Calderdale College has secured almost £2 million of Government funding to develop numeracy skills across West Yorkshire
The UK Government, through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, is investing £559 million to give adults across the country the chance to improve their ability to understand and use maths in daily life, home and work.
Currently 17 million adults in England – half of the working-age population – have everyday maths skills, roughly equivalent to those expected of a primary school child. Multiply has the potential to reach adults across the whole of the UK over the next three years.
Calderdale College has been commissioned by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to engage with companies across the county to determine skills gaps within their organisations and support employees with free to access numeracy training, as they work towards a level 2 qualification. This is part of the Mayor, Tracy Brabin’s, ambition to make West Yorkshire the best place to work, learn and live.
The College will also recruit and train Numeracy Champions within businesses, who are enthusiastic about numeracy training and development and can act as ambassadors of the Multiply programme.
David Malone, Principal and Chief Executive at Calderdale College, said: “People who improve their numeracy skills are more likely to be in employment, have higher wages, and better wellbeing.
“Gaining a qualification in maths at level 2 or equivalent also opens the door to progress to higher levels of free training to secure a skilled job. Skills shortages are increasingly visible across all sectors, so it is vital that we provide this support to local businesses and our community.”
This project follows the first year of Calderdale College running the Further Education (FE) Booster programme, part of Multiply, which is specifically aimed at helping tutors across a range of subject areas to build their confidence in delivering in maths. Teaching teams at the College have been able to explore maths within their curriculum and develop new ways of giving students a better experience of numeracy.
The FE Booster programme aims to train over 20 tutors across Catering, Health & Social Care and English as a Second Language, and 150 students will receive additional numeracy skills training relating to their area of study.
The College is also working in partnership with Calderdale Council to deliver numeracy training within the local community.
To find out how your business can benefit from Multiply, visit: www.www.calderdale.ac.uk/multiply/
