Essential Skills – Upskilling Your Workforce in Basic English and Maths

There are some skills that are needed to be able to do any job effectively, of these skills, basic English and Maths are amongst the most essential as they are the foundation for other skills to be built upon. Upskilling your workforce in these essential skills can have a range of benefits as this can equip your workforce to be able to do even the smallest of tasks more efficiently.

Employees constantly need to adapt to take onboard new information and new ways of working but lacking basic skills can make keeping up with their employer’s business quite a challenge. Some of the benefits employees can see on an individual level from upskilling in English and Maths are increased self-confidence, enjoyment from learning more, and feeling more confident at work. This will help them throughout their career as these are all traits that are needed to be successful in whatever it is that you do in life. Learning also helps to increase productivity, as well as better quality of work which will greatly benefit the business. Other benefits include greater job security and satisfaction, securing a new job/promotion, and improving working relationships. Employers are starting to realise that investing in their workforce’s basic skills such as English and Maths brings many advantages to the business, allowing their employees to perform their roles more effectively and training them to be more adaptable to change.

To help fill this skills gap deficit in the UK, the government funds the training of employees in these basic skills through the AEB (Adult Education Budget), helping adults to achieve their first level 2 qualification in English and Maths. Since August 2020, the government also introduced an additional statutory entitlement to fully fund specified digital skills qualifications for adults with low or no digital skills. If you would like to upskill your workforce, we provide courses in these subjects to develop your workforce’s abilities and help them reach their full potential.

If you are looking to upskill your workforce in these essential skills, then Skills for Growth can provide your employees with the training to develop these skills. Our skills coaches can help you find training providers that provide the courses in the specific skills you are looking to develop. To get in touch with one of our skills coaches head over to the contact page on our website and fill in your details so we can start the conversation. To see what training is available in your region, visit GM Skills Map and search for the skills you are looking to develop.

_{The Growth Company is an award-winning, not-for-profit social enterprise with a mission to enable growth, create jobs and improve lives. We provide individuals and businesses with a wide range of services that improve employment, skills, investment and enterprise for the benefit of all, and have been working in the Greater Manchester city region for more than 30 years.} 

_{This project receives funding from the European Social Fund as part of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme in England.}  

_{The Department for Work and Pensions is the Managing Authority for the England European Social Fund programme.}  

_{Established by the European Union, the European Social Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support skills development, employment and job creation, social inclusion and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.}