A word from our CEO

Did you know that more than 7 million Australian adults don’t have the reading skills considered necessary for every day life? This indicates that many people have a skill level where they struggle to perform adequately in their jobs.

Some alarming statistics include: 

• 46% of the population have prose literacy skills below level 3. For example: reading and understanding; communicating via email.
• 47% of the population have document literacy skills below level 3. For example: filling in forms.
• 53% of the population have numeracy skills below level 3. For example: filling in timesheets.
• 70% of the population have problem solving skills below level 3. For example: working independently, following non-routine directions , finding workable solutions for new challenges.

The Federal Government recently announced in the 2011-12 budget that there will be improved access to the Language Literacy and Numeracy Program (LLNP) for those in need. From 1 July 2011 the government will provide $143.1 million towards an additional 30,000 commencements over four years, and 30,000 commencements per annum thereafter. The LLNP is the Federal Government’s primary program for helping job seekers to address their language, literacy and numeracy skill gaps.

Given that increasing productivity is an agenda item for the current Federal Government, it is fitting that an increased investment in LLNP be undertaken. It is easy for politicians to take an easy approach and guide investment into business and industry capital through subsidy programs rather than invest in long term ‘invisible’ areas such as foundational skills. Investment in these areas is critical to increase economic productivity and accelerate long term growth. Research has revealed that raising a country’s adult literacy by just 1 per cent leads to a rise in productivity of 1.5 per cent and a 2.5 per cent increase in GDP.

At this point it is also important to bring a word of caution; just investing money and creating new places in programs such as this will not alone increase participation. Students with low levels of literacy and numeracy skills are also likely to bring with them issues of poverty, poor housing, poor health and family breakdown, which impacts on their attendance and achievements. The students socio-economic backgrounds are one of the main obstacles faced within LLNP. Sometimes it has become essential to engage the learner’s family to ensure positive outcomes are achieved in the program. It is essential that the student’s lifestyle, family history and previous educational experiences are considered when a student is accepted into the program as these factors have a major impact on their learning experiences and achievable outcomes. Furthermore, there is reluctance by those most at need to participate in these programs due to personal embarrassment to acknowledge they have low literacy levels and the negative ‘images’ attached to this.

Potential participants need to be encouraged and in some cases mentored just to get to the starting line. Once these barriers have been overcome and participants do engage, not only will we be on the way to achieving the economic growth outlined above due to raising literacy levels, additionally we will have a better functioning society with better engagement by individuals in community and reduced health, law and order costs. It was Simon Crean who once said “education is the great enabler”, how true that statement is.