookattheskillsgapsateverylevel.Werecognisedthatmanyofourstaffhadallowededucationtodriftandskillstobeforgotten.However,inthiseraoftechnology,theabsenceofafirmICTknowledgewouldeffectivelybedisablingtheemployeeandthecompany.

TheadventofICTasathirdEssentialSkillwastimelyandhasprovideduswitharecognisablequalificationthatfitsbusinessneeds.TherelationshipbetweentheWorkplaceTrainingAdvisorwhoassistedustoaccessprovisionandfunding,thecollegeproviderandourstaff,isexcellent.Itprovedtobethebedrockforsuccess.

EngagingintheICTEssentialSkillsprogrammehascreatedanenthusiasmandcommitmentacrossallgradesofstaff.Morale,retentionandrecruitmenthaveallimprovedwhileabsenteeismhasreduced.Theatmospherecreatedbythetutorwhodeliverson-siteisjovial,light-heartedyetfocused.Thisisnoformalclassroomsituationbutthecourseiswork-focused,workrelevantandabsolutelyworks.Importantly,boththeemployeeandthecompanycontributetimetomakethisprogrammework.

BeyondthesuccessforthelearnersintheICTclass,ourbusinesscannowreport:

• anenhancedcompetitiveedgewhereintrainingisrecognisedasanimportanttoolinsustainingourcompetitiveadvantage;


• aradicallyreducedskillsgap;

• theworkbaseddeliveryofICThasreapedimmediateproductivityreturns;and

• asharedresponsibilitybetweenourstaffaslearners,managementandproviderstosupportthistrainingprogramme.

Werecogniseourcontributioninreleasingstafffromtheworkplacewillandhasproducedsignificantbenefits.Ourinvestmentiswithinthelatenttalentofourworkforce.Simplyput,allofourstaffhavegreateremployabilityskillsnowthantheypreviouslyhad.Weareproudoftheirsuccessandequallyproudofwhatwecanachievetogetherwithfocusedtraining.

Case Study supplied by DEL


Part Five:Achievements and costs



KeyAuditFindings

• ThetargetforthethreeyearperiodendinginMarch2007,that18,500peoplewouldhaveachievedarecognisedEssentialSkillsqualification,was86%achieved.

• BetweenOctober2002andJuly2009,justover54,000peopleenrolledinEssentialSkillscoursesand,ofthese,over34,000peopleachievedoneormoreEssentialSkillsqualifications.Overall,thereweresome97,000courseenrolments(peoplecanenrolinmorethanoneclass),resultinginalmost57,000recognisedqualifications

• Anevaluationofthe“Essential Skills for Living” strategy,publishedin2006,waslargelypositivebutpointedtotheneedtomakegreaterimpactwithemployersandthehardest-to-reachgroups.

• Atotalof£40millionwasspentontheEssentialSkillsprogrammeoverthesevenyearstoMarch2009andafurther£30millionisbudgetedoverthefollowingtwoyears.

• SubstantialEUfunding,totalling£7.6million,madeavailablethroughthePeaceIIprogrammes,endedinJune2008.

5.1 Thispartofourreportreviewstheprogressmadesince2002inincreasingparticipationandachievementsinliteracyandnumeracylearningforadults,andsetsouttheexpenditureontheEssentialSkillsprogramme.

TheDepartmenthasmadegoodprogresstowardsmeetingitstargetsforEssentialSkills

5.2 InMay2007,theDepartmentpublishedaprogressreportonthe‘Success Through Skills’ programme.Thisstatedthattherehadbeenover55,000enrolmentsonEssentialSkillscoursessincethelaunchof‘Essential Skills for Living’ strategyinOctober2002.Itreportedthat,byFebruary2007,over21,000EssentialSkillsqualificationshadbeenachieved,

whichitclaimedexceededthethenPSAtarget,whichwas:

“By 2007, 18,500 people will have achieved a recognised qualification in Essential Skills compared to 100 in March 2003.”

5.3 However,thereisasignificantdistinctionbetweenthe18,500peoplereferredtointhetarget,andtheover21,000qualificationsattainedbylearnersreportedastheachievement.TheexplanationofthatdistinctionprovidedbyDELis:

“An individual may obtain a literacy and numeracy qualification within the programme. If this occurs, this individual is counted twice within the total number of learners. However, individuals who obtain


multiple literacy qualifications (more than one level), or multiple numeracy qualifications, are counted only once. As at 31 March 2007, there were 22,162 learners who had achieved an Essential Skills qualification. This equates to 15,929 individuals [people] and 25,489 qualifications”

SetagainstitsPSAtargetthat18,500peoplewouldachievearecognisedEssentialSkillsqualificationby31March2007,theoutturnfigure(15,929)representsa14percentshortfall.

5.4 TheDepartment’sprogressreportstatedthattheEssentialSkillsstrategyhadbeenperformingwellandnotedthatachallengingPSAtargethadbeensetforthe2007-08financialyear,i.e.by31March2008,DELwouldprovidesupportfortheachievementof10,500EssentialSkillsqualifications.Thisrepresenteda10percentincreaseoverthepreviousyear’sachievements.TheDepartmenttoldusthatthenumberofachievementsatthatdatewas12,470LiteracyandNumeracyand204ICTqualifications,whichsurpassedthetarget.

