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Commentary - January 2007

We have been hearing about ‘employability’ since the late 1990s and, more recently, through the Key Skills Support Programme and the further education White Paper, Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances. I am not sure that we have a clear, shared definition of employability in spite of work done by, amongst others, the Institute of Employment Studies (IES). Its study suggested that employability is about the knowledge, skills and attitudes people need to get and keep work as well as to move on.

The Department for Education and Skills employability template includes literacy, numeracy, personal attributes such as reliability and punctuality, as well as communication, teamwork and occupational skills. Richard Lambert, Director General of the Confederation of British Industry, in its study of basic skills, Working on the Three Rs: Employers’ Priorities for Functional Skills in Maths and English ( www.cbi.org.uk/pdf/functionalskills0906.pdf ), said that not only was writing an important area but oracy – the capacity to express oneself in and understand speech – was too.

There is a high degree of consensus that employability includes a wide range of skills of which literacy and numeracy are essential parts. Furthermore, there’s agreement that communication, oracy, teamwork and general attitudes to employment are vital. The Skills for Life strategy, and the accompanying investment, is the Government’s commitment to such skill development.

A recent, frustrating, attempt to glean information about hotel accommodation reminded me of just how central skills of speaking and listening are to employability. I had the unenviable task of organising a reunion for friends and of finding suitable accommodation. The responses I received to my queries were limited and generally unhelpful until a lively voice with a strong southern accent addressed my concerns and reassured me of the services I sought. She spoke with warmth and enthusiasm, and was informed and responsive, although her strong regional accent was a long way from ‘Queen’s English’! It wasn’t her pronunciation that mattered but her ability to listen, respond, establish a relationship and offer information. This young woman is likely to move on in her career; I’m not sure about the others.

I am convinced that these are neglected areas of research and development in the adult literacy field, particularly for people whose first language is English.

Speaking and listening are about articulating ideas, sharing and testing out opinions and theories, and analysing feelings. They help us to clarify concepts, evaluate information and develop understanding. It is these qualities which lead to problem-solving; the very essence of successful enterprise. Speaking and listening are the fabric of relationships at home, in the community and at work; they are the give and take of effective teamwork, so sought after by employers. Speaking and listening are important for developing fulfilment, identity and self-esteem. But how many adult learners receive explicit teaching and learning in these areas?

We know from studies in the UK and the USA how children from the poorest communities demonstrate low language levels on entry to school. We also know that there is a strong correlation between poverty and young adults who are not in education, employment or training and who end up in custody.

In October I attended a dissemination event for a small but important piece of work, which the Young Adults Learning Partnership (YALP), a partnership supported by NIACE and the National Youth Agency, had completed. This was looking at the role of theatre (or drama) as a vehicle to develop oracy in young adults who were in a young offenders’ institute. It was a systematic research study, conducted in partnership with the Centre for Labour Market Studies, the full report of which is available on the NIACE website.

Working with the Leicester Haymarket Theatre and Leicester College, imaginative, exploratory theatre, based on the ideas of Augusto Boal, helped the young men to reflect on both listening and speaking. The results were transformative and not only for the duration of the learning programme; the learning and skills manager reported how the impact was seen in their behaviour and for some this contributed to an early release from custody.

Employability is not only about young adults, nor for those seeking work; it’s about sustaining employment and moving on. Our demographic trends clearly demonstrate how we are likely to change jobs more and work longer. As we move from one job to another, particular skills may need developing; in a service-based economy we can guarantee that oracy will be a vital aspect of future work.

The centrality of speaking and listening to successful economic activity for individuals, communities and organisations seems so obvious. But where’s the researched evidence that we know how to teach and learn such skills?

Jan Eldred is Senior Development Officer, Literacy, Language and Numeracy, NIACE    

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