FLC Numeracy or FLC Mathematics teaches the basis upon which job-specific technical or “hard” skills are developed. For this reason, an FLC occupational qualification is compulsory to enrol for new Quality Council for Trades and Occupations courses. Refer to https://www.qcto.org.za/overview.html.
FLC Numeracy or FLC Mathematics is one of the two FLC Fundamentals. The other is FLC English, FLC Literacy or FLC Communication. Together, literacy and basic numbers skills or numeracy skills are known as basic education skills.
A FLC college, which is accredited by the QCTO, provides FLC Matric. This means that the FLC college complies with the minimum requirements to offer compulsory FLC. Refer to For skills development providers (qcto.org.za). Therefore, its FLC Matric on offer leads to a recognised FLC occupational qualification.
FLC Mathematics or FLC Numeracy provides learners with an adequate foundation to cope with the mathematical demands of occupational training. This occupational training is at a National Qualifications framework Level 2 through to 4. Refer to https://legiit.co.za/nqf-levels/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsKOOhL-HhQMVoJVQBh26QQtTEAAYASAAEgJgBPD_BwE.
A FLC occupational qualification is a part qualification. The length of a typical compulsory FLC course varies depending on the existing literacy and numeracy skills of employees. However, compulsory FLC from a competent FLC college is usually about four months in duration. This is considering the top-notch workplace FLC on offer. Moreover, employees are motivated to succeed and supported by FLC training facilitators during FLC Matric. A reputable FLC college only employs qualified Mathematics and English teachers.
FLC Numeracy teaches numbers skills
FLC Numeracy or FLC Mathematics teaches your employees basic numbers skills or numeracy skills. These are minimum, generic mathematical literacy skills, which are developed further during occupational training.
Holders of an FLC occupational training qualification from a reputable FLC college have been primed to succeed in further learning. They possess the basic numbers skills or numeracy skills to respond to mathematical ideas presented in a variety of ways. These basic numbers skills enable them to solve problems. This is by defining them and then analysing and understanding the information at hand. They then know how to plan to overcome the challenge and execute their strategies correctly. Thereafter, they can interpret and evaluate the results and justify the method and solution deployed. When solving problems, employees apply basic numbers skills or numeracy skills that they learnt during compulsory FLC.
They can identify or locate relevant information; order; sort; compare; count; estimate; compute; measure; model; and interpret. Moreover, they can communicate mathematical-related information effectively. This because they have also completed one of the other FLC Fundamentals, namely FLC English. FLC Mathematics or FLC Numeracy and FLC Communication and FLC Literacy are inextricably linked as subjects. For this reason, they are taught during FLC Matric.
Six important basic numbers skills are covered by FLC Mathematics and FLC Numeracy. They include number and quantity; finance; data and chance; measurement; space and shape; and patterns and relationships.
FLC Numeracy is a start
The FLC Numeracy or FLC Mathematics of compulsory FLC is a sound start for up-and-coming tradespeople. Employees who study for an FLC occupational qualification learn the basis of accurate measurement. As the old saying goes, “measure twice and cut once”. If timber, pipes, sheet metal, carpet and electrical wires, for example, are cut incorrectly materials are wasted. Replacing them is an additional cost as is the labour required to redo the work. For contractors, any loss leads to lower profit margins, impacting their sustainability. Therefore, compulsory FLC prepares your employees to learn how to use measuring tapes accurately and both imperial and metric units. These are essential skills that they have to master to be successful.
Employees who have completed compulsory FLC have also been primed to learn how to read technical drawings. Contracted and managed by the principal contractor, sub-contractors worth their salt will be expected to understand architects’ building specifications. They can quickly scan diagrams to locate the information that they need. This is then used to correctly cost their component of the build and submit an accurate tender for the work. Inaccurate costing of projects can lead to financial ruin for a sub-contractor.
FLC Numeracy of compulsory FLC
FLC Numeracy or FLC Mathematics taught during FLC Matric equips employees with the basis to learn other important “hard” skills. This includes using elevations and grades. For example, backhoe and excavator operators use these basic numeracy skills or numbers skills to “backfill” according to elevation. It is also a vital skill for a final-level specialist, a skill that is necessary to construct high-specification roads. Meanwhile, plumbers must know how to install sewer pipes with a slope so that liquids flow by gravity to predetermined low points.
These tradespeople understand how to calculate total fall, grade, length or distance. Total fall is the distance that rises or falls from the original elevation. Grade refers to the slope or change in elevation. It can be expressed as a percentage or ratio of length. Length or distance is the proximity from the original elevation to the end elevation.