5.5 ThePSAtargetinDEL’scurrentCorporatePlan2008-2011inrelationtoEssentialSkillsisthatinthethree-yearperiodendinginMarch2011,42,000adultlearnerswillhaveachievedarecognisedqualification.TheDepartmenttoldusthattheinitialprogressmadeinthefirstyearofthePSAtargethasexceededitsprojections(12,852adultlearnerswithaqualificationagainstatargetof11,950).

5.6 TheVarneyReviewoftheCompetitivenessofNorthernIreland(seeparagraph2.14)recommendedthatinitsforthcomingreviewof‘Success Through Skills’,DELmightwishtoexamine,inparticular,theeffectivenessofitspoliciestotacklethelackofbasicskillsandthebalanceofresourcesassignedtodealwiththem;theaimbeingtoensurethatthedeliveryofbasicskillsisprioritised.

WorthwhileliteracygainshavebeenmadebyadultsattendingEssentialSkillscourses

5.7 ThefiguresprovidedbyDELinrelationtoEssentialSkillsenrolmentsandqualifications,sincetheProgrammebeganinOctober2002,areoutlinedinFigure6:


5.8 ThesplitacrossthetwomainreligiousdenominationsshowsthatahigherpercentageofthoseenrolledinanEssentialSkillscoursewereRomanCatholics(48percent)thanProtestants(41percent),wherecommunitybackgroundwasknown.Thirtyonepercentoflearnerswereunemployed,ofwhomalmosthalffellwithinthe16-19ageband(seeFigure7).Some36percentofenrolmentswereregisteredasbeinginpart-timeemployment,whereemploymentstatuswasknown17.

5.9 Ananalysiscorrelatingthe‘NorthernIrelandMultipleDeprivationMeasure’againstthewardareainwhichtheparticipantlives,basedonpostcodes,showsthat31percent(wherethe

postcodeisknown)ofallEssentialSkillsenrolmentswerefromthemostdeprivedareas.

AnevaluationoftheEssentialSkillsstrategy,publishedin2006,wasgenerallypositive

5.10 Anevaluation18oftheEssentialSkillsstrategywaspublishedinOctober2006.Thisassessedtheprogressmadeandconsideredthemosteffectivestrategyforthefuture.Overall,theevaluationwasgenerallypositive,concludingthatEssentialSkillshadgotofftoaverystrongstartandwasontracktoachieveorexceeditstargets.Theresearchwhichunderpinnedtheappraisalalsodemonstratedthatparticipants

Figure6:Enrolmentsandachievementsbyacademicyear

AcademicYear People Enrolments People Qualifications No. No. No. No. %

October2002-31July2003 2,562 4,018 195 316 8%

1August2003-31July2004 5,203 9,172 1,908 3,445 38%

1August2004-31July2005 6,924 12,210 3,010 5,463 45%

1August2005-31July2006 8,796 15,621 5,404 9,697 62%

1August2006–31July2007 8,453 16,561 6,953 12,428 75%

1August2007–31July2008 10,418 19,678 9,165 15,013 76%

1August2008–31July2009 11,896 19,848 7,397 10,628 54%

Totals 54,252 97,108 34,032 56,990 59%

Source: DEL and the Awarding Bodies

Note:Thelastcolumnshowsthequalificationsachieved,eachyear,asapercentageofenrolmentsinthatyear.However,itshouldbenotedthatsomequalificationsmay,infact,relatetoenrolmentsinthepreviousacademicyear,butthesecannoteasilybeidentified.

17 In26percentofenrolments,theemploymentstatuswasunknown.18 ‘AppraisalofEssentialSkillsforLiving’–AReportpreparedforDELbyConsultants,October2006



Figure7:Enrolmentsbyageband(2003–2008)

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66+

Source: DEL

hadbenefitedconsiderablyfromthelearningexperienceandthattheimpactsachievedaddressedtheprioritiesofanumberofGovernmentdepartments.Theconsultants’reporthighlightedtheneedforDELtoengagemoreemployersintheEssentialSkillsagendaandpointedoutthatwhileperformanceinthefirstthreeyearshadbeenimpressive,therewerestillanestimated150,000peopleinthepopulationwithEssentialSkillsneeds(notincludingthosewhohademergedfromschooleducationwithEssentialSkillsdeficienciesduringtheperiod).Theresearchsuggestedthatthehardest-to-reachgroups,suchasunemployedmalesandthemostsociallyexcludedgroupsinsociety,werebeingengagedbyEssential

Skills.However,thereportpointedoutthatovertime,astheoveralltargetpopulationdecreased,itwaslikelythattheremainingtargetpopulationwouldbecomehardertoreach.Thissuggestedthattheemphasisofprovisionwouldneedtoshiftmoretowardscommunityandoutreachprovision,usinginnovativeapproachestoengagethemostdisengagedclientgroups.

5.11 Theevaluationreportincludedanumberofrecommendations:

• employerengagement-furtherworkwouldbenecessarytoidentifythebarrierstoemployerssigningupandsupportingemployees,to


identifygoodpracticeelsewhereandtoidentifythekeysellingmessagesthatwouldencourageemployerstoengage.

• promotionalcampaign-DELshouldworkwiththeDepartmentforEducationandSkillsandpartnersacrosstheUKtoensurethat‘Gremlins’wouldbecontinuedinthemediumterm.ThisshouldbesupplementedbyaNorthernIrelandpromotionalcampaign,to:

- incorporatethekeysellingmessagesaboutself-improvement,familyandsocialconfidence;

- targetadultfemalefamilymembersaskeyinfluencers;

- targetbusinessesandpeopleinemploymenttoencourageworkplaceengagement;

- enrolchampionsand‘graduates’topromoteEssentialSkills;and

- usereallifeexperiences(e.g.casestudies)toconnectwiththetargetgroups.

