STUC Everyday Skills Event, 28th February 2008
This year’s Everyday Skills Event was held at the Tolbooth in Stirling on 28th February, and was attended by ULRs, SULF Project Workers and Tutors from all over Scotland. Feedback from delegates has been extremely positive, and the Guest Speakers and Workshop Co-ordinators were very well received.
There was a variety of presentations throughout the day. Ian Tasker, STUC Assistant Secretary, spoke about Dyslexia and Workplace Safety; Neil Bell, ULR from PCS, gave an account of his own experience of dyslexia; Lynne Gibbons, Service Manager from Stirling Council’s Adult Learning Team, provided an update on Local and National Everyday Skills Provision; and Duncan Carmichael, Literacies Specialist also from Stirling Council’s Adult Learning Team, gave a presentation on Communicating with Dyslexic Adults.
The workshop themes were (1) Numeracy, which explored aspects of workplace numeracy and personal finance; (2) Dyslexia in the Workplace, which considered the issues surrounding employers’ responsibilities, reasonable adjustments and the role of trade unions and the STUC in supporting workers with dyslexia; and (3) BBC Learning, which provided an update on RaW and the opportunity for practical experience using a sample of BBC RaW skills resources, in order to show how informal, entertainment driven resources can be used to motivate learners to improve their literacy and numeracy skills.
Wendy Burton, Development Officer - Everyday Skills, said “One in 5 people in Scotland are estimated to have low levels of literacy and numeracy. Everyday skills are tools every person uses on a daily basis. The STUC Everyday Skills Event brings together Union Learning Representatives from across Scotland to discuss how best to affect change and address the skills gap in the workplace.”
There was a Prize Draw at the end of the day, and James O’Connell of Unite:T&G won the iPod Shuffle, which was presented to him by Mary Anderson of Unison, who had travelled from the Shetland Isles. For more information, contact Wendy Burton, Development Officer - Everyday Skills, at wburton@stuc.org.uk.