An Introduction to Skills for Life

1. An Introduction to Skills for Life

2. Aims • To ensure that everyone in the organisation knows about Skills for Life as an integral part of Train to Gain. • To ensure that all staff talk positively and with confidence about: • what Skills for Life covers • how it fits within Train to Gain • who might benefit from developing their English and maths skills • SfL qualifications.

3. Skills for Life – clarifying definitions • Skills for Life, basic skills, key skills. • Literacy, language and numeracy (LLN). • The functional English and maths skills used in everyday life and work at all levels up to and including Level 2. • ESOL – English as a Second Language (language and literacy).

4. Skills for Life qualifications • National Certificates at Entry Level, Level 1 and Level 2 • Multiple choice tests at L1 and L2 – the same as the Key Skills tests and the same format for all awarding bodies • On line or on paper • Entry Level Certificates have the same standards, but different awarding bodies have different forms of assessment • ESOL and ESOL for Work qualifications

5. Move On

6. Level 2 – the benchmark for a modern society 44% 14.1 m adults 25% 8 m adults 20% 6.4 m adults Level 2 Level 2 56% 17.8 m adults 75% 23.9 m adults 80% 25.5 m adults Literacy Numeracy Literacy/numeracy

7. The Level 2 challenge • NVQ Level 2 Trowel Occupations: • 100% of units require Level 2 reading skills. • 38% of construction workforce in East of England have literacy skills at Level 2 or above. • 70% of units require Level 2 numeracy skills. • 24% of construction workforce in East of England have numeracy skills at Level 2 or above. • Sources: • DfES Essential Skills leaflets • Approximate figures from graphs provided by East of England Observatory

8. National Qualifications Framework