• tutordevelopmentandsupport–thisshouldbeapriority,toensurethatcapacityandcapabilitycontinuestomeetdemandandneed.Theprogrammesoftutordevelopmentandsupportshouldinclude:

- tutornetwork,tosupplementtheLearningandSkillsDevelopmentAgencyportalandprovide

opportunitiesforknowledgesharinganddisseminationofgoodpractice;

- ashadowingandplacementprogrammefornewlyqualifiedtutors,toenablethemtolearnfrommoreexperiencedtutorsandacceleratetherateatwhichtheyachievefullconfidenceandflexibility;

- acoordinatedContinuousProfessionalDevelopmentprogrammethatoffersalltutorstheopportunitytolearnnewandrelevantskillsandtoexperiencenewapproachestoEssentialSkillsdelivery;and

- ring-fencetheadministrationfundingprovidedtocollegestoensureitisspentonprovidingdedicatedadministrativesupport.

• increasecommunityandoutreachprovision-tomaximisepenetrationintothehardest-to-reachgroups,newandinnovativeapproacheswouldberequiredtoengagepeopleintheircommunities.

• linkedprogrammes-DELshouldconsiderfurtherexplorationof:

- tripartiteawards–literacy,numeracyandICT;

- increaseduseofICTtoencourageparticipation;

- combinationofEssentialSkillswithotherkeysubjects;and



- familylearningprojects–especiallyfocusedonfathersasameansofreachingtheunemployedmaletargetgroup.

• JobsandBenefitsOfficedevelopment-theEssentialSkillsteaminDELshouldworkwithcolleaguesintheEmploymentServicetodevelopandimplementaprogrammeoftrainingforJBOadvisers.ThisshouldbesupplementedbytheprovisionofaneasytousedatabasewhichdetailsallthedifferentEssentialSkillslearningopportunitiesandlocationsavailable.

Theprogressmadeinimplementing theserecommendationsissetoutat

Appendix3.

5.12 TheDepartmenttoldusthat“thepositivestartidentifiedbytheconsultantshasbeenbuiltuponandtheirrecommendationsusedasthebaseforadiverserangeofengagementatalllevelstopromoteengagementwithEssentialSkillsintheworkplaceandcommunity.”

TherehasbeenalargeincreaseinresourcesdevotedtoliteracyandnumeracyservicesinNorthernIreland

5.13 Between2002-03and2008-09,expenditurebyDELonEssentialSkillstotallednearly£40million.Asignificantincreaseinresourcesisplannedupto2010-2011,asoutlinedinFigure8:

Figure8:DELactual/plannedexpenditure2002-03to2010-11

0

4

8

12

16

20

2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

£ m

illio

n

Source: DEL


5.14 TheDepartmenttoldusthattheadditionalallocationin2008-09representsincreasedfundinginexcessof£1.5milliontotheFurtherEducationcollegestoaddressincreasedEssentialSkillsprovision.Thecolleges’budgetsforEssentialSkillsarescheduledtoincreasefurtherinboth2009-10and2010-11.Inaddition,theplannedexpenditureonEssentialSkillswithintheLearnerAccessandEngagementpilotprogramme(seeparagraph4.22)forthoseyearsisapproximately£1millionperannum.

5.15 InadditiontoexpenditurebyDEL,EGSAandProteus(seeparagraph5.16)havebeenallocatedresourcesfromtheEUPeaceIIandPeaceIIextensionprogrammes.IntheperioduptoOctober2006,EGSAdisbursedfundingofsome£5.9millionfromatotalbudgetof£9million,securing7,235enrolmentsand5,576qualifications.Wenoted,however,thatDEL’sEssentialSkillsdatabaseshows6,044enrolmentsand3,536achievements.TheDepartmenthassuggestedthatthedifferenceislikelytobeattributabletothefactthatanumberoftheprojectsfundedbyEGSAwerenotdeliveringEssentialSkillsbutothercoursessuchasESOL(EnglishforSpeakersofOtherLanguages)andcoursesforpeoplewithlearningdifficulties.TheDepartmenthasalsopointedoutthatEGSAachievementsarelikelytocoverlearnerswhohaveachievedmultiplelevelsofqualificationsinliteracyandnumeracy.TheAwardingBodiescannotbreakdowndatatoshowachievementsagainstindividualEGSA-fundedprojects(therewereapproximately108projects)making

itdifficulttoestablishaprecisepictureoftheircontributionagainstthePSAtarget.

5.16 ProteusprovidessupportandassistanceinanextensiverangeofEuropeanprogrammesandisanIntermediaryFundingBodyforthePeaceIIprogramme.SinceassumingresponsibilityfortheEssentialSkillselementofthePeaceIIextensionin2006,Proteushasbeenallocated£1.7millionfundingfromwhichtherehavebeen612enrolmentsand163achievements.Again,theremightbemultiplelevelsofqualificationsgiventhatthesameissueswiththeawardingbodiesapplytoProteus.TheseachievementfigureshavebeenprovidedtotheDepartmentbytheAwardingBodiesandareregardedbyitasrobust.

