Literacy news
Lack of basic literacy skills are costing Scotland's young people jobs
28 Nov 2011
Bad spelling and incorrect grammar are affecting the job prospects of young people from Scotland, a business figure has claimed, as he called on schools and colleges to adopt a tougher marking regime that penalises poorly written English.
Iain McMillan, director of CBI Scotland, criticised the substandard language skills found on CVs and job applications filled in by those entering the job market. He blamed the Scottish exam system for failing to deduct marks for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
Mary Senior, the Scottish official for the University and College Union, believed that social media had affected the use of language. She said:
“It is all very well for Iain McMillan to sit there and make these criticisms, but social media, texting and tweeting has had a real effect on spelling and grammar, so perhaps it is not surprising that grammar is not what it was in the 1950s.”
Read the full article at Scotsman.
