A couple of scary training sessions we ran this year included a fair proportion of students who were functionally illiterate. How can this happen in Australia in 2013?
One cohort included school children whose parents refused to have them diagnosed – as in “I don’t want my child labeled.”
News Flash – these students are ALREADY labeled! All you are doing is denying them appropriate assistance.
Another group included some middle aged citizens who had never learned to read or write.
It is clear that LL&N must be addressed across the board. It is no longer good enough to say “They should have learned that in school.” It is now a matter to be tackled from the earliest years to retirement age.
LLN needs to be incorporated into every course and every work placement – indeed throughout everyone’s working life. It shouldn’t stop just because someone has been successfully employed.
LLN requirements are ongoing, constantly changing, and should be specifically addressed in job descriptions and in the workplace – not just in training courses.