Learning numeracy skills prepares South African workers ultimately to manage production and learn the basics of finance. Learning numeracy skills begins with the essentials – reading and understanding the meanings and properties of numbers – and it advances in regular, logical steps through counting, grouping, and recognizing patterns in numbers.
Adults challenged with learning numeracy skills often feel overwhelmed and intimidated by “mathematics” because they struggled with math throughout their time in school. Starting at the fundamentals, giving adult learners the command of numbers as tools for shaping and ordering the world around them, skilled instructors help students overcome their fears.
Learning numeracy skills in jobsite classes, adult learners practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in the context of their everyday assignments. When they have mastered basic math facts, students advance to percentages and averages, which are essential for workplace calculation. Advancing through the process of learning numeracy skills, students gain confidence and build self-esteem.
