The ABET Levels impart workplace literacy skills. These include the ability to read, write and listen actively, as well as an understanding of basic maths. Employees who do not have these workplace literacy skills cost companies significantly. This is in lost production, errors and waste. In extenuating circumstances, gaps in these skills can even lead to accidents with obvious negative consequences for a company.
Therefore, enterprising companies invest in a workplace literacy programme for their low skilled employees. These are employees who have not completed their basic education and, therefore, do not have fundamental skills.
A workplace literacy plan firstly recognises the role that fundamental skills play in helping workers to perform their jobs better.
ABET Levels develop reading skills
The ABET Levels develop your employees’ reading skills.
All employees – including your low skilled workers – need to have reading comprehension skills.
They use these skills to receive and understand written instructions from their managers, supervisors or team leaders. Employees who do not understand written instructions will be unproductive and inefficient as their work will become tedious. Productive workers understand clear requests. They know what to do; why it must be done; how to execute the task; and by when it must be completed. There is no ambiguity that leads to misunderstandings.
Employees with sound reading comprehension skills can identify important information in a text and then act accordingly. This relies on an ability to assess the structure of a text; perceive existing relationships between sentences; and identify the most important information. Employees then summarise the text into concrete actions that must be taken.
Writing skills also enable clear communication. Even low skilled employees will sometimes be expected to provide feedback to their managers or line supervisors in writing. This is because writing provides a record that can be referenced whenever required. Managers may also need this information to accurately report back to their higher-ups on progress of a project. It is, therefore, important that your employees can communicate clearly in the written word. This is to avoid constantly having to clarify the meaning of an email, a perfect example how disruptive inefficient communication can be.
ABET Levels develop active listening
The ABET Levels develop your employees’ active listening skills.
It is important that your employees are fully aware and concentrate on what they are being told. This is opposed to passively hearing what other employees or higher-ups are saying. In this way, your employees can acquire information and understand what is being conveyed to them in the spoken word. They are then able to respond appropriately. Refer to this paper by renowned psychologists, Carl R. Rogers and Richard E. Farson, ACTIVE LISTENING (wholebeinginstitute.com), for more reading on active listening.
ABET Levels develop maths skills
ABET Levels develop the basic maths skills that all employees need to perform at their best.
Time management, mental arithmetic and the ability to construct logical arguments all rely on an understanding of basic maths. They also enable your employees to perform mental arithmetic; analyse data; and visualise. Employees with basic maths skills can also think creatively and work diligently.
Implementing the ABET Levels
Implementing the ABET Levels starts with a placement assessment.
It assesses the English literacy and numeracy skills of your employees to identify the gaps in these proficiencies that need to be addressed.
This assessment is undertaken by a skilled and experienced ABET training provider using unique methods.
Note that verbal and written language skills differ. Just because employees can speak English does not necessarily mean that they can read the language for meaning. It also does not imply that they can write in English. Therefore, you cannot determine individuals’ English language proficiencies by merely having a conversation with them.
Innumeracy, on the other hand, can often go largely undetected in the workplace. This is considering that maths skills are usually firmly entrenched in the various roles of workers. They seldom resemble those taught at school. A trained professional knows exactly how to identify numeracy gaps in the workplace.
Once you have a clear understanding of the extent of your employees’ English literacy and numeracy skills, they can be placed at the correct ABET Levels. The ABET Levels start at pre-ABET and end at ABET Level 4, which is at a National Qualifications Framework Level 1.
Employees who are placed at the correct ABET Level will be able to cope with the course content. They will, therefore, acquire workplace literacy skills quickly and efficiently. In this way, you are also reassured that your employees are being stimulated and developing their fundamental skills during training sessions. Your investment in ABET will, therefore, yield the desired result.
Importantly, placement assessments provide the ABET specialist with insights into the strengths and weaknesses of your employees. In this way, it can better prepare training sessions and customise a solution specifically for your needs.
Employees need ABET Levels
However, there are tell-tale signs in the workplace that your employees need to complete the ABET Levels.
Your employees may often misunderstand instructions and be reluctant to assist or respond to other team members or their superiors. Moreover, the emails that they send are poorly constructed or formulated and their reports are usually incoherent. This is because they do not uphold the basic conventions of writing, such as spelling, as well as the use of capital letters and punctuation. They also need to perform simple calculations with a calculator, and they make mistakes on orders, dates or telephone numbers. Because their spatial grammar is poor, they struggle to give or receive directions. Their lack of reading comprehension skills means that they also incorrectly respond to memos and miss details in communications or reports. Their reading is also generally slower than the expected pace in the work environment. Moreover, they seem uncomfortable when communicating in English. Because they have a limited vocabulary, your employees also struggle to express themselves in a sophisticated environment.
The correct ABET Levels
Based on the assessment, you are now able to place your employees at the correct ABET Levels.