5.17 Casestudies7and8belowareexamplesoflearnerswhohavesuccessfullyparticipatedinEssentialSkillscoursesfundedbyProteus.

CaseStudy7

Craigdescribedhimselfasa“starpupil”whenhemovedfromPaisley,nearGlasgow,toBelfastattheageof13.InBelfast,however,henoticedabigdifferenceintheregimeinhisnewsecondaryschool.Inhispreviousschool,hehadnineperiodseachdayand,onaverage,anhourandahalfhomeworkperevening,comparedwithsixperiodsandtwohourshomeworkperweek.Asachild,Craiginitiallyrevelledinthenew,comparativelyrelaxedatmosphere.Havingalreadysufferedthementalhealthconsequencesofhavingwitnessedatraumaticincident,theeffectsofthis,combinedwithhisboredominclass,ledtohimbeingregardedasadisruptive



pupil.Significantly,CraigwasexcludedfromtheEnglishclass.

HeleftschoolwithGCSEsinScience,MathsandFrenchandwentontostudyArtandDesign,whereheachievedanintermediateGNVQ.Heembarkedonanadvancedcoursebutdidnotfeelmotivatedtocontinuebecauseatthatstagehedidnotregardacareerinartaspotentiallylucrative.Helefttopursueacareerasachef,gaininganotherNVQandsubsequentlyworkinginanumberofBelfastrestaurants.

PersonalissuesledtoCraigleavingcateringandafterashortspellofworkingforaBelfastcompany,firstongeneralmaildutiesandthenincomputerdesign,hesufferedaprotractedperiodofsickness.Craigalsofoundhimselfasthecarerofhistwochildren.

Craig’smotherworkswiththeMothersandToddlersGroupatherlocalcommunitycentrewheresheheardofanEssentialSkillscourseinEnglishthatwasstrugglingtoattractpupils.SheencouragedCraigtoenrolandheimmediatelyfeltcomfortableintheinformalatmosphereofthelearningenvironmentanditsflexibilityinadaptingtodifferentplacesoflearning–“The teacher’s style makes us feel she is more part of our small group than a teacher. I have got so much out of it – it represents a whole new approach to learning.”

CraigwillhaveachievedhisLevel2EssentialSkillsqualificationbeforethecoursefinishesattheendofJune.Fromhere,heintendstopursueanOpenUniversity‘Openings’courseinpsychologybeforeembarkingonhisambitionofbecominganacademicinIrishRenaissanceStudies.

CaseStudy8

FionaleftschoolwithGCSEsinEnglishandBusinessStudies.HerfavouritesubjectwasArtandshewasregardedasexcellentatdrawing.Shewas,however,deterredfrompursuingthesubjectwhensheonlyachievedan‘E’becauseshehadnotcompletedallthecoursework.FionaneverlikedMathsandinprimaryschoolwasnevertaughther‘timestables’.

Onleavingschool,FionawenttoBirminghamwheresheworkedinabarbeforehavingherfirstchildattheageof19.AfterreturningtoBelfast,shehadanumberofjobs,firstinprintingandthen,inpursuitofherambitiontoworkwithchildren,shegainedaqualificationthroughtheNorthernIrelandPre-schoolPlaygroupAssociationandworkedinacrèche.

Asaconsequenceofpersonalcircumstances,Fionawasencouragedbyhermothertoattenda‘MindandMe’courseatherlocalcommunitycentre,whichaddressedmentalhealthissues.WhilethereshemetVanessawhowaspreparingtorunanEssentialSkillscourseinEnglish.Inspiteofhavinggaineda‘B’inEnglishatGCSE,Fionawasattractedtothecoursebecauseshefeltshedidnothavethebasicskillstowritelettersandtoknowhowtopunctuatesentencesandformparagraphs.Shealsowantedtobeinapositiontohelphersonwithhishomeworkandtoencouragehiminhislearning.

FionahadpreviouslybeenmotivatedtoenrolinapsychologycoursebutaftertravellingintotheCitycentrehaddecidedagainstit.ThemainattractionoftheEssentialSkillscoursewasitsproximitytoherhomeandthesizeoftheclass(6),andalsoVanessa’sstyleofteaching–“She treats us as adults and doesn’t make us feel stupid if we ask a question.”


FionawantstobeapsychologistandtheEssentialSkillscoursehasgivenhertheconfidencetopreparetoenrolinanOpenUniversitycourseonthesubject.Shewouldbepreparedtopursueamathsclass,butonlyifitwasessentialtotheachievementofherpsychologistambitions.TheEssentialSkillscoursewillfinishattheendofJunewhenPeace2fundingceases,butbythenFionawillhaveachievedherLevel2qualification.

(Contacts for Case Studies provided by Proteus)

5.18 AsignificantfeatureoftheEssentialSkillsprojectsfundedthroughtheEUPeaceprogrammesisthattheymust,inadditiontoincludingprovisionforaddressingEssentialSkills,satisfyotherrequirements,suchasbuildingpositiverelationshipsbetweencommunitiesinordertopromotepeaceandreconciliation.Asaresult,coursesareprovidedwithaverydiverserangeofthemesinabroadspectrumoflocations,asillustratedinFigure9.

