Annex B. Methodology

The OECD Building Skills for All project used a questionnaire built for this project supported by the input and insights from a diverse group of stakeholders through bilateral interviews and further education college site visits.

1. The questionnaire

The OECD received responses from the Department for Education to the OECD questionnaire including questions as below:

1. 1. How does the government define weak adult basic skills?

2. 2. What tools are used to diagnose the basic skills levels of adults?

3. 3. Which government policies – with what levels of funding - address the problem of weak adult basic skills?

4. 4. How does government segment the population of adults with weak basic skills?

5. 5. What government policy – with what levels of funding - focuses specifically on the question of adults in work with weak basic skills?

6. 6. How has policy changed over the last 10 years?

7. 7. What is the role of non-governmental organisations in enhancing the skills of adult workers – in general terms and in work?

8. 8. What influence does government have over non-governmental organisations working in the field?

9. 9. What research has been commissioned by government to build understanding of effective responses to the problem of weak adult basic skills? Please describe relevant research projects which are either ongoing or have been completed over the last 10 years.

10. 10. What research has been most influential on policy development over the last 10 years?

11. 11. What incentives exist for employers to engage in policy interventions aimed at enhancing the basic skills of workers?

12. 12. What policy interventions have been undertaken over the last 10 years to encourage or enable employers to engage in policy interventions aimed at enhancing the basic skills of workers?

13. 13. What policy interventions have been undertaken over the last 10 years to encourage or enable employers to change the character of work to enhance or sustain the development of basic skills?

14. 14. What is a reasonable self-assessment of government action to enhance and sustain the development of basic skills for adults in general – and in work, in particular – over the last 10 years?

15. 15. Please provide summary statistics for: i) Learners in different adult basic skills programmes. ii) Characteristics of learners in basic skills programmes (in terms of age/gender, educational background, migration status, employment status).

2. OECD missions

List of stakeholder interviews and site visits during the first visit (22-25 May 2018)

Association of Colleges

Behavioural Insights Team

Department for Education (Basic Skills Policy team, Further Education Analysis Division, Adult Education Budget Policy Funding team, Functional Skills Policy team, Devolution team, Career Learning team)

Department for Work and Pensions

Derby College site visit

Education and Skills Funding Agency

Good Things Foundation

Greater London Authority

Holex

Learning and Work Institute

Sheffield city council (Community and family learning)

Unionlearn facilitated visit to Bakers and Allied Food Workers Union (BFAWU) workplace learning centre in Sheffield

Workers Educational Association

List of stakeholder interviews and site visits during the second visit (4-7 December 2018)

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Education (Community learning team, Further Education Workforce team)

Education and Training Foundation

Federation of Small Businesses

KPMG

National Numeracy

Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation

Researchers and professors from Centre for Vocational Education Research, Edgehill University, University College London and the King’s College London

Unison

Westminster Adult Education Service site visit

References

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