DIUS pledge - more funds for adult basic skills Friday, March 20, 2009 - 10:26

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NIACE welcomes a new pledge by DIUS (the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills) to allocate more funding for improving adult basic skills. The additional funding is testimony of DIUS's commitment to its updated strategy - Skills for Life: Changing Lives  - published Monday 9 March 2009.

Alan Tuckett, Chief Executive of NIACE, said:

"The Government has achieved a great deal since the launch of Skills for Life but no one should be under any illusions about how far we have to go to make improvements in numeracy skills commensurate with literacy, and to ensure that provision is directed towards those most in need. This strategy is a strong commitment which we welcome."

We hope that the additional funding announced today will enable us to meet the needs of those who have had the least, whether in work or not.

Carol Taylor, NIACE

Carol Taylor, Director of Operations at NIACE, said:

"Eight years after the strategy's original launch, NIACE is happy to have had the chance to input into and comment upon a refreshed strategy with its emphasis on the importance of literacy and numeracy in the workplace and for employability. We hope that the additional funding announced today will enable us to meet the needs of those who have had the least, whether in work or not."

"Of course the strategy's emphasis cannot be at the expense of the role that literacy and numeracy play in wider society and NIACE has a number of concerns. It is difficult to clarify what the strategy means for ESOL until the government publishes its next steps document this spring and it will be challenging responding to the needs of learners with the lowest literacy and numeracy skills. Also, the strategy is missing a focus on older people."

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