Figure9:ExamplesofcommunityandvoluntarygroupswhohaveprovidedEssentialSkillscoursesOrganisation Description Qualifications Address Target

FamiliesActingfor Planstotargetvictimsaffectedbytheconflict 20EssentialSkills Markethill,InnocentVictims livingintheSouthArmagharea.Willenhance qualificationsin CoArmagh(FAIR) employabilityofvictimsandequiptheusersto Numeracyand recogniseandtakeadvantageofthe Literacy,atvarious opportunitiesinthechanginglabourmarket. levelsandtailored foreachtraineeGreenway Toprovideadedicated‘learnerfocused’Adult 24EssentialSkills CregaghRoad,Women’sGroup EssentialSkillsprogrammeforlocalwomen qualificationsat Belfast providingholisticEssentialSkillsandICT variouslevelsin traininginaninformal,flexiblelearning Numeracy, environmentwithon-sitecrècheprovision. LiteracyandICT.Londonderry Toengagewithemployeeswithlowlevelsof 36EssentialSkills BishopStreet,Chamberof qualificationsintheretailandhospitalitysectors. andICT LondonderryCommerce Itwillengagewithemployeesfrombothsides qualificationsas ofthecommunityandwillaimtoincrease wellasOCR competencylevelsandpromoteanethosof qualificationsin mutualunderstandingandlifelonglearningin culturaldiversity theworkplace.Upper TodeliveranEssentialSkillsprogrammeto40 60Numeracy, Andersonstown,Andersonstown localpeopleperyearovertwoyears.The LiteracyandICT BelfastCommunityGroup projectwilltargetthoseinneed,includingex- atvariouslevels prisoners,victims,ableanddisabledpeople, thesettledandtravellingcommunitiesinthe Andersonstown/GlenRoadareas.PositiveSteps ToprovideEssentialSkillstraininginaneutral, 72EssentialSkills ParkAvenue,CommunityCentre/ friendlyenvironmenttopromoteselfworth,self andother Cookstown.Cookstown&District beingandselfconfidence. qualificationsWomen’sGroup Source: Proteus



5.19 FundingthroughtheEUPeaceIIprogrammeceasedwitheffectfromJune2008.Atpresent,theDepartmentisexploringthepotentialaffordedbysome55EuropeanStructuralFundprojectswhichcouldgosomewaytowardbridgingtheresourcegapleftfollowingtheendofthePeaceIIextensionpackage.

Inspections,carriedoutuptoMarch2007,indicatedthatthequalityoftrainingprovisionwasimproving

5.20 EssentialSkillsqualificationshavebeendevelopedbytheCouncilfortheCurriculum,ExaminationsandAssessment.TheyhavebeenacceptedbytheotherregulatorybodiesintheUKandareincludedintheNationalQualificationsFramework.EssentialSkillsqualificationscanbereadacrosstodifferentframeworkswithintheUKandtheRepublicofIreland(seeparagraph3.5).

5.21 TrainingprovidersarerequiredtoensurethattutorsmeetthestandardssetbytheDepartment.ThisincludesarequirementthatallnewtutorsneedtohavebothateachingqualificationandsubjectspecificqualificationinEnglishorMathsattheappropriatelevel.

5.22 TheEducationandTrainingInspectorate(ETI)hasworkedcloselywiththeDepartmentthroughouttheevolutionoftheEssentialSkillsstrategy.‘ImprovingQualityandRaisingStandards’isthelinchpinoftheETI’sapproachtoinspectionof

EssentialSkillsinfurthereducationwhichfocusesonthreekeyelements:

(1)standardsandoutcomes

(2)qualityofteaching,trainingandlearning

(3)leadershipandmanagement.

5.23 Forexample,within‘StandardsandOutcomes’,aninspectionwilladdress:

• responsesoflearners–howsuccessfularethelearnersinworkingindependentlytoimproveandextendtheirownlearning?

• standardsachieved–whatisthestandardofthelearners’workinrelationtotheirability?

• progression–howfardoestheprogressofthelearnersbuildontheirpriorachievementandmatchtheirpotential?

• retentionratesandresults–whatsuccesshastherebeenovertimeinachievingahighlevelofretentionandgoodstandardsinexternalaccreditation?

5.24 Theinspectionapproachplacesagreatdealofimportanceontheneedfor,andqualityof,individualassessmentsforeachlearner.Thesewouldtypicallyembraceareasofindividualweaknesses,experienceatschoolandtakeaccountofinterestsandhobbies.


5.25 AtypicalFurtherEducationcollegeinspectionincludesanEssentialSkillselementandInspectorsconsiderthetimetableinordertoobserveclassesprovidedbythecollegeinarangeofsettings,includingworkplace;inthecommunity;inlocalschools;andinthecollegeitself.TherearecurrentlythreeInspectorswhospecialiseinEssentialSkillsandintheperiodSeptember2003toMarch2006,EssentialSkillsprovisionin12outofthethen17collegeswasinspected.TherewerenoinspectionsofFurtherEducationcollegesinthe2007-08academicyear,inordertoallowthenewamalgamatedcollegearrangementstosettle(the17collegesweremergedintosixnewbodies).

5.26 TheDepartmenttoldus,however,thatthedeliveryofEssentialSkillscontinuedtobeinspectedbyETIinothersectoralinspections,forexample,TrainingforSuccess,ApprenticeshipsNI,andJobskills.Morerecently,theDepartmentcommissionedETItoundertakeanevaluationofpriorityskillsareaswithintheFEsector.ThiswasbeingundertakenbetweenJanuaryandJune2009.AnassessmentofEssentialSkillsprovisioncomprisesanintegralcomponentoftheassessment.

