BUSINESSES must act smarter, according to the College of Further Education principal. Trevor Wakefield (pictured) spoke at the Institute of Directors monthly meeting about the need for the recognition of a limited skills base in the island.
He said many employees in the finance sector struggle with literacy and numeracy but are scared to seek help for fear they might lose their job. Research by Sir Claus Moser in the UK in 1998 revealed that 22% of the adult population was functionally illiterate and 40% was functionally innumerate.
He said the recent Leitch Report had shown that literacy and numeracy skills were still at unacceptable levels. ‘We are happy to say we are not good at numbers, but we never ever talk about literacy.
‘It really is a hidden disability,’ he said. ‘What is the Guernsey situation? We just don’t know. We cannot afford that kind of research, but we assume we are not very different from the UK and we probably match the UK average.’
The Guernsey Adult Literacy Programme, which is charity based, has helped more than 70 people from teenagers to men and women aged 80-plus improve their literacy skills.
‘When I talk to employers, they say, “we don’t have any problems in our organisation”, but there seems to be a hidden problem,’ he said.
‘There is an amazing number of people we meet but many of them won’t come to our meetings because they are afraid somebody they know might recognise them and tell their boss.
‘A lot of those people are in the finance industry,’ said Mr Wakefield.
He said businesses need to provide support for those employees who struggle with figures and words.
‘One of the things we are trying to do with the programme is build a partnership with employers to offer support to anybody in the workplace who needs help and that applies to numeracy as much as it does literacy,’ he said.
* For more information about the Guernsey Adult Literacy Programme, contact Janet Wakefield on 737518.
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