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Latest News: September 2004
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Plugging the Gap - helping migrants and refugees find jobs
In a bid to help refugees into work and plug the widening UK skills gap, a £4 million European project has been awarded to the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE). Working in partnership with organisations including Birmingham University, Exeter CVS, Midland Refugee Council, the North East Consortia for Asylum and Refugee Support, the North of England Refugee Service and Ufi/learndirect, the NIACE-led Progress-GB Partnership will pilot and develop new approaches to helping refugees and migrants make progress in the work place.
Progress-GB will work with both employers who are seeking to fill vacancies; and with refugees and migrants who are seeking to develop their vocational skills. It will involve work place learning for those already in employment, including opportunities for those wanting to obtain qualifications for skills gained overseas and improve their English. It will also help employers meet skills shortages by recruiting skilled staff from refugee communities.
Sue Waddington, Progress-GB Project Leader, said, “Through our work with a previous European funded EQUAL project where NIACE carried out skills audits with asylum seekers, we discovered that many of them had skills which were in short supply in this country. But we also found that new arrivals were either unable to gain employment or the jobs they found were well below their skills-capability. Since then we have been working with asylum seekers, across the East Midlands, to assist them in developing their skills so that they are better able to seek and gain employment if they are given permission to remain in the UK.”
She continued, “We are absolutely delighted to have been successful in our bid for this European grant under the EQUAL initiative. We know that refugees are often highly skilled and highly motivated, but can find it very difficult to make progress in the UK work-place. These new resources mean that we will be able to develop new approaches to benefit both employers and refugees across the UK, by helping refugees into jobs, predominately where there is a current shortage of skilled workers.”
 | Source: NIACE press release "Plugging the Gap" (PDF file), released on 24/09/2004 |
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New Poster Campaign Shows How Maths Makes Things Work
Posters encouraging people to “do the maths” will be appearing at thousands of locations across the country from Monday (20th September). The posters devised by NIACE with support of the Department for Education and Skills and the European Social Fund - show how a good grasp of maths can be useful in everyday life, from shopping for bargains to DIY.
The need for millions of adults in England to improve their maths skills was highlighted in a national Skills For Life survey. Very few people who took part in the survey – even those with the lowest ability levels - regarded their skills as ‘below average’. And only a tiny proportion of those with very weak skills felt these had hindered their job prospects or led to mistakes at work; many may not have even realised the negative impact weak skills can have on their life.
Susan Pember, Director of the government’s Adult Basic Skills Strategy Unit, said:
“Millions of adults experience difficulties with everyday maths and many do not realise the benefits that people can see from improving their skills. We welcome the work that NIACE are doing to recognise the importance of maths in everyday life. It’s time now to really break the myth that it’s okay to be bad at maths.”
Francisca Martinez, NIACE Publicity Co-ordinator, said:
“For many people, the memory of maths is trying to learn algebra and fractions at school and this may not have seemed all that relevant. But maths has a big impact on all of our everyday lives. Having the ability to work out how much of a saving 70% off is, or being able to buy the right amount of wallpaper or carpeting can save you time, hassle and money.”
She continued, “There are free maths courses all over the country. All you need to do is pop into your local adult education college or ring learndirect on 0800 100 900 for more information. That call could not only save you money on your weekly shop but could lead to a qualification and a better job.”
| Source: NIACE press release "You do the Maths" (PDF file), released on 17/09/2004 |
| Visit the Maths Makes things Work Website for more information. |
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Speaking in Tongues: MPs Sign Up for NIACE’s Parliamentary Languages Challenge
It wasn’t just children who were going back to school last week: parliamentarians were also showing that it’s never too late to learn when MPs from the three main political parties took part in a Parliamentary Languages Challenge in Westminster last Wednesday (8th September). The event - organised by the NIACE as part of its Sign Up Now Campaign and to mark International Literacy Day - allowed MPs to indulge in a specialist, one-to-one, language taster session of their choice.
