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UWI OPEN CAMPUS (SOUTH) EMPLOYABILITY & JOB SEARCH SKILLS DIPLOMA IN TEACHING OF LIFE SKILLS Devi Rambaran 2/19/2014 AIM: To research and analyze the link between Literacy and Life Skills and the World of work with special emphasis on the productivity of the OJT's in the world of work.

Literacy and Life Skills

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Analysis of literacy in life skills and the effects on productivity in the work place

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Page 1: Literacy and Life Skills

UWI OPEN CAMPUS (SOUTH)

EMPLOYABILITY & JOB SEARCH SKILLS

DIPLOMA IN TEACHING OF LIFE SKILLS

Devi Rambaran

2/19/2014

AIM: To research and analyze the link between Literacy and Life Skills and the World of work with special emphasis on the productivity of the OJT's in the world of work.

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INTRODUCTION

RESEARCH QUESTION

Does Literacy and Life Skills affect an individual's productivity in the work place.

HYPOTHESIS (H1): Life Skills Training and Literacy are effective tools for producing productive professionals in the workplace.

NULL HYPOTHESIS: (H0): ): Life Skills Training and Literacy are not the only tools necessary for producing productive professionals in the workplace.

OBJECTIVE:

To critically assess and evaluate the validity of Life Skills and Literacy application in the world of work in the production of viable workers in the world of work.

RATIONALE:

This investigation is based upon observations made and trends seen in the workplace presently surrounding the On the Job trainees. Presently, workers that enter the Public Service in Trinidad and Tobago do not receive Life Skills training as part of their mandatory qualifications/skill set. There are some private sector companies that are embarking on Life skills training having seeing the humanistic potential in training their staff in this area. However, the public sector has been lacking in productivity for decades and many state that it is due to lack of training. In recent times, the On the Job training programme have implemented the MANDATORY training of all their trainees in Life Skills prior to being placed into the working world. As such it should be noted that this initiative should result in a holistic and productive young workforce. Can this interaction between Life Skills and Literacy improve productivity and efficiency? Have you ever interacted with any OJT in recent times and how was that experience? Observations and experience with these individuals has prompted the need to examine this link.

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LITERATURE REVIEWLiteracy and Life skills development in Trinidad and Tobago have in recent times taken a forefront in the training of young professionals ranging from those with CSEC qualifications to Tertiary level qualifications who are entering the world of work.

The impact of this training in both the literacy aspect and life skills aspect can positively increase an individual's qualification and experience to the point where they are capable of attaining jobs that would compensate them financially.

The Adult Literacy and Life-Skills (ALL) survey (Earle, D (2010)) provides an opportunity to look more directly at the combined effects of literacy skills and educational qualifications, along with experience. Most previous analyses have looked the effect of qualifications on total income, which includes the effect of labour market participation as well as wages. The ALL survey also provides an opportunity to look at the direct relationship to hourly wages. Hourly wages provide the most direct measure of the value a person receives from their labour.

Over the last 10 years there has been a greater focus on developing the literacy and numeracy skills of the adult population. Literacy is a general skill that enables people to understand information in various forms and apply it to work and life situations. In today’s society, higher levels of literacy are required in a larger proportion of jobs. There is recognition that many adults do not have sufficient literacy and numeracy to function fully in a knowledge society and that lack of these skills may be holding back productivity in the workplace. Recent policy focus has been on developing these skills through work-place programmes and within lower-level tertiary qualifications. (Earle, D (2010)).

Smart (2006) demonstrates that attaining tertiary qualifications increases the chances of labour force participation, with rates being highest for those with bachelors degrees or above. While women continue to have lower labour force participation than men, rates are converging and women with higher tertiary qualifications have closer rates to men with the same qualifications, than women with no qualifications compared to men with no qualifications.

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Income premiums from tertiary education have also been well documented (Nair, Smart and Smyth, 2007). Data from Statistics New Zealand’s Income Survey shows that in 2006 people with a bachelors degree earned 64 percent more than those with no qualifications. This premium persisted across age groups. The premium for tertiary diplomas and certificates was lower and had reduced as employment had risen and as increased demand for lower skilled workers had driven up lower-end wages.

The ALL survey provides an opportunity to explore the link between skills, qualifications and wages. Earle (2009a) looked at the overall relationship with a particular focus on differences between industries and occupations. The analysis showed that a one standard deviation difference in literacy or numeracy skills accounted for, on average, a 20 percent difference in hourly wages. This is similar to the average increase in earnings associated with holding a tertiary non-degree qualification, compared with having a school level qualification, or the average increase associated with having a degree compared with a tertiary non-degree qualification. When literacy or numeracy skills and qualifications were considered together, then the increase in wages attributable just to literacy or numeracy differences reduced to around 10 percent for each standard deviation difference in literacy or numeracy skills.