Employees who have completed pre-ABET still have very poor English literacy skills. This hinders just about every aspect of their daily lives. Individuals with literacy skills at this level cannot even determine how much medicine they need to take from information printed on the package. This is just one example of how illiteracy also impacts health in a negative way.
Employees who have completed ABET Level 2 can only understand material that is simple and clearly laid out. These weak literacy skills are not as conspicuous as those of individuals at ABET Level 1. Individuals with literacy skills at this level can read but test poorly. They have also usually developed coping skills to manage the literacy demands of daily life. Their low literacy skills levels also hinder their ability to deal with unique demands. Therefore, people with literacy skills at this level will not be able to learn new work skills. This hinders companies’ ability to adapt quickly to change or new market demands.
After completing ABET Level 4, individuals’ English literacy skills are sufficient to cope with the demands of everyday life and work. Therefore, their English literacy skills are at a National Qualifications Framework Level 1. They can use their own initiative and take part in ordinary social conversations. Moreover, they can typically ask and answer predictable questions in the workplace. Employees with this level of literacy proficiency will be able to interact with descriptive or narrative writing. This includes routine reports and simple biographic information and technical material for general readers. They will also be able to formulate simple business letters. Moreover, they can discuss professional matters, although not always accurately or fluently.
ABET Levels impart maths skills
The ABET Levels impart maths skills incrementally.
Your employees will first gain an understanding of information given by numbers and symbols in simple graphic, numerical and written forms. For example, they will be taught how to recognise and select coins and order and compare numbers up to 10. Before completing this level of numeracy training, employees may not even be able to select floor numbers in elevators.
During ABET Level 2, your employees start to understand numbers, symbols, simple diagrams and charts in graphic, numerical and written form. For example, they will be able to calculate costs and change. They will also be able to add and subtract two-digit numbers. Before completing this level, individuals were unable to use a cash machine. This is yet another example of the extent to which illiteracy impedes individuals in all aspects of life.
At ABET Level 3, your employees start understanding information provided by numbers, symbols, diagrams and charts for different purposes. The information can be expressed in graphic, numerical and written forms in different ways. Your employees will, therefore, be able to divide digits by one digit and understand remainders. They can also compare weights using standard units. Before completing this ABET Level, employees were not able to understand price labels or pay household bills, for example.
Equipped with ABET Level 4 skills, your employees will be able to understand simple mathematical information used for different purposes. They will also be able to independently select relevant information expressed in graphic, numerical and written forms. This means that they will be able to calculate percentages and convert units of measure. Before completing this ABET level, employees may not have been able to understand their payslips. This is another example of how illiteracy also negatively impacts individuals’ financial circumstances.
Specialist in all ABET Levels
Enterprising companies outsource their workplace skills training requirements to a specialist in all ABET Levels. It is a critical step after you have selected the correct training path to ensure the success of your workplace skills training plan.
Always ensure that you are partnering an accredited ABET provider. The Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education is responsible for accrediting private ABET providers. 2021-04-FAQ-for-Private-FET-Colleges-seeking-accreditation.pdf (umalusi.org.za) details Umalusi’s quality assurance process. Accredited ABET companies provide services according to the Adult Basic Education and Training Act 52 of 2000 [Microsoft Word – ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING ACT 52 OF 2000 240706.d… (dhet.gov.za)].
A specialist in the field will also have a large geographical footprint enabling it to undertake training at your premises, no matter how remote. This is especially important for the mining and quarrying industries that operate outside the main industrial hubs.
Remember to also check your accredited training provider for experience. How long has the accredited training provider been operating and does it specialise specifically in training for employees? Does it boast a high progression rate? This is especially important as it will provide an indication of the skills, experience and level of professionalism of the training facilitators.
Your ABET plan
The next step in your ABET plan is to finalise the logistics of the training.
A specialist in the field is flexible and can, therefore, accommodate your production schedules, no matter how tight.
This is important considering that ABET takes time and consistency. However, this investment will yield results that will reflect on the bottom line. Reportedly, companies that spend at least US$1 500 per employee annually on training activities earn 24% more profit than those with lower training budgets. This is simply due to improvements in productivity. Companies have reported as much as a 9% improvement in productivity because of a 10% increase in training. There is also a close correlation between quality of output and training.
Preparing for the ABET Levels
The last step of the workplace literacy plan involves better preparing your employees for the various ABET Levels.
An experienced and skilled ABET training provider will always undertake an awareness campaign before every training assignment.
During these sessions, it explains to employees why they have been selected for training. Employees also learn how the ABET programme will help them to improve their lives inside and outside the workplace. This motivates them to want to succeed and acquire essential workplace literacy skills, despite the challenges in the way.
Learn more about Triple E Training and what makes us a leader in ABET. www.eee.co.za