Holders of a FLC occupational qualification from a reputable FLC college are also ready to learn the 3-4-5 method. Known as the Pythagorean theory, this formula is used in the construction industry to determine the perimeters of buildings. This is to ensure that corners are square and to calculate the length of rafters and stringers on stairs. Plumbers use this method to gauge the lengths of pipes required in new plumbing installations. Crane operators and riggers use it to compute the length of a boom and slings to lift heavy loads.
FLC Numeracy of FLC Matric
The FLC Numeracy or FLC Mathematics of FLC Matric provides your employees with practice in the basis of weight-load estimation.
Riggers, ironworkers and crane operators are just some of the tradespeople who must be able to do this calculation. Inaccurate calculations can lead to serious injuries and fatalities and damage that can run into millions of rands. This is considering the cost of a good tower or mobile crane and the equipment that they lift.
The weight of steel beams, concrete slabs and angles of iron elements are usually calculated in kilograms per square metre. Meanwhile, “rebar” hands will be expected to compute weight per length. Employees will struggle to learn these sophisticated numeracy skills if they do not have a solid mathematics foundation.
Compulsory FLC has become even more important considering the very poor numeracy skills of South Africans. This is due to many factors, not least of which is the poor quality of maths education in the country. Refer to Complex equation of maths education in South Africa | The UNESCO Courier.
FLC Numeracy teaches financial literacy
FLC Numeracy or FLC Mathematics also teaches financial literacy to your employees.
All employees need to be financially literate. Employees who are not financially literate are unable to manage their finances appropriately. This can lead to financial destitution, in turn, resulting in stress that impacts employees’ ability to perform as expected. Stress can also lead to health issues and, consequently, an increase in employee absenteeism. It can also result in pay dissatisfaction, which influences work quality and employee engagement.
However, there is a more important reason that compulsory FLC teaches financial literacy as one the FLC Fundamentals. A QCTO-accredited FLC college knows that financially literate employees are not just good at managing their personal budgets. They are also business savvy. This means that they have a nuanced understanding of the interplay between money, people, technology and business processes. Therefore, your employees are likelier to act responsibly in the workplace. This is because they know how their behaviour impacts their company’s financial wellbeing. They are also more prone to make informed decisions that benefit their employers’ bottom line. Furthermore, they are inclined to spend company money prudently and take care of equipment, tools and materials. This is to avoid unnecessary expenses that become liabilities for their companies.
Using trade skills to start a business
Many employees inspire to eventually use their trade skills to start their own businesses. FLC Matric equips them with the knowledge that they need to run a successful small business in future. The trades have been identified as an important way of developing more small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the country. This is to address high unemployment and low skills levels. Therefore, SMMEs are a major focus of the Draft Public Procurement Bill. Government intends enacting it before the national elections, although a very ambitious target. This is considering the extensive logistics involved. Refer to https://www.parliament.gov.za/bill/2310365.
The best FLC Numeracy tuition
A reputable FLC college will provide the best possible FLC Mathematics and FLC Numeracy tuition. This is in the same way that it only offers quality FLC English, FLC Literacy and FLC Communication.
Such a FLC college offers workplace FLC. This means that your employees have the opportunity to learn for a FLC occupational qualification at work. This is not just because it is more convenient and cost-effective to provide compulsory FLC at your premises. More importantly, the workplace is the best environment in which to learn basic education skills. There is no better classroom than the workplace. This is the reason that learning a trade involves both practical and workplace training, in addition to theoretical instruction. Closely associated with occupational training, FLC Matric should be no different. The workplace environment provides real-time education. It uses workplace events to learn from and requires quick thinking. Workplaces bring employees into events that require them to think, learn and practice. They are then provided immediate feedback.
A quality FLC college will, therefore, also ensure that the FLC Fundamentals relate to the trades that employees intend studying.
For example, FLC Mathematics learners should be presented with problems that they will encounter in the workplace. Future welders must understand how the basic numbers skills that they are learning relate to their chosen profession. These are the basis of more complicated squared and cubed calculation for shapes and volume. Welders use these to accurately compute the pressure and volume of gases. Using functions and equations, they determine proportions. The numeracy skills that are learnt during compulsory FLC are the basis of other important mathematical formulas for welding. This includes calculating how temperature will change when using different materials and melting points. Understanding the probability of the targeted versus the actual welding outcome is also important.
FLC Numeracy training materials
A reputable FLC college will, therefore, develop its own FLC Numeracy or FLC Mathematics training materials. This is in the same way that it does for FLC Literacy, FLC Communication or FLC English. The QCTO allows its Assessment Quality Partners to do so. However, the FLC Fundamentals still need to comply with curriculum frameworks. This is in line with QCTO’s accreditation process. Refer to AQP_Criteria_and_guidelines_version_140214.pdf (fpmseta.org.za).
