Literacy news
Words For Work evaluation report is published this week
10 Aug 2010
Words For Work, an exciting National Literacy Trust pilot, has released its evaluation report revealing that 9 in 10 young people believe they communicate better as a result of taking part.
The pilot, which focuses on developing young people’s listening and speaking skills by connecting them with local business people, also reports improved attitudes with 9 in 10 young people saying they now believe communication is a vital skill, compared to just 5 in 10 before the project began.
The potential positive impacts on society and local economies of a better prepared, more effective workforce remain the key drivers for Words For Work. The head of British Telecom has recently complained that a quarter of the 26,000 applicants for a BT apprenticeship programme “lacked the basic skills needed to get by in the workplace.”* The Words for Work pilot responds to this need and directly addresses these concerns about the communication skills of the young people who enter the workforce in the future.
The business volunteers who gave up their time to work with the pupils were key to the success of the pilot.
Business volunteer Jackie Andrews says:
“One (girl) in particular who impressed me most by the end in terms of how much her confidence had grown and that she was then prepared to put herself forward for things, when at the beginning she had been almost unable to look at me.”
The project has received resounding endorsement from the schools and businesses who took part this year, all of whom have signed up for the second pilot year, plans for which are already well underway.
Twelve schools around the country have signed up to deliver the second Words For Work pilot in 2011. The clusters of schools are in London, Surrey, Kent, West Midlands and Yorkshire. To date a mixture of private and public sector partners, who will provide volunteers, are being recruited. In the future, the National Literacy Trust plans to refine the Words For Work model to sustain it beyond the second year and to roll out to schools nationally.
To see a full copy of the Words For Work report click here.
To read the full media release click here.
* Gross M, (2010). So why can’t they read? July 2010, Centre for Policy Studies.
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