The MPs brushing up on their language skills at NIACE’s Sign Up Now/Parliamentary Languages Challenge included:
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Alastair Carmichael, Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland and Meg Munn, Labour MP for Sheffield Heeley, who had taster sessions in Danish. |
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Alastair Burt, Conservative MP for Bedfordshire North East and Anne Campbell, Labour MP for Cambridge, who had taster sessions in French. |
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Dr Phyllis Starkey, Labour MP for Milton Keynes South West, who had a taster session in Arabic. |
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John Randall, Conservative MP for Uxbridge, who had a taster session in Punjabi. |
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Joe Benton, Labour MP for Bootle and Martin Linton, Labour MP for Battersea, who had taster sessions in Spanish. |
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Tom Brake, Liberal Democrat MP for Carshalton, who had a taster session in Portuguese. |
Rachel Thomson, Senior Campaigns Officer at NIACE, said, “The Sign Up Now/ Parliamentary Languages Challenge was so successful because we applied some of the key principles for effective adult learning provision. Ask learners what they want to learn; follow up on their expressions of interest; seek out talented and committed tutors; deliver the sessions that are wanted; and provide them at a time and a place that meet learners’ needs.”
She ended, “When it comes to adult learning, MPs are, in so many ways, no different to the rest of us - once you start your learning journey, there’s no stopping you. To find out what's on offer where you are, call learndirect free on 0800 100 900. That call could change your life for good.”
| Source: NIACE press release "Speaking in Tongues - part 2" (PDF file), released on 14/09/2004 |
| See also : NIACE press release "Speaking in Tongues - part1" (PDF file), released on 06/09/2004 |
| Download a briefing sheet with key findings of the ‘Parliamentary Languages Challenge’ (PDF file) |
| Visit the Sign Up Now Website for more information. |
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NIACE Marks International Literacy Day
“Literacy Helps People to Lead More Interesting, Fulfilling and Productive Lives.”
Wednesday September 8th is International Literacy Day, a day that celebrates the importance of literacy to all cultures and communities across the world. NIACE considers adult literacy as a vital aspect of several of its research and development activities.
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The Young Adult Learners Partnership, (a joint initiative between NIACE and The National Youth Agency), which is currently undertaking research and development work, focusing on ways of using informal learning to assist young adults in developing their literacy skills. |
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The development of a NIACE-devised ESOL and Citizenship Programme for people seeking British citizenship. |
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Heading a large consortium of organisations, funded by the Adult Basic Skills Strategy Unit (ABSSU), to discover what works best in programmes delivering literacy for people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. |
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Adult literacy is also an essential part of NIACE’s work with the National Health Service University (NHSU), which aims to contribute to improvements in patient care and public health by improving literacy skills and practices across the health and social care sector. |
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In wider NIACE work, the development of adult literacy and learning is closely associated with the Widening Adult Participation Fund (WAPAF) and is a key plank in supporting the success of the Skills Strategy. |
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Literacy is an important aspect of NIACE’s partnership work with the voluntary and community sector, which seeks to identify what works best with providers in offering and accessing literacy skills opportunities. |
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Wider family learning development opportunities are often underpinned by literacy learning activities and NIACE’s strong links with local education authorities (LEAs) provides an opportunity for NIACE to inform and advocate the need for literacy learning as part of adult and community learning agendas. |
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NIACE is also involved in several other development activities, including identifying promising practice in partnership with the Offenders Learning and Skills Unit. |
Jan Eldred, Senior Development Officer, Literacy, Language and Numeracy Team at NIACE, said, “A major part of our work at NIACE is concerned with embedding literacy in other activities, subjects or programmes. We feel that this is important because for most of us literacy is a means to an end. We use literacy to achieve something else whether that’s following instructions to assemble our latest IKEA purchase, helping our children, sending emails to family and friends, learning to drive or becoming a well-trained chef or nurse.”