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METHODOLOGYThis investigation was conducted utilizing:

Questionnaires Interviews Fry's Readability CLOZE test

There were a total of three persons being interviewed for this study. Their comments were summarized and their views were recorded in the questionnaire. The questionnaires were completed on a face to face basis and the CLOZE test was completed via email.

These individuals represent a sample and have a range of educational, ethnic, social and experiential background.

Further research was done to represent the link among Life Skill, Literacy and productivity.

FINDINGSThe following table illustrates the findings from the questionnaires:

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Reads Daily

Work/study

Leisure

Household activities

Prose Literate

Numeracy Literate

Link with work productivi-ty

Aware-ness of Life skills

SAMPLE A

SAMPLE B

SAMPLE C

From the data that was gathered it was illustrated that Sample A and Sample C were not aware of the Life Skills programmes. However they both recognized that there is a link between literacy and productivity in the workplace and literacy.

All the individuals sampled felt that they were competent in Prose and Numeracy and also they engaged in reading activities on a daily basis.

Samples A and B utilized reading skills for work/study and leisure whilst Sample C utilized reading skills more or less for leisure on a daily basis.

Samples A and B are both current professionals while Sample C is a retired professional and thus this can account for the difference in reading frequency and the tasks in which reading is done.

The reading passage that was given, (See Appendix) all the samples were capable of reading it as well as completing the CLOZE test which was administered through email to samples A and B. Sample C was able to complete CLOZE test face to face.

This indicates that they are all competent in literacy and capable of numeracy and prose skills. The reading age of the passage was found to be that of an individual above college age which can represent those above the ages of 19, which will fit into the ages of the individuals in the sample. They were capable of reading it and thus met literacy standards.

ANALYSIS From the findings it can be seen that at least two out of the three individuals sampled that they view that life skills and literacy have an

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impact on the world of work. Further analysis from Samples A and B (see Appendix for Interview) reveals that experience has been less than exemplary. Is this a reflection of how our young workforce is heading? Is this a cause for concern? Have they not received Life Skills training as well as an academic background that can ensure that they have literacy skills?

Life skills refer to the core life skills strategies and techniques of critical thinking, effective communication, decision-making, creative thinking, interpersonal relationship skills, self-awareness building skills, empathy, taking responsibility, understanding one's strengths and weaknesses and coping with stress and emotions.

Literacy by definition refers to an individual's ability to read and write. The inability to do so is illiteracy. There are various forms of literacy such as visual literacy, musical literacy, technology literacy etc. Literacy encompasses a complex set of abilities to understand and use dominant symbol systems of a culture. For instance, the sampled individuals may be literate in terms of reading and numeracy (comprehension) but illiterate in terms of popular culture items such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. This may be due to the age gap or generational gap. But this does not mean that they cannot read and understand items that are around them.

Key to ALL LITERACY, however is READING DEVELOPMENT. It is a progression of skills that begins with the ability to understand spoken words and decode written words and culminates in the deep understanding of text. Awareness of phonics (speech sounds), semantics (word meanings), grammar (syntax), morphology ( word formation) provide a necessary platform for reading fluency and comprehension.

To the 'lay man', these skills may seem like its complex, but having been through the education system in Trinidad and Tobago and been able to complete the varying examinations at the varying levels, then these skills would have been understood. However, have the current generation been lacking in their understanding of these skills and their implementation? Is it they do not understand the skills or they are not motivated to implement the areas that they are trained in.

Typically once these skills are acquired, the reader can attain full language literacy:

ability to approach printed material with critical analysis inference and synthesis

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write with accuracy and coherence

Therefore based on this investigation, if an individual is literate and in combination with life skills would function as a holistic and productive being.

From the samples, A and B have hands on experience with OJT's who have had completed Life Skills training as well as having attained basic qualification at the CSEC level, can be considered as literate. Therefore their productivity level should be at the highest. Samples A and B have indicated in their Interview (See Appendix) that the OJT's competency seem to be very low. Issues range from trainees not being able to follow simple instructions for office tasks such as photocopying, taking phone calls, receiving messages, making announcements, inappropriate dress code, use of cell phones, punctuality and regularity. Would a properly trained individual have such issues on the job?

