ANLCI - French national agency against illiteracy EUROPEAN COMMISSION Literacy for All Nicosia, September 5th 2012 ANLCI - French national agency against illiteracy Marie-Thérèse Geffroy, President www.anlci.gouv.fr Promoting equal access for everyone to reading, writing and the basic skills

How to raise awarness of literacy problems among adults ? www.anlci.gouv.fr

To know what we are talking about : A commonly agreed definition : “the term illiteracy describes people over 16 years old who, although they have attended school, cannot read and understand a test related to situation in their daily life, and/or are unable to write in order to communicate simple information” A structuring tool : the national handbook offering a comprehensive view of essential components of the fight against illiteracy

To know how many people are concerned to fight preconceived ideas : Two sources in France: For adults: the INSEE-ANLCI survey, renewed in 2012 The 2004-2005 IVQ survey carried out by INSEE with the ANLCI on people aged between 18 to 65, who attended school in France (a 10 000 people sample). Among the 37 million persons aged 18 to 65, 90% attended school in France, ie 34 million persons. 3 100 000 persons, having been schooled in France are illiterate. By the end of 2012, for the first time comparison in time will be possible For 17 year olds: 4.8 % of youngsters aged 17 are illiterate ( JDC 2012 Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Education ; metropolitan and over sea territories)

To know how many people are involved: 3,100,000 persons between 18 and 65 are facing illiteracy in France (survey IVQ INSEE-ANLCI 2004-2005) 53 % are over 45 years old 57 % have a job, i.e. 1,800,000 persons Nearly 80% spoke French only at home when they were 5 years old 49% live in rural areas 15 % of unemployed people are facing illiteracy 8 % of employed people are facing illiteracy

Factors for success and outcomes of basic skill training www.anlci.gouv.fr

The French method To embed training courses into job situations To link tasks to the basic skills the person must master to be able to carry them out To avoid recreating a school context www.anlci.gouv.fr

A positive legal framework A structuring law on life long training, taking into account illiteracy Creation of a specific fund to finance training for the less educated workers (100,000,000 €) An obligation to negotiate within each organisation

A shared tool : The Scale of references for key competences in professional situations, pragmatically built through work situation observations. That Scale of References is a common framework, adjustable to sectors’ and organisations’ specific needs, to insure a training course meeting illiterate employees’ needs at work, and to assess the training’s impact. www.anlci.gouv.fr

A shared tool : The Scale of references for key competences in professional situations has been adjusted and used in various sectors : constuction, hotel business, agriculture, cleaning, logistics, haulage, health, trade, … Guide to identify key competences in the logistic sector - Intergros www.anlci.gouv.fr

Testimonies “It is important for me to testify, because what is difficult with illiteracy is that it is taboo. Me I don’t mind talking about it, but other persons are hiding, and are working on their own, late at night in their kitchen to learn again because they are ashamed! Why not speak about it? There is no shame to bear! I do not want to take the risk of being unemployed, to hide it. As long as we are not able to make people speak, we will not succeed.” Pascal KOELF, Cook My children are happy that I am taking part to the Family educational action, they can see that I can help them better. They can ask me things for their homework, and I can help them without having to say “go and see your Dad, I don’t know or I don’t understand”. Nathalie BERNARD, a mum who has taken part in the experiment “Actions éducatives familiales” www.anlci.gouv.fr

How to raise awareness of employers on literacy training? www.anlci.gouv.fr

What is at stake ? To get an access to jobs To get an access to training, including technical training To encourage career mobility To enable adaptation to changes and to evolve with new work requirements More simply : to reduce stress, to reduce the fear of committing mistakes, to promote communication, globally to improve a firm’s performances.

How to address these issues? Integrate basic skills training into human resources Lead basic skills training projects by mobilizing all the company stakeholders Anchor learning into professional activities Reinforce partnerships to improve the quality of initiatives Ensure that basic skills are a strategic component of adult training policies

To work together Signing agreements With civil society partners to clarify each others role and set a common goal With national partners (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Employment … ) to establish a long term structured partnership A charter for unions, companies, professional organisations to commit to the ANLCI principles for professional training at the work place using common guidelines www.anlci.gouv.fr

To work together The 20 professional organisations which have signed the charter www.anlci.gouv.fr