NIACE speaker at international maths event Thursday, June 24, 2010 - 16:29

The 17th International Adults Learning Mathematics Conference focussed on the increasing needs for mathematics of adults in the workforce. Speaking on the topic, Sue Southwood - NIACE Programme Director for Literacy, Language and Numeracy - addressed attendees which included international researchers, practitioners and policymakers.

Sue Southwood is currently leading on a national inquiry of adult numeracy - Numeracy Counts for Adults. Experts from the numeracy-learning field were given the chance to contribute to the inquiry at a seminar earlier this month and the inquiry is being launched on Monday, 12 July 2010. A final report of the findings will be published this autumn.

Organisations and individuals are still welcome to contribute to the inquiry - Numeracy Counts: a review of adult numeracy in England - by submitting policy papers, research, and current practice to numeracyreview@niace.org.uk.

Sue Southwood, said:

"We have seen significant improvements in adult literacy in the last ten years, but we need to find out why this has not been matched by similar achievements in numeracy."

"Adults with low numeracy skills are more likely to be in low skilled, low paid work or unemployed. We need to address numeracy skills in the workplace, often made invisible by people not recognising what counts as maths."

"Learning in the workplace is a great way of engaging people in numeracy-learning, but it needs to be carefully organised to build on the knowledge people already have. We need to focus on raising awareness and building confidence in using maths, led by the individual's needs in the context of their work. This way, they can build confidence in mathematical thinking, will be more likely to take up numeracy-learning and employers will benefit from improved work practices."