Basic skills: English and maths


This is an area of strength for unions. Through their ULF projects, trade unions have continued to deliver the government’s functional skills agenda by supporting learners working towards qualifications at entry levels 1, 2, and 3, and achieving level 1 and 2 in English and maths. Over 2014-15, ULF projects supported 16,896 English and maths learners, exceeding the annual target for the year.


In January 2016, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publicised a report on adult skills in England: Building skills for all: a review of England, which highlights the extent of the lack of basic skills in England. The OECD report revealed that roughly nine million people in England still have low levels of literacy and numeracy.


According to the report, more than a quarter of adults aged 16-65 in England have low literacy and numeracy levels or both. In comparison with other OECD countries the literacy skills in England are around the average but numeracy skills are well below. Five million of the nine million adults with low-level skills are in work. The report points out that stronger literacy and numeracy skills suggests a lower risk of unemployment and higher rates of wages.


Significantly for unions, the report acknowledges that the group of adults with low literacy and numeracy skills is “a diverse one and requires a diverse set of interventions and making use of learning environments such as workplace and occupational contexts” and it recommends upskilling opportunities for young people should be addressed through good quality apprenticeships and Traineeships.


Commenting on the OECD report, Liz Rees, director of unionlearn, said: "Once again our attention is drawn to the fact that adults need support in developing their literacy and numeracy skills. The employers can do more and invest in their staff and working in partnership with unions can make a great difference in encouraging people to come forward and work on updating their English and maths skills”. 


In March 2016, unionlearn launched a new online guide to English and maths resources and tools, with case studies about how some unions have approached supporting their members' learning (www.unionlearn.org.uk/english-and-maths-learning-resources-and-tools).


The guide is based on research reviewing unions' practices around engaging and supporting English and maths learners and was carried out by Mike Kidd, a TUC tutor and freelance writer who was formerly national learning coordinator for general union Unite.


Two general themes were highlighted in the review:


• firstly, unions have developed an extraordinary depth of knowledge and skills around English and maths learning, born out of direct, hands-on experience of what works and what doesn't; and


• secondly, although different workplaces throw up vastly differing challenges to English and maths learning, unions have achieved huge successes across a diverse range of industrial sectors.


Around 17,000 English and maths learners were engaged through the ULF in 2014-15 and the review describes this as a “testament to unions' organisational abilities — their capacity to adapt, innovate, stretch resources to unfeasible lengths and find flexible solutions to the barriers faced by learners”. 


Finally, the review stresses that it should be remembered that this level of success has been delivered in the context of increasingly difficult times for adult learning: “When you consider the modest size (in the wider scheme of things) of the union learning fund, it is hard to conclude that unions' work around English and maths represents anything other than staggeringly good value for money. I'm not convinced that this amazing work is always fully appreciated — either by government or, in some cases, by unions as a whole,”said Kidd.


Examples of union involvement in helping workers to access maths and English learning are detailed below.