Nine million adults in England lack essential literacy or numeracy skills and will continue to lose out without increased and targeted investment, a new briefing warns.
Essential skills, including literacy and numeracy, are increasingly crucial for life, work and economic growth. However, the number of adults improving these skills in England has reduced by more than 60% over the past decade as Government investment in skills is set to be £1 billion less in 2025 compared to 2010. As a result, on current trends, it would take over 20 years for every adult to get the help they need.
New analysis from Learning and Work Institute (L&W) reveals stark disparities in the number of adults lacking essential skills across England, with pockets of high need in every region. The proportion of adults lacking functional literacy or numeracy varies from 15% in Didsbury West, Manchester, to 39% in Heslington, York.
L&W has conducted an England-wide modelling exercise of adults aged 16 to 64 – thought to be the first of its kind. In doing so, it has identified disparities in essential skills levels within local areas which far exceed those between local and combined authorities across the country.
