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New English language qualifications for migrant workers and employers

DEPARTMENT FOR INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS News Release issued by The Government News Network on 16 October 2007

Bill Rammell launches ESOL for Work qualifications

A new suite of English language qualifications was today launched by Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education, Bill Rammell MP. The new ESOL for Work qualifications [ESOL=English for Speakers of Other Languages] will make it easier for employers and migrant workers to get the functional English language skills they need. The qualifications offer a new solution specifically tailored to the needs of employers and will encourage employers to contribute to the cost of training their staff.

The new qualifications are shorter and more work-focused than traditional ESOL qualifications, giving learners practical English skills in essential workplace matters, such as health & safety and customer service. As well as better accuracy, efficiency and effectiveness, the new qualifications will help employers benefit from improved communication and productivity.

Speaking at the launch event at Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College, the biggest provider of ESOL education in the UK, Minister Bill Rammell said:

"Everyone who works in this country should be able to communicate effectively in English. Those communication skills are essential to an individual's ability to progress and integrate in life and work. Migrant workers make an important contribution to the economy and it is crucial they can contribute effectively and with good English skills.

"The new qualifications are focused on the workplace and will quickly give learners the specific English language skills needed on a daily basis at work. The qualifications will enable workers to improve their skills faster than through a traditional ESOL course. These qualifications are funded and delivered differently than traditional ESOL courses, meaning learners can access provision quickly and not be held up by waiting lists. These benefits should encourage employers to contribute towards the cost of developing their employees' English skills.

"Today's announcement is specifically about making sure that workers are getting the right English skills to allow them to function efficiently in the workplace."

ESOL for Work forms part of a wider drive to address the challenges faced by people for whom English is a second or other language, and their employers. Recent changes to ESOL funding aim to ensure the hugely popular free ESOL provision is targeted towards priority groups of vulnerable and hard-to-reach learners, who most need help with English. ESOL for Work ensures that employers and workers who need English skills quickly are able to access tailored provision and bypass the waiting lists that may exist on free ESOL courses.

The cost of the new ESOL for Work courses will continue to be funded by Government but a contribution of approximately £330 will be required from employers, who directly benefit from the provision.

The initial market for the new qualifications is expected to be those people who have come to the country for work and who need skills to function in work, as well as those seeking work at the end of often short periods of employment. They offer greater choice to learners who want to learn English for work, but don't need the full support from a Skills for Life ESOL course.

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) would like to thank its partners at the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), NATECLA (the National Association for Teaching English and other Community Languages to Adults) and the eight awarding bodies [see notes to editors] for their work on the new qualifications.

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Notes to editors

1. English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) is part of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills' Skills for Life strategy. The strategy was launched in 2001 to tackle the legacy of adults with poor literacy, language and numeracy skills in England. The strategy aims to help create a society where adults have the basic skills they need to find and keep work and participate fully in society, through:

- Boosting demand for learning
- Ensuring capacity of the learning provider delivery system
- Improving standards of teaching and learning
- Increasing learner achievement

2. The Government recently met and exceeded the target to ensure that 1,500,000 adults improved their basic skills and gained a qualification by 2007. The Government is on course to meet the target to increase this to 2.25 million achievements by 2010. So far, 1,759,000 learners have achieved a first Skills for Life qualification. Looking forward, the Government recently set out its ambition in the World Class Skills plan for 95% of adults to achieve functional literacy and numeracy skills by 2020.

3. The Skills for Life National Needs and Impact Survey of Literacy, Numeracy and IT skills, published in October 2003, estimated the scale of skills needs across England. 5.2 million adults aged 16-65 have literacy levels below Level 1 (broadly equivalent to a GCSE at grades D to G) and would benefit from brushing up those skills. 6.8m adults have numeracy skills below Entry Level 3 (the standard expected of an 11 year old) and would benefit from brushing up those skills.

4. The partners in the launch of the new qualifications are the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), LSC, QCA, NATECLA and the eight awarding bodies, who are Cambridge ESOL, City and Guilds, EDEXCEL, English Speaking Board, NOCN, OCNW, SQA and Trinity College London.

5. The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has set the tariff for ESOL for Work at £880. In 2007/08 the fee element is £330, for which the learner or learner's sponsor (employer) is responsible. A leaflet outlining further detail on the new qualifications is available on request from the DfES Press Office.

6. The new ESOL for Work qualifications will initially be available at Entry Level 3 and Level 1. Entry Level 3 is broadly equivalent to the standard expected of an 11 year old. Level 1 is broadly equivalent in difficulty to an English GCSE at grades D to G.

7. Each of the eight new ESOL for Work qualifications were developed by a different awarding body, with each qualification having a slightly different focus and taking a different approach to assessment. All are based on the Skills for Life Literacy national standards. Flexible assessment and tailored learning materials will ensure the learning is suitable for the changing demands of the workplace.