5.27 InthecourseoftheearlyinspectionsofEssentialSkillsprovision,theInspectorateidentifiedanumberofaspectswhichrequiredconsiderableimprovement.Asaconsequence,InspectorsworkedcloselywiththeLearningandSkillsDevelopmentAgencytohelpcollegesimprovestandardsandensurethat

improvementsweremadethroughaseriesofmonitoringvisits.

5.28 Wereviewedtheinspectionreportsof12(pre-merger)collegesovertheperiodSeptember2003toMarch2006andfoundanumberofrecurringissuesthatrequiredimprovement:

• theneedforbetterstrategicmanagementandleadership

• questionsaboutqualityof,orvariabilityin,teaching

• poorretention/successrates

• inadequatemonitoring,reviewandevaluationarrangements.

5.29 However,follow-upinspectionreports,completedbetweenNovember2004andMarch2007,revealedasubstantialimprovementinmostoftheseareas,withonlytwocollegesstillrequiringimprovementinrelationtoteachingissues,andonerequiringimprovementinrelationtoretention/successrates.Alateremphasisonmonitoringandevaluationshowedthattherewasaneedforimprovementinthisareainsevenofthe(pre-merger)colleges(i.e.fourofthoseoriginallyidentifiedasdeficientandthreeothers).

5.30 Inrespectofonecollege,a2004inspectionreportnoted:

“The quality of the essential skills provision in the Institute has a few strengths which can be built upon; there are significant



shortcomings in most of the important areas, but particularly in the management and leadership and in the quality of teaching and learning. Urgent and radical action is required if the Institute is to meet as fully as possible the needs of the existing adult learners and to respond effectively and efficiently to the needs in the local area”.

5.31 Bycontrast,theconclusioninthefinalfollow-upinspectioninNovember2006noted:

“The monitoring inspection visits confirm that the Institute has made very good progress in addressing the key issues for improvement identified in the original inspection report and the provision now demonstrates major strengths. The Inspectorate is confident that the actions implemented will result in sustained improvements in the quality of their provision. No further monitoring visits are required.”

Whilethiswasanextremecaseintermsofthedepthofcriticisminitiallylevelledatthecollege,itservestodemonstratethevalueoftheinspectionprocessasameansofdrivingimprovementinthisareaofprovision.

5.32 Anumberofreportshighlightthehardworkofthecolleges’EssentialSkillscoordinatorsindevelopingandmaintainingeffectivelinkswithexternalorganisationsincludingcommunityorganisations,employersandlocalprimaryschoolsandnotethebeneficial

impactthishashadonincreasingthenumberofadultenrolments.

5.33 WeaskedtheDepartmentwhether,giventhechangesthathaveoccurredinthedeliveryofEssentialSkillssince2002andthere-organisationofthecollegesthemselves,ithadconsideredcommissioningathematicinspectionreviewofthisareaofprovision.Itsaidthat,whileithadnotrequestedathematicreview,ithadcommissionedinspectionsonarangeofissuesdirectlyrelatedtoEssentialSkillsinFEcollegeswhicharecurrentlybeingprogressedbytheInspectorate.ItalsosaidthattheInspectoratehasexaminedandreporteduponEssentialSkillsdelivery(seeparagraph5.26)withinthesectoralandpriorityskillsreportsthatithasundertaken.

Appendices


ProseLiteracyBands

Band1 Band2 Band3 Bands4/5 (%) (%) (%) (%)

Poland 43 35 20 3

NorthernIreland 24 30 31 15

RepublicofIreland 23 30 34 14

GreatBritain 22 30 31 17

UnitedStates 21 26 32 21

Switzerland(German) 19 36 36 9

NewZealand 18 27 35 19

Belgium(Flanders) 18 28 39 14

Switzerland(French) 18 34 39 10

Australia 17 27 37 19

Canada 17 26 35 23

Germany 14 34 38 13

Netherlands 11 30 44 15

Sweden 8 20 40 32

Keytoskillbands

Band1: peoplewithverypoorliteracyskills;

Band2: peoplewhocandealonlywithsimplematerial;

Band3: peoplewithroughlytheskilllevelrequiredforsuccessfulsecondaryschoolcompletion andcollegeentry;and

Bands4/5: peoplewhodemonstratecommandof“higherorderinformationprocessingskills”.

Appendix 1: IALS International Comparisons (1996)(Paragraph 2.10)


Appendix 2: Evaluation of Gremlins campaign(Paragraph 4.4)

ThisappendixsummarisesanevaluationoftheGremlinscampaignwhichwascompletedbytheDepartment’s‘AnalyticalServicesBranch’inDecember2005.TheevaluationwasbasedoninformationprovidedbythePRCompanyemployedbytheDepartmentatthattime;progressreportsfromDEL;andaMORIsurveywhichinvolvedover1,000face-to-faceinterviews

RaiseoverallawarenessoftheneedforEssentialSkills

• Findingsfrompostcampaignresearchindicatesahighlevelofawareness,understandingandpositiveapprovale.g.totalawareness–75%

• Awarenesslevelshighestamongthe15-24and25-34agecategories–94%

• 70%ofthepublicratedthecampaignasextremelyeffective

• 57%ofrespondentshadheardoftheterm‘EssentialSkills’

• KeymessageshavebeeneffectivelycommunicatedthroughtheGremlinbrand

• PositiveattitudetoGremlinsandcurrentads–virtuallyallgroupsfelttheywereeffective

EnsurelearnersidentifytheyhaveanEssentialSkillsneedandadmitittothemselves

• Advertisementshaveprovedextremelypopular

• Post-Helplineresearchindicatesthatcallershaveexpressedempathywithboththecontentscenariosplayedoutinadverts–99%ofcallerscouldrelatetothegremlinsads

• 70%ofrespondents,whowereawareoftheadvertisingcampaign,foundthecampaigneffectiveinhighlightinglearningissuestolearners

ReassurelearnerstheyareabletoimprovetheirEssentialSkillsandenablethemtotakeactionandbeclearabouthowthiscanimprovetheirlives

• Post-Helplineresearchillustratesthatthecampaignisclearlyeffectiveatpromptingthosewhocalledthehelplineintoaction

• Theadvertisingcampaignhasadoptedadirectresponsestrategytoallowpotentiallearnerstocallthehelplineoraccessinformationfromthewebsite


• PRactivityhashighlightedthebenefitoftakingactionthroughcasestudiesandtestimonials

• Theobjectivewasembracedwiththe‘LearningWorks’logo

• TheadvertisingcampaignhasemphasisedtothelearnertheimportanceofEssentialSkillsineverydayactivitiessuchasDIY,homefinance,helpingchildrenandsalesshopping

• Omnibusresearchsuggestedthatlearnersfoundthelearningenvironmentmoreconducivethanschool

• Alllearnersweresatisfiedwiththecoursetutorsandfoundtheywerekeytothelearningexperience

ValueforMoney–Achievementofobjectivesandtargets

• Fromtheinformationprovidedabove,itisclearthatallprojectobjectiveshavebeensufficientlyaddressedand,fromtheperspectiveofachievementofobjectives,theprojectisprovidingVFM

• TheDepartmenthasmetitsinterimtargetofsupporting25,000adultsimprovetheirEssentialSkillsbyMarch2005

Appendix 2: Evaluation of Gremlins campaign(Paragraph 4.4)


Appendix 3: Evaluation of Essential Skills strategy (October 2006) – progress made in implementingrecommendations (Paragraph 5.11)

ThisappendixisbasedondetailsprovidedbytheDepartmentforEmploymentandLearningontheprogressmadeinimplementingrecommendationsfromaconsultants’report,publishedinOctober2006,whichevaluatedtheEssentialSkillsstrategy

Consultants’recommendations

EmployerEngagementFurtherworkwouldbenecessarytoidentifythebarrierstoemployerssigningupandsupportingemployees,toidentifygoodpracticeelsewhereandtoidentifythekeysellingmessagesthatwouldencourageemployerstoengage.

PromotionalCampaignDELshouldworkwithDfESandpartnersacrosstheUKtoensurethat‘Gremlins’wouldbecontinuedinthemediumterm.ThisshouldbesupplementedbyaNorthernIrelandpromotionalcampaign,to:

• incorporatethekeysellingmessagesaboutself-improvement,familyandsocialconfidence;

• targetadultfemalefamilymembersaskeyinfluencers;

• targetbusinessesandpeopleinemploymenttoencourageworkplaceengagement;

• enrolchampionsand‘graduates’topromoteEssentialSkills;and

• usereallifeexperiences(e.g.casestudies)toconnectwiththetargetgroups.

DepartmentalcommentsatFebruary2009

TheDepartment,throughaseriesofpilotswiththeUnionLearningFundandAllianceofSectorSkillsCouncils19,hassoughttoaddresstheseissuesandisactivelyengagedinpromotingEssentialSkillswithbothparties.

The‘GremlinsCampaign’wasmaintainedtoJanuary2008.FromSeptember2008,abespokeNIcampaignwassuccessfullyintroducedwhichallowstargetedpromotionalactivityacrossarangeofdeliverychannels.

Incorporatedwithinthenew‘know-how’campaign.

Incorporatedwithinongoingpromotionalactivities.


IncorporatedwithinUnionLearningandSectorSkillsCouncilactivityandsupport.


19 SectorSkillsCouncilsplayacrucialroleintheimplementationof“SuccessThroughSkills”.TheCouncilsensuretheviewsofemployersintheirsectorarecentrestagebyprovidinghighqualitylabourmarketintelligencetounderpinrecommendationstoNorthernIrelandGovernmentonchangestoskillspolicyandqualificationsreform.



TutorDevelopmentandSupport

Tutordevelopmentshouldbeapriority,toensurethatcapacityandcapabilitycontinuestomeetdemandandneed.Theprogrammesoftutordevelopmentandsupportshouldinclude:

• tutornetwork,tosupplementtheLearningandSkillsDevelopmentAgency20(LSDA)portalandprovideopportunitiesforknowledgesharinganddisseminationofgoodpractice;

• ashadowingandplacementprogrammefornewlyqualifiedtutors,toenablethemtolearnfrommoreexperiencedtutorsandacceleratetherateatwhichtheyachievefullconfidenceandflexibility;

• acoordinatedContinuousProfessionalDevelopmentprogrammethatoffersalltutorstheopportunitytolearnnewandrelevantskillsandtoexperiencenewapproachestoEssentialSkillsdelivery;and

• ring-fencetheadministrationfundingprovidedtocollegestoensureitisspentonprovidingdedicatedadministrativesupport.

IncreaseCommunityandOutreachProvision

Tomaximisepenetrationintothehardest-to-reachgroups,newandinnovativeapproacheswouldberequiredtoengagepeopleintheircommunities.


InplacethroughtheLearningandSkillsDevelopmentAgencyco-ordinatormeetingswhichprovideaneffectivemechanismforidentifyingissues,sharinggoodpracticeandorganisationaldevelopment.

AddressedthroughLevel4tutoreducationproviderswhohavedevelopedopportunitiesforstudenttutorstogainexperience/understandingofteachingandlearningacrossawiderangeofcontexts.

ThroughtheLSDA,aprogrammeofprofessionalsupporthasbeendesignedforexistingandnewEssentialSkillstutorstoenhancetheirskillsinteachingandassessingliteracyandnumeracyand,morerecently,ICT,tothepost-16sector.

SupersededbytheincorporationofEssentialSkillsfundingwithinthefurthereducationfundingmethodology.

Incorporatedwithinthe‘LearnerAccessandEngagement’pilot.

20 TheLearningandSkillsDevelopmentAgencyispartoftheLearningandSkillsNetworkwhichisanindependentnot-for-profitorganisationcommittedtomakingadifferencetolearningandskills.Itaimstodothisbydeliveringqualityimprovementandstaffdevelopmentprogrammesthatsupportspecificgovernmentinitiatives.Thisisachievedthroughthroughresearch,development,stafftrainingandconsultancyandbysupplyingservicesdirectlytoanyorganisationwithaninterestinhighqualityeducationandtraining.

Appendix 3: Evaluation of Essential Skills strategy (October 2006) – progress made in implementingrecommendations (Paragraph 5.11)



LinkedProgrammes

DELshouldconsiderfurtherexplorationof:

• tripartiteawards–literacy,numeracyandICT;

• increaseduseofICTtoencourageparticipation;

• combinationofEssentialSkillswithotherkeysubjects;and

• familylearningprojects–especiallyfocusedonfathersasameansofreachingtheunemployedmaletargetgroup.

JobsandBenefitsOfficeDevelopment

TheEssentialSkillsteaminDELshouldworkwithcolleaguesintheEmploymentServicetodevelopandimplementaprogrammeoftrainingforJBOadvisers.ThisshouldbesupplementedbytheprovisionofaneasytousedatabasewhichdetailsallthedifferentEssentialSkillslearningopportunitiesandlocationsavailable.


TheintroductionofICTasathirdEssentialSkillrequiresallparticipantstohaveachievedEntryLevel3numeracyandliteracytoensurethelearnercanachievetheoptimumlearningexperience.TheICTpilothasresultedinover1,100learnersenrolledonthepilotatFebruary2009.

ThecontextualisationoflearningmaterialsallowsEssentialSkillstobeincorporatedintoarangeofothervocationalareas.

Thisisaddressedthroughco-operationwiththeDepartmentofEducationandtheEducationandLibraryBoardsthroughtheirExtendedSchoolsprojectManagementBoard.TheDepartmentisalsorepresentedonDENI’sLiteracyandNumeracyTaskforce.AforumtopromoteEssentialSkillsthroughfamilylearninghasalsobeensetup.

AmajorprogrammeofactivitytoengagewiththeJBOsisplannedfordeliveryfromApril2009.Thiswillensureaconsistentandcoherentaccessto,andpromotionof,EssentialSkillstoallDELJBOstaffandtheirclients.Thiswillbesupplementedwithaonestopcontactwhichisunderdevelopment.


NIAO Reports 2009

Title HC/NIANo. DatePublished

AbsenteeisminNorthernIrelandCouncils2007-08 – 9January2009

ObesityandType2DiabetesinNorthernIreland NIA73/08-09 14January2009

PublicServiceAgreements–MeasuringPerformance NIA79/08-09 11February2009

ReviewofAssistancetoValenceTechnology: NIA86/08-09 25February2009ACaseStudyonInwardInvestment

TheControlofBovineTuberculosisinNorthernIreland NIA92/08-09 18March2009

ReviewofFinancialManagementintheFurtherEducation NIA98/08-09 25March2009SectorinNorthernIrelandfrom1998to2007/GovernanceExaminationofFermanaghCollegeofFurtherandHigherEducation

TheInvestigationofSuspectedContractorFraud NIA103/08-09 29April2009

TheManagementofSocialHousingRentCollection NIA104/08-09 6May2009andArrears

ReviewofNewDeal25+ NIA111/08-09 13May2009

FinancialAuditingandReporting2007-08 NIA115/08-09 20May2009

GeneralReportontheHealthandSocialCareSector NIA132/08-09 10June2009inNorthernIreland2008

TheAdministrationandManagementoftheDisabilityLiving NIA116/08-09 17June2009AllowanceReconsiderationandAppealsProcess

ThePre-SchoolEducationExpansionProgramme NIA133/08-09 19June2009

BringingtheSSNomadictoBelfast–TheAcquisitionand NIA165/08-09 24June2009RestorationoftheSSNomadic

TheExercisebyLocalGovernmentAuditorsoftheirfunctions – 30June2009

AReviewoftheGatewayProcess/TheManagement NIA175/08-09 8July2009ofPersonalInjuryClaims

Resettlementoflong-staypatientsfromlearningdisability – 7October2009hospitals

ImprovingtheStrategicRoadsNetwork-TheM1/Westlink – 4November2009andM2ImprovementSchemes

ThePerformanceofthePlanningService – 25November2009



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