The ABET Levels teach the “3 Rs”, namely reading, writing and arithmetic skills, and how to apply them in all aspects of life. Employees who have completed the four ABET Levels are, therefore, functionally literate.
Functional literacy differs to basic literacy. The variance between the two can be best explained by the words “know” and “do”. Basic literacy refers to the literacy skills that people know. Functional literacy denotes what people can do with these skills.
Therefore, basic illiteracy means that someone cannot read and write at all. Functionally illiterate people, on the other hand, can read, write or perform basic maths. However, they are unable to apply their literacy skills to accomplish tasks in just about every facet of life. For example, they will not be able to interpret a medicine prescription; complete a job application; or read a bank statement. Therefore, unemployed individuals who hold a bachelor’s degree but cannot upload their Curriculum Vitae on a job portal are functionally illiterate. They may be literate, but they cannot apply their literacy skills to secure employment. Finding a job is a fundamental part of most individuals’ adult life. Without this ability, we cannot earn a livelihood.
In this modern society, functional literacy encompasses many skills. This includes the ability to develop proficiency and fluency with technology. It also involves the ability to build intentional cross-cultural connections and relationships with other individuals. This is especially important in a culturally diverse country such as South Africa. Functional literacy also entails the ability to create, critique, analyse and evaluate multimedia texts. Individuals with these skills are also able to attend to ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments. Refer to 21st-Century Readers : Developing Literacy Skills in a Digital World | PISA | OECD iLibrary (oecd-ilibrary.org) for more related reading.
ABET Levels impart life skills
Therefore, the ABET Levels impart essential life skills. This is over-and-above the role that they play in equipping employees with the English literacy and numeracy skills that they need to perform at their peak.
To function effectively in modern society, individuals need to be able to make informed decisions regarding their health. They cannot do so if they are unable to read. For example, people need to be able to read medication labels to know about any side-effects associated with taking specific medical drugs. This ability is also referred to as health literacy. It is an important skill that enables individuals to make lifestyle choices that will improve their physical and mental well-being. It even helps us to make informed decisions about the food we eat. Refer to What Is Health Literacy? – Health Literacy – NCBI Bookshelf (nih.gov) for more reading on this topic.
ABET Levels strengthen societies
The literacy skills imparted by the ABET Levels also strengthen societies.
Individuals need to know their rights as citizens. For example, individuals need to understand the clauses in their employment contracts so that they are not exploited. In a healthy democracy, individuals also need to understand the importance of exercising the right to vote. They also must have an ability to access information that will enable them to make an informed vote. This capacity is also referred to as civic and legal literacy. Individuals who have civic literacy skills understand how government works and their rights and responsibilities as citizens. Legal literacy, on the other hand, is the ability to interpret legislation, contracts and legal procedures at a very basic level.
Bear in mind the golden rule of law: ignorantia juris non excusat, Latin for “ignorance of the law is no excuse”. Therefore, all citizens of a country need to have a basic understanding of the legal mechanisms that govern their societies. This is to avoid breaking the law and facing the consequences for doing so. Importantly, legal literacy also provides citizens with access to justice. Refer to Promoting Access to Justice through the Broadcasting of Legal Proceedings | Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal (perjournal.co.za) for reading on legal literacy. Meanwhile, Civic education might be the future – The Mail & Guardian (mg.co.za) provides more reading on civic literacy.
ABET Levels form a foundation
The ABET Levels form a foundation upon which many other literacy types can be developed for the effective functioning in modern societies.
This includes computer literacy, counting the ability to use email, word processors and spreadsheets. People with this ability are also able to use digital tools for communicating, collaborating and solving problems. This is in addition to finding, evaluating and using online resources. Moreover, they use this skill to produce and effectively share knowledge. There is, thus, a strong link between digital and media literacy in this era of digital connectivity. Digital Literacy Is The Foundation On Which South Africa Should Be Building Its Future – TechFinancials provides more reading on digital literacy.
Individuals use their media literacy skills to think critically when presented with new information. Individuals with these skills can distinguish between facts and opinions in advertising, social media or news websites. People who have media literacy skills can also access, evaluate and create messages through different types of media. This is over-and-above using this skill to safeguard against susceptibility to propaganda or advertising.
Media and digital literacy are especially important in an era in which fake news is proliferating. In fact, the rapid spread of false information throughout the world says a lot about the digital and media skills of modern societies. Research has shown that many people share social media posts in their feed without even reading the accompanying article for meaning.
