20 February 2007

Over 1.5 million people have gained crucial basic skills qualifications through the Government's Skills for Life strategy, hitting a key target set back in 2001, Skills Minister Phil Hope announced today.

Skills for Life provides free literacy, language and numeracy tuition for adults in England who have skills below Level 2 (broadly equivalent to a GCSE at grades A* - C.) Since the launch of the strategy in 2001, 4.7 million adults have taken up 10.5 million Skills for Life learning opportunities with 1,619 000 learners achieving their first Skills for Life qualification in literacy, language or numeracy. This figure includes achievements by over 138,000 offenders.

The Government has a public service agreement (PSA) target to improve the skills of 2.25 million adults by 2010, with an interim target of 1.5 million by 2007, measured by the number of learners achieving their first national Skills for Life qualification in literacy, language or numeracy.

Minister for Skills, Phil Hope, said:

"Meeting one of our major skills targets is fantastic news and I would like to congratulate all the learners and staff across the country whose hard work has made this possible. Over 1.6 million adults have improved their skills and transformed their lives, taking vital steps towards better employability and social inclusion.

"The recent Leitch Report on skills highlighted how good literacy and numeracy skills are essential for life and work. Improving your skills can help you earn more and will enable you to progress to further learning, as well as making you more confident and more able at home. Any adults wanting to improve their skills should call our free helpline on 0800 66 0800 and find out about free courses in their local area.

"Our Skills for Life strategy has been a huge success since it was launched in 2001. We introduced the first ever national learning infrastructure for adult skills, including national curricula and standards for literacy, language and numeracy.

"Our Get On campaign - featuring the well-known Gremlin characters - is one of the most well-known Government campaigns ever produced. It has raised awareness of the basic skills issue, tackled the stigma around admitting problems in literacy and numeracy and encouraged thousands of adults to improve their skills. We continue to work with our partners in the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK), and the Quality Improvement Agency (QIA) to ensure that Skills for Life provision is accessible, of high quality and delivered by a fully professional workforce."

Skills for Life courses are funded by the Learning and Skills Council. Chief Executive of the LSC, Mark Haysom, said:

"This is a significant milestone for the Government, the LSC and all our partners, and a credit to all 1.6 million learners. We should all be rightly proud that our collective efforts to meet this initial target milestone have paid dividends. It is now vital that this momentum continues so we stay on track to achieve the 2010 target.

"This is really good news for all those adults who now have the skills to do their job better and the real chance to progress and improve their lives and their career chances."

Editor's Notes

1) The Prime Minister launched the Skills for Life Strategy in 2001 to tackle the legacy of adults with poor literacy, language and numeracy skills within England. The Strategy aims to help create a society where adults have the basic skills they need to find and keep work and participate fully in society, through:

- Boosting demand for learning

- Ensuring capacity of the learning provider delivery system

- Improving standards of teaching and learning

- Increasing learner achievement

2) The Get On Campaign - featuring the 'Gremlin' characters - was launched in 2001 as part of the Skills for Life Strategy in order to boost the demand for literacy, language and numeracy learning. It encourages people to ring the national learning advice line on 0800 66 0800. The Get On campaign is one of the most successful Government advertising campaigns ever run, with a peak recognition rate of 93% among the target audience (Sept 2006.)

3) In 2001 the Government committed to helping 750,000 adults obtain literacy, language and numeracy qualifications in England - that target was met in July 2004. This commitment has been extended to improve the literacy and numeracy skills of 2.25 million adults by 2010, with an interim target of 1.5 million by 2007.

4) The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is responsible for planning and funding education and training for over 16 year olds in England, other than in universities. Its mission is to raise participation and attainment through high-quality education and training which puts individuals first. The LSC strives for learning to hold no barriers, only opportunities to succeed.

5) The Skills for Life National Needs and Impact Survey of Literacy, Numeracy and IT skills, published in October 2003, estimated that in England, 5.2 million adults aged 16-65 have literacy levels below Level 1, and 14.9 million have numeracy skills below this level.

Skills for Life standards in literacy and numeracy:

a) A Level 2 qualification requires the same level of skills needed to pass a GCSE at grades A* to C (although the GCSE tests a wider breadth of knowledge.)

b) A Level 1 qualification requires the same level of skills needed to pass a GCSE at grades D to G (although the GCSE tests a wider breadth of knowledge.)

c) An Entry Level 3 qualification requires a level of skills below the level needed to pass a GCSE.

6) 98% of jobs are closed to people with basic skills below Entry level and 50% jobs are closed to people with basic skills below Level 1.

7) Poor literacy and numeracy is thought to cost the country as much as £10 billion a year in lost revenue from taxes, lower productivity and the increased burden on the welfare state.

8) It is estimated that an individual with good literacy and numeracy skills could earn £50,000 more over their working life than someone with poor skills.

9) Research suggests that developing employees' skills may have a wide range of benefits, including increased employee retention, saving on average between £1300 and £3500 per employee.

Contact Details

Public Enquiries 0870 000 2288, info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk

Press Notice 2007/0027