Skills for life

Basic skills or ‘skills for life’ cover the standards and qualifications for adult literacy, adult numeracy, English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) and ICT. Qualifications in adult literacy, adult numeracy and ESOL are available at entry level, level 1 and level 2. ICT skills for life qualifications are currently available at entry level only.

The standards for adult literacy, adult numeracy and ICT follow a common format and relate directly to the key skills of communication, application of number and ICT. They have also been developed to match the national curriculum requirements for English, mathematics and ICT, and the national occupational standards for ICT users.

Skills for Life Toolkit for schools

An online guide to help school leaders plan and implement training for their support staff in language, literacy and numeracy skills has been launched by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA).

The Skills for Life planner brings together a wealth of easy-to-access training information for the first time. Available online at http://www.tda.gov.uk/sflplanner the planner is part of the Government's Skills for Life strategy, which aims to raise literacy, language and numeracy skills among adults.