BASIC SKILLS FOR WORK--COMBINED BASIC SKILLS AND COMMUNICATION TRAINING FOR LOW-SKILLED WORKERS

摘要

In the past years, the issue of “basic skills” has gained particular attention in most European countries. Of particular concern are what is generally called 'functional literacy' and 'functional numeracy' defined as “the ability to read, write and speak in the respective language and to use mathematics at a level necessary to function at work and in society in general”. At least one of every four adults, in Europe and beyond, fails to reach minimum literacy levels for coping with everyday life and work in a complex, advanced society. Vocational learning is therefore now a key issue for employers, educators and learners. Consequently, our transnational partnership of the LEONARDO DA VINCI project has developed concepts for curricula for low skilled workers in five different sectors for training literacy, numeracy and communication skills to meet quality and safety aspects. They also include aspects of diversity, especially of the cultural and social background of the learners in order to overcome sectoral divides: ?Hospital and care: ?Construction industries ? Cleaning industries ?Tourism and leisure ?Railway transport The curricula are available in several European languages, their target group being trainers and training providers. They are available as download free of charge from the project's website www.basic-skills-for-work.org. The on-line curricula “Target Skills for Work” developed parallel to the pilot project by CTAD (http://www.ctad.co.uk) aims at people working in the retail, care, manufacturing, cleaning, construction and hospitality sectors directly. The materials are mapped to British Adult Literacy and Numeracy Core Curricula. Each sector disc covers up to five contexts, each with separate units that use work-related tasks for teaching the skills e.g. filling in forms, speaking to customers, taking measurements. The learning activities address speaking, listening, reading, writing, number and measure. They are designed for a 'dip-in, dip-out' approach--each task lasts no more than ten minutes--and for self-learning, without assessment. The tasks are ideal for using at work or during informal training. “Target Skills for Work” also provides an ICT-based initial assessment, ICT teaching materials (audio, animation, graphics and interactive activities) and an optional web-based tracking and management system. Learners and tutors work together to identify the units for individual learners. Once learners have a learning plan, they can work at their own pace, fitting in their learning in short sessions. The CD-ROM can be accessed in two ways: ? ?standalone - all CD-ROM resources can be accessed and an end-of-session record generated ? ?with the management system - resources can be tailored for the individual; all work is tracked and stored on the web site.