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.’