People who are functionally literate can also better manage their finances and make decisions about money. This ability is appropriately termed financial literacy. Its four fundamental pillars include debt, budgeting, saving and investing. Why Financial Literacy needs to start at a grass roots level – CNBC Africa provides more reading on financial literacy.
ABET Levels provide skills
The ABET Levels provide skills to develop scientific literacy. This is the ability to support or contradict preconceived beliefs or hypotheses using factual evidence. Attending ABET programmes, individuals start acquiring basic maths skills. These enable people to think logically and critically. This also helps them to make informed decisions based on evidence.
Progressing through the ABET Levels
Employees who progress through the ABET Levels gradually acquire literacy skills. By the time that they have completed the programme, they are able to apply their literacy skills in all facets of life. This includes to perform their jobs to the very best of their ability. Therefore, many managers prefer to use the term “workplace literacy” as opposed to functional literacy. Others use the term interchangeably. Nevertheless, they both mean that employees’ reading, writing and basic maths skills are sufficient to add real value in the workplace.
Employees who have completed the ABET Levels have sound verbal and written communication skills. Their understanding of basic maths enables them to count money, take measurements or inventory stock, for example. Moreover, they understand policies and procedures; can use technology; are able to solve problems; and make informed decisions to the benefit of their teams.
ABET Levels solve workplace problems
The ABET Levels solve typical workplace problems that are encountered when staff do not possess the “3 Rs”.
Staff who are functionally illiterate are prone to making mistakes. This is because they do not understand clear written and verbal instructions from their higher-ups. They are also unable to communicate effectively with other team members to gain clarity on tasks that need to be completed. In many instances, they are detached from the rest of the team, impacting engagement levels. This is because they lack confidence and have low self-esteem, common among functionally illiterate employees.
Paperwork, including, reports, job costings and forms, are submitted incomplete or incorrectly by employees with poor literacy skills.
There is also excessive waste in companies with high levels of illiteracy among staff. This is despite employers introducing incentives to improve efficiencies or penalties for wasting company resources. The reason for this is that employees do not know how to do their jobs correctly. This results in the need to redo work, resulting in a waste of time and resources.
Managers also receive very little, if any, feedback from employees who are functionally illiterate. This is because they tend to shy away from any situation that will expose their limitations for fear of repercussions. For example, they fear losing their jobs if managers find out that they cannot read, write or do basic maths. They will, therefore, also not participate in helping to solve problems and decision making. This undermines teamwork, which is so important for productivity.
There is also a marked increase in customer complaints in workplaces with high illiteracy levels among employees. Customers may not receive the correct response from your employees. In some cases, orders are incomplete or incorrect. Customers may also complain about receiving poor service, such as late deliveries.
ABET Levels eradicate undesirable practices
The ABET Levels also help to eradicate other undesirable practices in the workplace by teaching your employees the “3 Rs”.
Functionally illiterate employees tend to make more accidents or “near misses”. This is despite stringent company health and safety protocol and regular training being provided in the field. Employees who cannot read and struggle to understand verbal communication in English will not relate to your occupational health and safety protocol. They will also not be able to align themselves to your vision, mission and core values.
Moreover, they will resist new initiatives that are being implemented in the workplace and decline invitations to take on additional responsibilities. This is despite incentives to do so. Again, employees may fear that their illiteracy will be discovered by their managers. They may have also learnt to do their jobs without literacy skills and, thus, do not want to leave their comfort zone.
Many employees learn how to hide their illiteracy from team members and their higher-ups. Over time, they will also develop ways of coping with their illiteracy, although this is not ideal. All citizens of the country need to be given the opportunity to gain literacy and numeracy skills. This is so that they can grow and develop inside and outside the workplace.
In companies with high functional illiteracy among employees, absenteeism is also usually high, especially on days when training has been scheduled. It is impossible for your employees to learn new skills if they lack fundamental proficiencies. For many employees, ABET is just the start of a journey of lifelong learning. Participating in the programme, they also gain a newfound respect and passion for learning.
Tension is also usually high in workplaces where illiteracy is rife. This is considering the many misunderstanding between employees and between workers and their superiors.
ABET Levels offered
All the ABET Levels are offered by Triple E Training, an expert in the specialist field of adult literacy and numeracy training.
Since inception 30 years ago, we have helped many companies to raise the proficiencies of their unskilled employees.
Through our unique approach, employees progress quickly and efficiently through our ABET programmes to acquire English literacy and numeracy skills.
Learn more about Triple E Training and our quality ABET offering. www.eee.co.za
