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Latest News

Half the working-age population struggles with numbers

by Personnel Today 3 Nov 2003
by Personnel Today 3 Nov 2003

Almost
half of 16-65 year-olds in the UK lack the numeracy skills expected at a lower
grade GCSE level, according to new government figures.

The
National Needs and Impact Survey of Literacy, Numeracy and ICT Skills shows
that 47 per cent of adults in the UK fall below the Government’s Level 1
numeracy skills grading.

According
to the report, men have a higher level of numeracy than women, with one in
three men attaining Level 2 (A*-C GCSE) or above, compared to one in five
women.

Levels
of literacy are rising in the UK, but more than five million people aged
between 16-65 still fall short of Level 1 literacy skills, having not gained
grades D-G in at GCSE English.

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The
survey of 8,730 people aged 16-65 was conducted as part of the Government’s
Skills for Life programme to improve the literacy and numeracy of 1.5 million
adults by 2007.

By Michael Millar

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

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