Adult numeracy training is important. It imparts basic maths skills that all employees need to perform at their peak. Your low skilled employees also work with numbers. However, these numeracy skills are not always easily identifiable, although firmly entrenched and hidden in your work processes. They are not that easily recognisable because they differ tremendously to the basic maths skills that are taught at school.
However, adult numeracy training does not only impart the basic maths skills that your employees need to perform their jobs well. Your employees also use their basic maths skills to function effectively in their communities and society at large. Individuals use a wide variety of basic maths skills to navigate various aspects of their daily life. The basic maths skills that are imparted during adult numeracy training include number, measurement, statistics and probability. To make sense of their environment, individuals also require a basic understanding of algebra, functions and relations, logic and basic maths structure.
It bridges gaps
Adult numeracy training bridges the divide that exists between the numeracy skills taught at school and those that are required in the workplace. Therefore, adult numeracy training is not only geared at employees who did not complete their basic education. Rather, adult numeracy training also presents employees who took maths as a school subject with a sound opportunity to hone their numeracy skills. This is so that they are more applicable to the world of work. Certainly, training in basic maths also provides an opportunity for employees who matriculated without this subject to acquire sound numeracy skills. This will also enable them to acquire an essential 21st Century skill. Bear in mind South Africa’s very poor performance in technical school subjects, such as mathematics. This is aggravating the skills crisis in the country and hinders our ability to efficiently undergo the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Basic maths is a foundational skill. Together with literacy, people need basic maths to continue learning in the workplace so that they can acquire new skills. This is so that they can keep on adding value, while also growing and developing their careers and as individuals. The basic maths skills that they acquire are also intended to benefit South African communities and society at large. There are a host of reasons for our school learners’ continued underperformance in mathematics. This study provides an overview of the factors that are contributing to the problem. EJ1301930.pdf (ed.gov).
It is a solution
Adult numeracy training is a solution to the problem that we are facing in the country, in terms of basic maths skills. While the study focuses specifically on schools in Mpumalanga, these challenges are also encountered in many other provinces of the country. This is especially the case in the rural areas. https://www.saide.org.za/resources/Library/Gardiner,%20M%20-%20Education%20in%20Rural%20Areas.pdf provides more insightful reading on the subject. It also discusses the important role that adult basic education and training plays in addressing high levels of illiteracy in these areas. This includes the vital function that adult numeracy training plays in the country. This is by equipping adults who have not had the opportunity to complete their school education with basic maths skills. Literacy and basic maths skills are critical pillars of adult basic education and training. This is considering that they are foundational skills.
It imparts skills
Adult numeracy training imparts basic maths skills to adults quickly and efficiently. There is a high demand for adult numeracy training to equip employees with basic maths skills. This is especially considering the significant decline in the number of school learners who write mathematics exams. Thus, many individuals are joining the labour market with insufficient numeracy skills. This impedes their ability to cope with the demands of modern workplaces. Companies are increasingly digitising production and are, therefore, reliant on employees with at least an understanding of basic maths. Worryingly, only 222 034 of school learners wrote mathematics in 2019 versus 270 516 in 2018. Meanwhile, only 54% of the individuals who wrote the exam that year passed. This is compared to a 58% pass rate in the subject in 2018. Therefore, only 54% of mathematics candidates achieved a pass mark of at least 30%. Just 2% of this group passed mathematics with distinction. The prior year, 2,5% of mathematics exam candidates scored between 80% and 100%. However, this is still very low for a “gateway” subject that is key to economic growth and development of our country’s economy. Most – if not all businesses – are based on numbers. Many key professions involve the use of sophisticated maths skills.
It remains a focus
Adult numeracy training remains a major focus for companies moving forward. Many companies are already investing heavily in adult numeracy training to significantly raise the basic maths skills of their employees. Their preferred supplier of adult numeracy training and adult literacy training is Triple E Training. https://www.education.gov.za/TIMSS2019ReportRelease.aspx#:~:text=The%20Trends%20in%20International%20Mathematics%20and%20Science%20Study%20(TIMSS)%20is,in%20public%20and%20independent%20schools provides a sobering picture of the quality of mathematics education in the country. This is contributing the basic maths skills crisis in the country. South Africa was one of the participants in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019. It aims to measure the quality of countries’ basic maths education. The report shows that South Africa consistently scored in the bottom three countries in a range of TIMSS tests. This is despite our learners being older than many of the international students who participated in the study that year. The report mainly focuses on Grade 4 and Grade 6 students. However, some countries prefer to study the performance of other grades. TIMSS assessed the performance of our fifth- and ninth-grade students. According to the Department of Basic Education, this approach was adopted to better measure basic maths curricula and to maintain trend measurement.
Learners who achieve 400 TIMSS points are considered to have acquired the basic numeracy or scientific knowledge for a specific grade. A total of 64 countries and regional entities participated in the Grade 4 TIMSS. South Africa scored an average of 374 for mathematics. Meanwhile, 39 countries participated in the Grade 8 TIMSS 2019, and our mathematics score was only 389.
It is for employees
Triple E Training’s adult numeracy training is geared specifically at employees. Employees who have completed our adult numeracy training have sound basic maths skills. They are able to work with parts of numbers and fractions, including adding, subtracting and dividing them. They can also add, subtract, multiply and divide decimals. Employees who have completed our adult numeracy training are also fluent in percentages. They can calculate and add a percentage of an amount. Moreover, employees can subtract percentages and provide one number as a percentage of another.
It improves productivity
Adult numeracy training improves the productivity, efficiency and accuracy levels of employees. In many different industries, employees need to have at least basic maths skills. Sheet metal workers, for example, use geometry, trigonometry and triangulation to draw regular and irregular shaped patterns. Employees of electricians may also be expected to perform different calculations. These include energy loss, voltage drop and actual load on a service. Meanwhile individuals who work for boilermakers may be expected to measure and cut materials using metric and Imperial measurements. Meanwhile, workers in the refrigeration industry calculate refrigeration requirements. They do this by determining the transmission of heat gain. This is done while taking into consideration factors such as conduction, type and thickness of insulation, external architecture and “U” factors. Individuals working in the transport logistics industry may have to estimate and measure weight, as well as calculate ratio, proportions and percentages. They use decimals, measure and record time. Employees who do rough framing carpentry also use numeracy extensively. Often the work involved entails an understanding of trigonometry and geometry. This is in addition to concepts such as hypotenuse and Pythagorean Theorem, over-and-above a mastery of basic maths that involves additions and subtractions. Construction workers also use maths in a variety of ways. They may have to take measurements, convert quantities and solve equations. They need to be comfortable with basic maths. This includes an ability to add, subtract, divide and multiply, in addition to working with fractions. There are many more examples of how numeracy is deployed by employees across a broad spectrum of industries.
A leader in adult numeracy training
Triple E Training is a leading provider of adult numeracy training and adult literacy training. We have helped many employees to acquire basic maths skills over the more than 30 years that we have been operating. These include employees who have not had the opportunity to complete their basic education. This is in addition to those employees who did not write mathematics exams at school and, therefore, do not have basic maths skills. Our adult numeracy training is also a very effective way of bridging the gap that exists between the mathematics taught at school and those required in the workplace. Do you have a basic maths problem in the workplace? Learn more about Triple E Training and our quality adult numeracy training solutions. We look forward to assisting you with your adult numeracy training needs. www.eee.co.za.
