Case Study Workforce savings


South Holland District Council needs to make efficiency savings and a numerate workforce can make a difference in real terms to the survival of the Council.


Jeff Goodley, Lifelong Learning Co-ordinator for Unison, has recently achieved Level 2 numeracy alongside eight of his colleagues. Jeff previously worked as a Key Skills tutor and realised the need to improve employees’ numeracy skills. Having identified a very small amount of funding left over in the TUC budget, he decided to seize the opportunity to use the money to make a difference. He collaborated with Chris Donkin, the TUC contractor for Test the Organisation, and Boston College to use the money (£600) for marketing and for ‘incentives’ to persuade people to take part in the test. They also offered gift vouchers for local retail stores and a free lunch from a well-respected local restaurant. Posters were displayed in every department of the Council and the initiative was promoted widely on the intranet and by senior staff. Everyone who came forward to do the test was entered into a draw and the department that won was given a donation for its favourite charity.


They also offered gift vouchers for local retail stores and a free lunch from a well-respected local restaurant. Posters were displayed in every department of the council and the initiative was promoted widely on the intranet and by senior staff.


Ten per cent of the organisation came forward to take the test and there were unexpected findings. Jeff was surprised to find that the test demonstrated numeracy skills well below Level 2 across all departments, including management, clerical staff, customer services and manual workers. Every job advertised by the Council requires 5 GCSEs or Level 2 equivalent in maths and English. The data provided him with the evidence that a large proportion of the council’s employees did not have numeracy skills at Level 2. Jeff approached the college who agreed to deliver numeracy learning up to Level 2.


As a result, nine employees passed the Level 2 National Test in Numeracy. Comments such as, ‘my goodness, this is hard’, were heard and the course challenged those taking part. Jeff has built up a good relationship with the HR team and has been able to talk to colleagues at all levels in the Council to engage them in learning, including the Chief Executive and Corporate Directors.


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