Handbook on best practice methods for Basic skills trainings Best practice handbook | Seite 12

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countries/economies) indicated that they had no prior experience with computers or lacked
basic computer skills. The low average proficiency in literacy and numeracy reflects the
relatively low levels of educational attainment among adults in Turkey. Nearly 80% of 55-65
year-olds and over 50% of 25-34 year-olds in Turkey have not completed upper secondary
education.
Men in Turkey are more proficient than women– and the difference between the genders is
one of the largest observed among all participating countries and economies. Ex. in Turkey,
47% of women and 29% of men reported that they have no experience with computers or
failed the ICT core test, compared with 15% of women and 14% of men on average across
OECD countries.
Workers in Turkey use information-processing skills at work and in their daily lives much
less than do workers in other countries.
The survey collected information about the frequency with which adults use information-
processing and various generic skills in the workplace. Adults in Turkey are considerably less
likely to read, write, work with mathematics, solve problems and use computers in their jobs
and in everyday life than is the case across other participating OECD countries. But the
match between workers’ literacy skills and the literacy demands of their jobs is similar to that
observed in other participating OECD countries.
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UK
Approximately 12.6 million adults in the UK lack digital skills which are essential for full
participation in 21st century society: for work, for life and for learning. By 2015, approximately
90% of all jobs will require basic ICT skills, yet an estimated 80% of people with low levels of
education lack these skills and are more likely to be socially disadvantaged, suffer from
isolation, have lower incomes and have children who underachieve at school. As technology
evolves, more advanced digital skills are needed for people to remain in employment or
progress in their careers. In the UK around 1 in 6 adults struggle with reading and writing,
and around 1 in 4 adults find maths difficult. In addition, 850,000 people are not proficient in
speaking English and one half of adults in England and Northern Ireland is unable to use
computers effectively.
This increasingly locks people out of opportunity and society:
Jobs and careers. Only one in two people with poor literacy are in work, compared to more
than eight in ten people with those skills.
Public services. Increasingly many public services are 'digital by default', requiring a
combination of digital and literacy skills to access them. Universal Credit - paid monthly rather
than weekly - requires recipients to have greater financial capability.
Social inclusion. People with lower levels of literacy and numeracy are less likely to vote,
and face barriers to everyday community and social interactions and activities.
Almost 250,000 adults a year take basic skills courses in England. This means it would
take at least 20 years just to support those with needs today. What's more, changes in the
bigger picture, such as migration, advances in technology and changes in the world of work
will also impact on the need for provision in future.