09 December 2005
More than a third of adults of working age have no basic school-leaving qualification, according to a report.
The government-commissioned report, by Lord Sandy Leitch, a Labour peer and a City entrepreneur, also found that 5 million adults in the UK had no qualifications at all. One in six did not have the literacy skills expected of an 11-year-old and half lacked similar numeracy skills.
The results of the survey, commissioned in 2004, were released to coincide with the Pre-Budget Report. Leitch said: 'We need to be much more ambitious and send a clear message that the UK must raise its game.'
On December 7, the Adult Learning Inspectorate said the £2bn Skills for Life programme, aimed at boosting literacy and numeracy skills, was a failure, despite the 'extraordinary' amount of money spent on it.
David Sherlock, the ALI's chief inspector, said adult education colleges were being forced to make up for the shortcomings of state schools.
'Until we deal with our failure to properly equip so many young people for adulthood, let alone successful careers, we cannot hope to build a world-beating adult skills strategy,' he said.
PFdec2005
