Skills, skills, Functional Skills and You

John Pallister

By the end of this session:

• You will understand why skills are important to you and to the UK;

• You will know something about Functional Skills;

• You will have worked with other students to solve a problem.

What are skills?

• “the ability to do an activity or job well”; http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?

key=74139&dict=CALD

• something you've learned how to do; • something you have practised to develop;

– standing on one leg– making paper aeroplanes– writing– riding a bicycle– delivering a presentation – ?

Skills are valuable if:

• They help you to survive/live

• They help you to learn

• They help you to earn your living

• They help you to …

Skills and jobs

• Every employer will want their employees to have the set of skills that will enable them to do the ‘job’.

• Different jobs need different sets of skills;

• There are some common skills that you will need whatever job you do.

employers want young people:

• who are literate, numerate and communicate well.

• to turn up on time and show enthusiasm and commitment.

• Who have positive attitudes.

The skills you need to be employable:

• Timekeeping 80.0%• Literacy skills 79.0%• Numeracy skills 77.7%• Enthusiasm/commitment 75.3%• Personal presentation 53.3%• Communication skills 41.6%• General IT skills 33.6%• Team-working skills 23.6%• Problem-solving skills 22.7%• Enterprising 21.3%• Customer-care skills 20.8%• Vocational job-specific skills 13.9%• Business awareness 11.2%• Advanced vocational job-specific skills 8.6%

The job market

• Adult unemployment in the UK 7.8%

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?ID=12

• unemployment among 16–24 year olds 19.1%. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/aug/12/youth-unemployment-rate-bristol

• Employers need employees with the ‘right’ skills, at the right Level so that they can do the jobs;

A UK Skills Problem

• 35% of the UK working age population do not have Level 2 skills;

• Only 36% of the UK working age population have Level 2-3 skills;

• What about our competition? Over 50%of the working population in Germany and New Zealand have Level 2-3 skills;

• 7 million adults lack functional numeracy

• 5 million adults lack functional literacy

The UK - competing with other countries

• Out of the top 30 developed countries in the world the UK ranks:– 20th for intermediate skills (this is the group

that have A level or NVQ3 type qualifications)

– 11th for high skills (we’ve gone down from 4th)

New jobs require higher level skills

• The basic skills required for most jobs in manufacturing and services are likely to rise.

• by 2010 [Next Year!] around 95% of all new jobs will require Level 2 skills or higher. (Level 2 is 5 A*-C qualifications or NVQ2) Work Skills In Britain, DfES

The implications for the UK

• Unless we increase the skills Level in the UK workforce we will not be able to compete with other countries;

• If we do not, we will not earn as much money as other countries – everyone in the country will be less well-off;

Functional Skills

“The skills are learning tools that enable people:

• To apply their knowledge and understanding to everyday life

• To engage competently and confidently with others

• To solve problems in both familiar and unfamiliar situations

• To develop personally and professionally as positive citizens who can actively contribute to society.”

http://www.qcda.gov.uk/libraryAssets/media/Support_for_AOs_preparing_for_FS_accreditation.pdf

Functional:

• English

• Mathematics

• ICT.

14

Required for all 14-19 Learning Pathways.

• GCSEs and A-levels;

• 14 – 19 Diplomas;

• Apprenticeships.

• Foundation Learning; http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/FLT Sept 2009

Most importantly:

• To get the most out of you education;

• To survive in your everyday life;

• To be able to get a job;

• To be able to do your job;

You will need Functional Skills

Functional ICT

• Use ICT Systems

• Find and select information

• Develop, present and communicate information

Functional Maths

• Representing (making sense of situations and representing them)

• Analysing (processing and using maths)

• Interpreting (interpreting and communicating the results of analysis)

Functional English

• Speaking and listening

• Reading

• Writing

Nothing new! - You are already ‘doing’ Functional Skills

Functional skills in:

English

• key stage 3 embeds the level 1 functional skills standards. http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/key-stages-3-and-4/subjects/english/keystage3/Functional_skills_in_the_revised_programme_of_study_for_English.aspx?return=/key-stages-3-and-4/subjects/english/keystage3/index.aspx%3Freturn%3D/key-

stages-3-and-4/subjects/english/index.aspx

Maths• key stage 3 embeds the level 1 functional skills standards

in mathematics….. Functional skills are a subset of the key processes

http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/key-stages-3-and-4/subjects/mathematics/keystage3/Functional_skills_in_the_revised_programme_of_study_for_mathematics.aspx?return=/key-stages-3-and-4/subjects/mathematics/keystage3/index.aspx

ICT• key stage 3 embeds the level 1 functional skills standards. The key concepts reflect the ICT functional skills standards: http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/key-stages-3-and-4/subjects/ict/keystage3/Functional_skills_in_the_revised_programme_of_study_for_ICT.aspx?return=/key-stages-3-and-4/subjects/ict/keystage3/index.aspx%3Freturn%3D/key-stages-3-and-4/subjects/ict/index.aspx

Solving Problems

• You need to develop the Functional Skills that will let you solve a wide range of ‘real life’ problems, independently;

• To develop skills you must practise them!

Today’s problem: