The Sector Skills Council for the places where we live and work
Careers Advice Line 0800 056 7160
March 2009
An awareness raising effort is underway to promote funding for housing associations in Wales that want to implement basic skills learning schemes.
Asset Skills Wales, the Sector Skills Council for housing, is promoting the funding for organisations which sign the Basic Skills Employer Pledge and commit themselves to staff development.
"The recession has made this sort of learning even more important," says Jan Holdaway, Head of Asset Skills Cymru.
"Improving literacy and numeracy helps boost confidence among learners and the overall effectiveness of an organisation. Each association has different requirements. It is essential that each scheme is tailored to fit the specific skills needs."
Wales & West Housing Association
The Wales & West Housing Association (WWHA) is one of the first to sign up and receive almost £10,000 from Basic Skills Cymru towards the cost of training workers in report writing and the basic skills required for using IT systems.
"I did some research into basic skills and realised it could apply to everyone who worked in the organisation," says Carly Hodson, WWHA's Learning & Development Consultant.
"You have to think laterally about which staff can benefit - it's not always the obvious groups. It's also important to think carefully about how you 'sell' the agenda within the association - keep things fun - and don't use the term 'basic skills'. Alternatives could be 'essential skills for work' or 'brushing up on skills'.
"Select your training provider carefully - some are highly experienced in workplace basic skills delivery and some are not. Don't be scared of the agenda - Basic Skills Cymru provides lots of support."
For more information please contact Jan Holdaway at Asset Skills Cymru on 01685 387 914 or email jholdaway@assetskills.org
For more information about the Employer Pledge, including funding, please email employerpledge@wales.gsi.gov.uk
Click here to read the above in Welsh
