By ELLEN READ
New Zealand has almost 240,000 small businesses employing 330,000 people, 40 per cent of whom are below the minimum level of literacy needed for today's workplaces, according to a survey of adult literacy skills in OECD countries.
As technology, legislation and new production methods rapidly and frequently change
the operation of small businesses, workforce literacy can become a huge problem.
This is especially so for small firms where low literacy skills have a larger impact because there are fewer employees.
Problems include instructions not being understood, forms not being filled in properly, workplace accidents, procedures not being followed, poor communication at work, poor customer service and rejected or wasted product.
Literacy is not just about reading and writing; it also covers skills such as speaking, listening, problem solving, creative thinking and numeracy.
So what can be done about low levels of literacy in the workplace?
Workbase is a national non-profit organisation that works with business, the education sector and the Government to raise the literacy, English language and numeracy skills of the workforce.
Established in 1996, Workbase receives an annual grant from the Government and also carries out contracts for services with a wide range of private and public sector organisations.
The service promotes the need for and benefits of better workforce literacy, provides information and advisory services on best practice workforce delivery, including policy input to the Government, and distributes internationally recognised teaching and learning materials.
It also initiates research and development projects designed to increase understanding about literacy skill development and delivers literacy services in workplaces.
Subsidies are available to help small businesses pay for workplace literacy programmes in the form of the Workplace Basic Skills Development Fund.
The subsidy seeks to support quality, effective programmes for learners with low levels of literacy, in particular Maori and Pacific Island learners and programmes in small and medium enterprises.
* For more information, contact Workbase on (09) 361-3800
www.workbase.org.nz