She continued, “At NIACE we strongly believe in working with adults’ own aspirations and interests as natural platforms which will encourage and support the development of the essential skills and knowledge they require to realise their ambitions. Literacy helps people to lead more interesting, fulfilling and productive lives.”
Source: NIACE press release "NIACE Marks International Literacy Day" (PDF file), released on 07/09/2004
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Speaking in Tongues: MPs Sign Up for NIACE’s Parliamentary Languages Challenge
In a survey for this year’s Adult Learners’ Week (15-21 May 2004), MPs were set a ‘Parliamentary Languages Challenge’ by NIACE. The survey asked which languages MPs speak and which languages, if they had the time and opportunity, they would like to speak. Now, as part of NIACE’s Sign Up Now Campaign (4-10 September 2004), MPs have been invited to attend a special language learning event in Westminster.
Over 100 MPs responded to the original challenge and the results show that they speak a total of 22 different languages. However, whilst only a small number of MPs (6%) are currently learning a foreign language, a healthy majority of them (65%) are enthusiastic about learning to speak more languages, if they had the time and opportunity, including one Downing Street-based MP who would like to learn Italian.
The survey illustrated how MPs are already leading the way since, on average, they are more likely to speak a foreign language than the population at large.
For the second part of the Parliamentary Languages Challenge, NIACE are providing MPs with the opportunity to take part in a language taster or diagnostic session, in order to learn or improve a language of their choice; these include Spanish, French, Portuguese and Arabic. The event will take place on Wednesday 8th September 2004 at Church House, Westminster between 10am and 4pm.
Alan Tuckett, Director of NIACE said, “MPs recognise that languages matter. NIACE mounted this event, building on our survey earlier this year, to show that even the busiest people can fit in time to learn and to encourage everyone to sign up to develop a new skill, or develop an existing interest this autumn.”
Martin Linton, Labour MP for Battersea, came out on top of the original challenge with the ability to communicate in six languages - English, Italian, Swedish, French, German and Welsh - and he can also read in another two languages, Danish and Norwegian. However he is still keen to learn more and will be attending the event to enjoy a taster session in Spanish.
Martin Linton MP said, “Usually the only chance I get to learn a language is on the plane, but it's surprising how much you can pick up on a two-hour flight. A few useful phrases like 'How much is this?' and 'I can't afford it'. But if you have the time, it's far better to go on a course before you travel. It gives your brain a bit of time to absorb the language. If I know I'm going somewhere new on holiday - like I went to Italy this year - I find I can just dip into a Italian phrase book now and then and use the little wasted moments of the day - waiting at the bus stop, queuing for a coffee - to get a few phrases under my belt. It saves an awful lot of trouble when you're there.
He continued, “I'm always a little reluctant to go to a country where I can't speak a word of the language. That's probably why I've never had a proper holiday in Spain. I did a weekend break in Barcelona and felt like a prat having to say 'No hablo Espanol! Habla Ingles?' about twenty times a day. So Spanish is my next priority. And it can't be that difficult if you do French and Italian a bit. 'Eh? No comprendo! Por favor?'.”
| Source: NIACE press release "Speaking in Tongues" (PDF file), released on 06/09/2004 |
| Download a briefing sheet with key findings of the ‘Parliamentary Languages Challenge’ (PDF file) |
| Visit the Sign Up Now Website for more information. |
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Widening the World with Wireless Laptops
“Widening the World with Wireless Laptops - The impact of the Wireless Outreach Network initiative on the community”. Edited by Jackie Essom
This publication is the result of an initiative started in June 2002 and which was funded by the DfES to provide networks of wireless laptops aimed at increasing access to learning through technology for socially and economically disadvantaged adults in England. In order to share experiences and good practice of using the wireless laptops, the publication contains a selection of case study visits made to WON organisations, together with stories from individual WON learners telling how they have used the wireless laptops and the resulting impact made on their lives and learning.
For a copy of this free publication, please contact Jackie Essom, Project Officer, ICT and Learning: jackie.essom@niace.org.uk.
Visit the Wireless Outreach Network website for more information.
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