Speech to the National Centre of Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Symposium

Hello everyone, it’s a pleasure to be here at the Symposium again. Welcome to all the literacy and numeracy educators and managers here today. 

Kiwis without literacy and numeracy skills miss out on a whole world of life opportunities and the self-esteem and independence that comes from being literate and numerate.  And, as a nation we miss out on the social and economic benefit of seeing the full potential of those Kiwis.

We have many challenges in terms of our levels of literacy and numeracy among adults; especially among those in the workforce, however I am heartened by the progress that we have made to date with embedded and focussed literacy and numeracy programmes.

In 2006, more than a million New Zealanders had literacy and numeracy skills below those needed to participate fully in today’s modern, high-skilled society. Māori adults had lower literacy and numeracy skills than the general population, and Pasifika adults were also over-represented and both Māori and PasifiKa remain so today.

The Government is working alongside educators to address this challenge and I am pleased to say together we are making progress. This Government has made literacy and numeracy one of our major education priorities and a key priority in the Tertiary Education Strategy.

Since 2008, we have invested more than $121 million in a range of literacy and numeracy initiatives.

This investment, coupled with the hard work of professionals like those of you here today, has ensured good progress has been made towards raising our nation’s levels of adult literacy and numeracy.

I am pleased to see that the total number of learners receiving adult literacy and numeracy opportunities has tripled in just 2 years.

In 2010 there were 36,200 adult literacy and numeracy learners; in 2011 there were 93,201; and in 2012 there is an estimated 122,736.  From 2010 to 2012, around 250,000 adult learners will have received support in developing their literacy and numeracy skills, through a range of government-funded provision. 

It is also great to see the progress that has been made in embedding literacy and numeracy skills into level 1 to 3 qualifications.  This is reflected in the increase in student success. 

Course and qualification completions across levels 1 to 3 provision rose 6 and 7% respectively.  Most providers now have well over 85% of their level 1 to 3 provision with embedded literacy and numeracy. This puts us in a good position for the coming years.

ACE plays an important part in foundation level learning as well.  In the last term, the Government refocused ACE to prioritise core skills like literacy and language, and life skills.  In Budget 2012, The Government announced an additional $2.2 million for community ACE over the next four years.  I know and acknowledge that ACE is the first step into the classroom for a lot of people and provides an important bridge into formal education.

I am very pleased with what I am hearing about in the ACE sector about engaging hard to reach learners.  Following a meeting with the ACE sector strategic alliance earlier this week, I am very much looking forward to seeing the measuring outcomes work that this group is undertaking with the Ministry of Education.

We’ve come a long way when it comes to increasing participation and understanding of literacy and numeracy, but we still have a way to go on this journey. Getting on top of this challenge of increasing adult literacy and numeracy will take a continued effort across all parts of the sector.

One example is the continuing work of the National Centre of Adult Literacy and Numeracy in providing a main focal point of professional development for the sector.

The Centre’s face-to-face engagement, symposia, and events are key strengths. They are important vehicles for promoting and implementing the Learning Progressions, the Assessment Tool, and the principles behind good practice in literacy and numeracy teaching, as well as facilitating informed academic and professional dialogue.

The Centre’s activities are creating positive outcomes for learners, educators, managers, and providers. Educators have responded positively, reporting that they better understand their learners, their teaching has improved, and that their learners are achieving better results.

Another area of ongoing work in the sector is the continued rollout of the Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool. The Assessment Tool has become the key diagnostic tool of literacy and numeracy competency for adults in New Zealand. There was no nationally recognised diagnostic assessment for literacy and numeracy before the launch of this.  This is a significant new resource for the sector.

The Assessment Tool has a major part to play in moving us from good participation to great outcomes and results. 

I am looking forward to seeing the first release of general data on the Assessment Tool towards the end of 2012.

Government has big ambitions for adult learning.  It’s crucial to lift the skills of the workforce, and of course, most people that will be in the workforce in the next 30 years are in the workforce today.  Not only is this important for our nation's productivity, but also for individuals and their families as all the research shows that the higher the tertiary qualification, the greater the income premium. Those with higher qualifications are also more likely to sustain long periods of employment.

Government has placed particular emphasis on 25 – 34 year olds as they will naturally benefit for the longest time from an increase in their skill levels.  On Monday, the Prime Minister announced the target to have 55% of 25 – 34 year olds holding a level 4 or above qualification in the next 5 years.

This is a challenging target. However, the refocusing of level 1 and 2 provision will be a big contributor to achieving it.  

There are, of course, a number of ways we are tackling our level 4 target.  One is Youth Guarantee that will provide opportunities for young people to pursue a vocational career, particularly those at risk of becoming disengaged from school.