Relevant FLC Matric keeps your employees motivated to succeed and interested in compulsory FLC. Therefore, avoid a FLC college that provides general compulsory FLC.
FLC Numeracy and FLC Literacy
Are your employees ready to enrol for FLC Numeracy and FLC Literacy to learn for an FLC occupational qualification?
They can enrol for FLC Matric if they have completed ABET Level 4 English and Maths literacy. The General Education and Training Certificate (GETC) comprises the first band of the NQF framework. Therefore, employees who hold this certificate have English and basic numbers skills that are at a NQF Level 1. To acquire a GETC, students need to obtain a minimum of 120 credits at AET Level 4. Refer to https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjo5uPx5omFAxV_ZkEAHZDqA8wQFnoECBoQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dhet.gov.za%2FGETCA%2520Draft%2520Curriculum%2520Statements%2FCommunity%2520Education%2520and%2520Training%2520Lecturer%2520Resources%2FGETC-ABET%2520%2520Examinations%2520and%2520Assessment%2FWHRT4%2520Exams%2520-%2520Assessment%2520Guideline.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3ioBTDgXroZl9tuaEC91Od&opi=89978449.
However, it is advisable that your FLC college first undertake a placement assessment. This is to determine the readiness of employees for compulsory FLC. A placement assessment tests your employees’ competence in literacy and their basic numbers skills or numeracy skills. A FLC college is skilled and experienced in undertaking placement assessments. Undertaken at your premises and at time that suits your production schedule, they are essential components of compulsory FLC training.
Meanwhile, employees who have completed Grade 12 or hold a National Senior Certificate are exempt from compulsory FLC. However, they must have passed with mathematics and English as subjects. Refer to https://www.umalusi-online.org.za/website/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/NSC-certificate-security-features.pdf.
FLC Matric also serves as bridging courses for employees who have completed Matric but with poor English and numbers skills.
A FLC occupational qualification can also be obtained through recognition of prior learning. Refer to RPL Infographic (revised 28-09) (dhet.gov.za). Many employees may have acquired sufficient skills and experience during their working life to achieve an FLC occupational qualification. Therefore, they may do the FLC summative or final assessment to ensure that they have met compulsory FLC requirements. However, it is advisable that a FLC college test their literacy and basic numeracy skills and basic numbers skills first. This is to avoid wasting time and money.
Compulsory FLC, including FLC Numeracy
Once employees have completed compulsory FLC, including FLC Numeracy or FLC Mathematics, they must undergo a summative assessment. This assessment determines whether employees have the required basic education skills in each learning area of FLC Matric.
Each assessment is 2,5 hours in duration and consists of 60 multiple-choice questions. These are undertaken at Independent Examination Board assessment centres. Refer to IEB – Independent Examinations Board. The FLC college is responsible for enrolling employees for external summative assessments with the IEB. It will do so promptly after employees have completed workplace FLC.
The IEB will upload learner results to the QCTO after employees have written compulsory FLC exams. Learners need to be found competent in both learning areas to achieve the part FLC occupational qualification. Competence is achieved if employees score 50% or above in each learning area of FLC Matric. These include FLC Numeracy or FLC Mathematics and FLC Literacy, FLC English or FLC Communication.
The FLC Numeracy examination
The FLC Numeracy examination will require employees to use basic numbers skills to describe and make sense of real-life situations. Their ability to assess reading, interpret and use different numbering conventions contexts will be examined. Employees will also be required to show that they know how the different numbering conventions work.
The FLC Communication, FLC English or FLC Literacy examination includes speaking and listening activities. These skills are assessed internally and must meet the requirements for internal programme-based examination.
The external assessment focuses on reading comprehension skills. This is in addition to the ability to process information in different ways. The ability to read a variety of texts are tested. These include diagrams and graphical representations. Employees must demonstrate an understanding of the information that is being conveyed and then use it for decision-making.
Extended writing, covered as one of the FLC Fundamentals, is not yet assessed after employees have completed FLC Matric. However, in future, employees will be required to write reports, as well as summarise and evaluate long texts. They will also have to substantiate a particular position based on the information conveyed in the text.
Best FLC Numeracy training available
The best FLC Numeracy or FLC Mathematics and FLC Literacy, FLC English and FLC Communication are available.
Speak to Triple E Training to learn more about our compulsory FLC programmes that lead to an FLC occupational qualification.
Our workplace FLC continues to establish the benchmark in the industry. It was, therefore, the first to be proudly accredited by the QCTO. This is considering that our FLC Matric is closely aligned with the objectives of the NQF. Refer to National Qualifications Framework Act 67 of 2008 | South African Government (www.gov.za). These include redress; access to meaningful learning; the achievement of qualifications; and providing a basis for lifelong learning. www.eee.co.za
