Nottinghamshire County Council has outlined plans to spend £4.25 million over three years providing free numeracy skills support to adults without basic maths qualifications.
The Conservative-led authority has approved the three-year plan as part of the Department for Education’s ‘Multiply Programme’, which aims to “transform the lives” of people with low ability in numeracy.
The programme will see the council offering courses designed to increase confidence with numbers for those needing “the first steps” towards qualifications in maths, as well as courses helping people manage their money.
It will also see numeracy plans created alongside employers, helping people to learn within the workforce, and create courses targeting people who cannot apply for jobs due to a lack of numeracy skills.
And there will also be a focus on giving people functional skills qualifications, courses for parents, prisoners, children leaving the care system and some of the “hardest to reach” learners.
The authority states the plan will ensure more adults achieve numeracy qualifications including GCSEs and functional skills, as well as increasing participation in the subject and raising adult numeracy proficiency countywide.
It adds the project will create “a more skilled and resilient workforce”, helping to support local businesses.
To bring the plan forward, the authority has already undertaken a survey of businesses and residents to understand “barriers and opportunities” around numeracy and to understand the gaps in essential skills.
The council states initial preparation for the commissioning of courses will begin in September this year.
Advertising and resourcing of the courses which has already started.
In total, the authority plans to spend £1.286m in 2022/23 and £1.484m in both 2023/24 and 2024/25, as provided by the Government’s Multiply Programme.
In a report, Matthew Neal, the council’s service director for investment and growth, said: “This funding is additional to the funding currently provided and is specifically targeted to support those people, over 19, without the basic maths qualifications.
“Whether that be improving household finances, helping children with homework, making more sense of the statistics and facts in the media, or improving numeracy skills specific to your line of work.
“It is recognised that people who improve their numeracy skills are more likely to be in employment, have higher wages, and better wellbeing, and will be more able to progress to higher levels of free training to secure a skilled job in our economy.
“Businesses who develop their employees’ numeracy skills can boost productivity, increase profits, and improve employee retention.”
Councillor Keith Girling (Con), the council’s cabinet member for economic development and asset management, approved the provisional three-year plan during a delegated decision last week.