The issue may not be whether they have received proper training since the Life Skills programme is NTA approved training programme. (See Appendix). The issue can be whether the individuals are translating the skills they receive into implementation unto the job. Thus, how effective is the training programme in producing productive workers. Or, is this an isolated case at this particular institution?

The results from the sampling indicates that the members of staff that interacts with them on a daily basis view the trainees as inefficient and ineffective in their duty. This can further create problems in the functioning of the administration of the office at the institution as well as the untimely functioning of teaching staff in their duties if copies and printing are not done on time. This can further irritate and delay staff from completing tasks on time with students. This has resulted in staff and OJT's not having a cordial and productive relationship as they should have.

Another factor that needs to be considered is their literacy level. Are they functionally literate? Functional literacy is reading and writing skills beyond a basic level. It is contrasted with illiteracy in the strict sense. Samples A,B and C were administered a CLOZE test and was found to be competent in reading it. The samples received training from School leaving to Tertiary level, without Life skills training and were quite capable of completing the task at hand. So does this contrast with the OJT's training and skills set.

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This scenario at the end of it all, results in an unproductive workforce. Irregular, tardy and unethical behaviour (contrast to Life Skills tenets) snowballs from one trainee to another. Financially they are being paid for an 'unfair' days work. From the literature provided (see Appendix) it states that literacy and life skills results in more productive individuals who are generally capable of demanding/attaining higher wages. However, this study indicates otherwise. There are NO published work attesting to the contrary, that the combination of training in Life Skills and Literacy does not equate to an increased productive professional (as evidenced in this study).

Even though equipped with the skills necessary, there are some further societal concern that may be negatively affecting their productivity and thus the wages that they can potentially earn. The less productive and ambitious that they are, the less likely the chances of attaining occupational/vocational satisfaction. Thus this would result in lowered productivity. The referenced articles illustrate that higher literacy enable an individual to feel competent and thus satisfied in their job and demand or attain higher wages. This begs now to understand what can be affecting their productivity.

In contrast, Sample C who is a retired oil field worker received a School leaving certificate at their highest level of education and have never received or heard about Life skills training. This individual received a basic standard seven education and despite it, was a productive and capable worker in their field of work. Therefore is it absolutely necessary to attain Life skills training to be productive? Sample C was capable of completing the CLOZE test as well indicating a competent literacy level. Sample C was keen to point out that in their 'time' the driving forces behind productivity in the workplace was a way out of poverty and self imposed ambition and drive to succeed, which they clearly pointed out is lacking in the present workforce.

CONCLUSION

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It can be concluded from the study that productivity levels are not affected by Literacy and Life Skills training presently. Samples A,B and C did not receive any Life skills training but are considered to be competent in numeracy and prose skills (literate) and are productive and efficient individuals in their field of work. Whereas the trained individuals in Life Skills are illustrating the contrary, that this training had very little positive impact on their productivity levels on the job. Those sampled met literacy standards as indicated by the Fry's readability test and thus are capable of understanding the needs of this investigation.

As a result I have to reject my hypothesis and accept my null hypothesis.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Earle, D (2010), Skills, Qualifications, Experience and Distribution of wages, Tertiary Education Occasional Paper 2010/04. Tertiary Sector Performance Analysis and Reporting Strategy and Systems Performance Ministry of Education New Zealand.

Earle, D (2010), Labour Market outcomes of Skills and Qualifications. Tertiary Sector Performance Analysis and Reporting Strategy and Systems Performance Ministry of Education New Zealand.

REFERENCEShttp://www.ttconnect.gov.tt/gortt/portal/ttconnect

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy

APPENDIXOJT - The On-the-Job Training Programme

The On-the-Job Training Programme (OJT) provides an opportunity to gain practical experience and work-based training for eligible citizens of

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Trinidad and Tobago.  All trainees are certified to National Occupational Standards through the Trinidad and Tobago Vocational Qualifications (TTNVQ) Framework, the new national accreditation system for vocational education, which allows them to pursue further education and training.  OJT is made available through the Ministry of Tertiary Education and Skills Training (TEST).

Can I apply?

You can apply to the OJT Programme if you:

Are a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. Are between the ages of 16 and 35. Possess at least three CXC passes. Possess a Degree or a Postgraduate Certificate.

How do I apply?

You must obtain and complete the OJT Trainee Application Form, which can be downloaded using the link below.  Application forms can also be picked up from the National Training Agency office. National Training Agency 21-22 Mulchan Seuchan RoadChaguanasTrinidad, West IndiesTel. (868) 672-7107Fax. (868) 672-7109