See also: Business and literacy links Business and literacy initiatives and information

Resources

Basic skills are union business is a range of materials designed to meet the needs of all people involved in work on basic skills with unions, from learning representatives to providers. 
Summary - A summary document of all the information contained in the Basic Skills are Union Business series. 
Video - produced by The TUC and the Basic Skills Agency highlighting good practice that has resulted from the Union Learning Fund.  Cost £20.
Manual - provides a comprehensive guide to the issue of basic skills at work, accompanies the Getting the Basics Right in ... series (below).
Handbook for providers - designed to support basic skills providers who want to work with unions.
Union Learning Fund Case Studies - descriptions of projects that have driven the union learning funds basic skills drive. 
Contact: TUC, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS. Tel: 020 7636 4030. Website: www.tuc.org.uk/publications/index.cfm

Basic Skills Support in Business and Industry. Basic Skills Agency handbook that gives training managers background information about how basic skills difficulties are likely to affect their company. It suggests ways in which a company can assess its requirements for basic skills and identify those who need basic skills support. It also provides some practical examples to help companies adapt their training methods and materials and improve their employees basic skills. Cost £6.50 (reference A499).
Contact: Basic Skills Agency publications order line. Tel: 0870 600 2400.

Breaking Down Barriers. Handbook produced by NIACE for the Workplace Basic Skills Network's course, Certificate in Workplace Language, Literacy and Numeracy Training. The book provides a practical guide to establish a workplace language, literacy and numeracy training programme, within a theoretical context. It contains material on developing a holistic, integrated approach to workplace provision. Cost £15.95.
Contact: NIACE Publication Sales, 21 de Montfort Street, Leicester LE1 7GE. Tel: 0116 204 4216. Email: orders@niace.org.uk. 

Brushing up the basics. Short report produced jointly by the TUC and CBI in November 2002 to highlight the important role that unions and employers can play in improving adult basic skills. It includes evidence of the benefits, case studies and action points on what to do next. Available free from www.learningservices.org.uk.

Commercial activities in schools: best practice principles. Guidance, primarily aimed at schools, produced by the DfES in conjuntion with the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA). It is intended to help schools make informed and sensible decisions about business involvement.  The report can be dowloaded at www.besanet.org.uk/besa/documents/view.jsp?item=93
For more information contact ISBA, tel: 020 7291 9020

CV Tips.com. US based site, offering guidance and tips on how to construct a CV, what information to include and the writing style to use. Also includes example CVs from a variety of industry sectors and an online questions forum. Website: www.cvtips.com

Fact Facts. NIACE has produced a series of booklets to support learners in the workplace without access to a dictionary, calculator or PC spell-checker. Fast Facts guides are designed to fit in a top pocket, for use by people who are not desk-based. They include literacy and numeracy support, such as days of the week, months of the year, 24-hour clock, weights and measures and tips to improve spelling, as well as sector specific information. Sectors include building trades, care professions, healthcare assistants and station staff. Contact NIACE publications on 0116 204 7068 or visit www.niace.org.uk.

Get On campaign employers' helpline. The Department for Education and Skills' Get On campaign aims to encourage adults to improve their basic skills. The employers' helpline provides advice and a free pack on improving reading, writing and maths in the workplace. Call 08080 0763 763 or visit www.dfes.gov.uk/get-on/

Getting the basics right in... The Basic Skills Agency has mapped the new basic skills standards to the occupational standards of seven national training organisations:Cleaning and Support Services, Hospitality Training Foundation, Motor Industry Training, Health Care, Road Haulage and Distribution, Security Industry, Distributive. The publications are free, but for all seven copies a charge of £2.50 will be made for post and packaging.
Contact: Basic Skills Agency publications order line. Tel: 0870 600 2400. Website: www.basic-skills.co.uk

Improving Basic Skills in the Workplace. Training pack designed for use with employees in the catering and hospitality industries to improve basic skills in reading, writing, oral communication and maths. The material in the pack takes common workplace procedures and terminology as the basis for exercises. Cost £12 plus p&p (reference A366).
Contact: Basic Skills Agency publications order line. Tel: 0870 600 2400. Website: www.basic-skills.co.uk

Learning Organisations: what are they and how to become one, Alan Clarke. The globalisation of markets and the impact of ICT requires individuals, communities and organisations to learn from their experiences and to be continuously developing themselves. A learning organisation is one which adapts to change, exploits opportunities and maximises the contribution of its human resources. This book identifies the need to be a learning organisation, lists some of the key characteristics and suggests what organisations can do to begin the process of change. Cost £7.95.
Contact: NIACE Publication Sales, 21 de Montfort Street, Leicester LE1 7GE. Tel: 0116 204 4216. Email: orders@niace.org.uk.  Website: www.niace.org.uk/publications/authors/default.htm

Money talk: The language of money. A CD-ROM from the Basic Skills Agency. Provides a flexible structure for using personal finance matters as a context for entry-level literacy and numeracy.
Contact: Basic Skills Agency Publications. Tel: 0870 600 2400. Website: www.basic-skills.co.uk