The second is the changes to industry training which will put a greater focus on delivering the level 4 and above skills that industry need.

The third is by performance-linked funding for institutions, which places a greater emphasis on providers to support students to pass their courses and gain a qualification. 

Today I want to talk about the importance of foundation or second chance education for foundation learners.

Government funding of foundation level  tertiary education has had an interesting history.  During the early 2000s, there was a 90% increase in mostly low quality, high volume qualifications at level 1 and 2.  A lot of these courses were not suitable for students with genuine foundation learning needs.  By closing funding loopholes and removing the uncapped funding environment, there has been a steady decline in the volume of low quality level one and two provision.  In recent years, the TEC removed funding for short courses and regulatory compliance courses in order to ensure funding is targeted to full qualifications that have the greatest return for learners. 

From going through the exercise of removing funding from unsuitable courses, we are now shifting towards a more active investment approach to make sure funding is allocated to high quality providers that are able to show they can get the results we are looking for – a real lift in the education and employment prospects of those learners that have not succeeded in education previously.

Today there are great foundation courses in our institutions, but only about half of the people enrolled in these courses don’t already have a level two qualification. 

We want to focus foundation learning on being for foundation learners and encourage those that already have a level 2 qualification to progress and study at higher levels.

So we are going back to what foundation level learning is for and the kind of opportunities we want foundation learners to have.  These are to:

• Provide people who do not already have essential foundation skills with a low cost way to gain those skills;

• Provide pathways to higher-level study and skilled employment; Minimise the costs to individuals of student loan borrowing for acquiring essential foundation skills which are unlikely to lead to increased income opportunities on their own;

• Build language, literacy and numeracy skills;

• Enable beginning students to learn English or Te Reo Māori;

• Encourage those providers who are best able to meet the needs of foundation education students to continue their good work.

So to get foundation level education focussed on those that most need it, we are going to do the following:

• Have a dedicated $115 million in 2013 to foundation level education, as we announced in Budget 2012;

• Make Levels 1 and 2 provision focused on people of all ages who do not already have a level 2 qualification. Providers will be asked to manage a transitional regime to shift most enrolments in levels 1 and 2 qualifications to those who do not already have a level 2 qualification over the next three to four years.

• Keep open entry for Levels 1 and 2 Te Reo and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) qualifications;

• Only fund full qualifications (of 40 credits or more) with embedded literacy and numeracy;

• Around one third of the foundation level fund will be administered via an EOI and proposal process by the TEC, that will look to allocate funds to those providers that have proven performance in meeting the needs of foundation learners.

• Assessing the costs of provision will be an aspect of the administration of the $40 million, to make sure that we are getting value-for-money for the Government investment.

• Allow Private training establishments (PTEs) to be eligible to compete for levels 1 and 2 funding alongside other providers.

• Aim to make foundation-level education fees free by having all levels 1 and 2 fees paid from the Student Achievement Component (SAC) by 2017.

I am keen to make sure that good providers, regardless of the type of provider they are, can access Government funding to support the results they are achieving.  By opening up level 1 and 2 provision to new providers, I also anticipate seeing some new and innovative approaches to engaging and progressing learners through foundation education to achieving not just a qualification, but also the self-confidence to progress to higher education or employment.  

I am also pleased to announce today, that there will shortly be a further excellent resource available for providers and agencies to assist in achieving positive outcomes for foundation learners. 

Ako Aotearoa is about to release its report – Lifting the Game, achieving greater success for learners in foundation tertiary education.  This report highlights what works for the priority learners we want to target through this new initiative and I will be looking for both providers and Government agencies to take advantage of it.

Government investment, new tools, and the ongoing work of people like you in the sector have all contributed to the good progress we have seen in the literacy and numeracy space to date. The components of a national infrastructure are now in place to support a major lift in outcomes for our investment in foundation learning.  Literacy and numeracy expertise is no longer confined to a few providers. Educators across all sectors have embraced the opportunities provided to build capability and include literacy and numeracy in entry-level tertiary education provision.

The focus now needs to be on getting on with the job and making sure foundation learning is targeted to those that most need it, that we are lifting quality and innovation in the sector in the way that we reach and support learners to succeed and that foundation education provides the base skills necessary for somebody to lift their education and employment prospects in a meaningful way.

The role you play in implementing these initiatives, as adult literacy and numeracy educators and leaders, is crucial.

People need the fundamental skills you are offering them, in order to improve their lives, and allow a better chance down the track for themselves, their families, their communities and improved social and economic outcomes.

Thank you for having me. I wish you all the best for a productive and enjoyable Symposium.