Marvin OnumonuEmployers in the Midlands are still looking for staff with English and maths skills, said creators of Functional Skills Resources, Lyn Calver and Pete Middleton.
They reported that demand from tutors and training providers remains high, even after the Government said it would scrap the need for functional English and maths for post-19 apprentices.
Calver said: “There are lots of people who need English and Maths qualifications whether in their adult life or younger years.
“You might need them to apply for a job or to go on a training course for another career.
“I have worked with someone in the past who wanted to emigrate to Canada and needed English and Maths to do that.”
Calver added: “Of course, there are other people who want these qualifications because they want to achieve what they might not have managed in their school life.
“We work with people from all walks of life – in prison, for example, gaining functional English and Maths qualifications can be so important in people leaving an institution and not going on to re-offend.”
Middleton said: “We help people achieve things that they might not have done at school by creating resources that are engaging, by using examples from real life.
“Our resources cover topics such as Black Friday – things that people will have heard of and can relate to.
“If you look at resources typically used in GCSE maths and English, it’s no wonder some people struggle as they bear little relation to real life.”
Middleton added: “Some people live in situations where there is a low cycle of expectation.
“They are hampered by the idea that they come from an area where there is an embedded view that they will not do anything with their life.
“Our resources are all about reaching out to those people and helping them achieve what they thought they couldn’t.”
The pair said they have created over 400 written and video resources to help learners and that topics include mental health, income tax, how to write an email, and figures in popular culture.
They said the resources are updated often and focus on real life situations, not the abstract examples found in GCSE curriculums.
Julie Lawrence, owner of Birmingham-based recruitment agency Able Personnel, said: “When younger people haven’t done well at school in English and Maths, functional skills tutors will then need to get them through those qualifications.
“Employers do still want to know that they have got English and Maths – they will say they really need their staff to have those skills.
“We definitely know that employers are still looking for English and Maths and they are still very important.”
Lawrence added: “When we are interviewing new candidates we always make sure to ask whether they have English and Maths, so functional skills are still vital for today’s workplace and that’s definitely something we are seeing.
“Only recently we had a candidate go for an interview and an employer contacted us to check on their English and Maths, so the need has certainly not gone away.”