Natural Allies. A DVD (running time 10 minutes) on how Investors in People (IiP) can support the development of language, literacy and numeracy kills (Skills for Life) amongst the workforce. It comes with a CD ROM and a full transcript. It is aimed at helping IiP practioners increase the understanding of other stakeholders, it provides examples for practitioners on how IiP can support the development of effective Skills for Life and it helps employers to understand more about how IiP can support the development of effective Skills for Life.
For more information visit www.thenetwork.co.uk or call 01524 593405
 
Not My Problem: why improve basic skills in the workplace. Free Basic Skills Agency booklet outliningthe importance of basic skills in the workplace and what is involved in a basic skills training programme, as well as ways forward for developing support. 
Contact: Basic Skills Agency Publications. Tel: 0870 600 2400. Website: www.basic-skills.co.uk

Opening Doors is a video in which adult learners talk about their experiences and is being made available to all basic skills practitioners across the country. A joint project by the Workplace Basic Skills Network at Lancaster University and the Learning and Skills Council of Greater Merseyside, the basic skills training video showcases the views and opinions of adult learners. "Opening Doors" lasts 11 minutes and is available on CD Rom. It comes with an accompanying booklet containing the learners' writings and a transcript of the video. Video and transcript cost £10, CD Rom £10, Learner writings £3 and the full set costs £23.
Contact: Stacy O'Brien, Workplace Basic Skills Network, CSET, County South, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YD. Tel: 01524 592719. Email: stacy.obrien@lancaster.ac.uk. An order form is also available on the Network website: www.lancs.ac.uk/wbsnet

The Provider Toolkit - resources and links for workplace language, literacy and numeracy practitioners http://www.skillsforlifenetwork.com

Paid time off to learn: a guide for Union Learning Representatives. TUC booklet produced in 2004 to promote the range of skills initiatives that Union Learning Reps can access to promote paid time off to learn in the workplace. It highlights the key role of the Employer Training Pilots and other government initiatives, and makes the case for some form of paid time off for all adult employees without a level 2 qualification.
Website: www.learningservices.org.uk. Email: learningservices@tuc.org.uk.

Power Up Your Mind, Bill Lucas. Book written by Bill Lucas, chief executive of the Campaign for Learning, on current thinking about human performance and new insights about the way our brains work best, both in the workplace and in our daily lives. It contains anecdotes, stories and practical advice, much of it based on work-based training and organisational effectiveness, but with information on various learning techniques that would be equally applicable to all ages. Cost £14.99. 
Contact: Southgate Publishers, The Square, Sandford, Crediton, Devon EX17 4LW. Tel: 01363 776888. Email: info@southgatepublishers.co.uk. 

Skills for Life Film. As part of the Skills for Life Advocates project, we have produced a new film. It will be a valuable resource for Union Learning Reps, Project Workers, Union Officers and course tutors. Visit learning services for more information. www.learningservices.org.uk/national/learning-3995-f0.cfm

Skills Matter. Initiative managed by the Basic Skills Agency to provide access to free basic skills training for small businesses and their staff. Training is available to improve skills work-related skills such as completing forms, finding and sorting information, contributing to meetings, using and reading spreadsheets and accounts, and writing letters, reports, messages, memos, notes, publicity material and instructions. Any small business need that could be met by improving skills in mathematics, reading, writing, speaking, listening and understanding will be considered. 
Contact Skills Matter on 0118 967 5063 or visit www.skillsmatter.org.uk. 

Skills and Work The Basic Skills Agency have developed a series of leaflets intended as a starting point for young people and adults thinking about starting work or training for a variety of different jobs; and teachers, trainers and advisers working with them. They list everyday tasks, outline the speaking, listening and literacy skills needed for the job and the level of skills needed to start an NVQ course. They are available to download from www.basic-skills.co.uk/resources/ or by calling 0870 600 2400.

Survival skills in the workplace. Series of free leaflets produced by the Basic Skills Agency in partnership with the National Support Project for New Deal. Each one provides easy-to-read information about the types of skills (speaking and listening, reading, writing, number skills, communication skills) needed for work in a particular sector. The series covers administration, catering and hospitality, travel services, horticulture, motor vehicle servicing, construction industry, hairdressing, retail, child care and education, and direct care. 
Contact the Basic Skills Agency publications line on 0870 600 2400. Website: www.basic-skills.co.uk.

Workplace reading. Encourages the development of literacy skills by providing easy access within the workplace to a variety of books with multiple reading levels. The starter kit includes 10 Quick Reads titles that are ideal for less confident adult readers together with a variety of contemporary fiction titles, sport, biographies, health and self-help books. The selection has been planned to provide the widest interest level but refill packs are available with mixed or specific interest. The books are provided directly from the publishers. Ideas for developing relaxed reading groups are included in the pack together with suggestions for encouraging reading at home. The full value of the books alone is over £170. The complete box with 30 books, reading group start-up suggestions and ideas costs £99 plus £9.99 P&P. Tel: 0800 612 9025 Website: www.workplacereading.com