We need to improve the literacy, language and numeracy skills of our workforce.
About 43% of adults in New Zealand have low literacy, and about 51% have low levels of numeracy.
Being able to read and write and work with numbers is vital to learning new skills and having higher value, higher paid work. It’s also very important to life outside the workplace.
Action 1: Build Supply and Capability
We want to make sure that there are more opportunities to learn literacy, language and numeracy.
We also want this training to be of a high standard and relevant to people’s needs.
For these reasons we suggest investing in the capability of trainers and providers, and embedding the learning into vocational training.
Action 2: Build Demand
Currently, demand for work-based literacy training is low.
We think we should help employers and employees understand the benefits of increased literacy, language and numeracy skills.
We aim to support regions and industries with concentrations of employees with low literacy, language and numeracy levels.
