The Basic Skills Agency has been collecting statistics on basic skills provision for adults in England and Wales since 1976. They seek information from all the known providing organisations each year, including large scale providers such as FE Colleges and LEAs as well as small voluntary organisations and training providers. The statistics include the number of learners in provision, the number of learners in particular types of provision, the organisations involved in providing basic skills and the number of paid staff and volunteers. This year they've also included a regional breakdown of the statistics for the nine English regions and Wales. However, some of the headline figures include:
* between 1996 and 1997 there was a 10% increase in the number of adults receiving help with basic skills;
* in 1997, 362,449 adults were receiving help with basic skills in England and Wales. This represents a small percentage of the overall need
* there has been a significant increase in the % of learners on combined literacy and numeracy programmes compared with figures for the previous 2 years;
* FE Colleges and LEAs remain the main providers of basic skills, representing 79% of the provision in England and Wales;
* almost 12% of learners are receiving help with basic skills in prison;
* most adults receiving help with basic skills are on dedicated courses where the main purpose is the improvement of their basic skills. However, 27% of students are improving their skills through basic skills support programmes while participating in another course of study.
The complete report is available by clicking on:
