1. 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
Promoting equal access for everyone to reading, writing and the basic skills

2. How to raise awarness of literacy problems among adults ?

3. 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

4. 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 IVQ survey carried out by INSEE with the ANLCI on people aged between 18 to 65, who attended school in France (a people sample). Among the 37 million persons aged 18 to 65, 90% attended school in France, ie 34 million persons.
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)

5. To know how many people are involved:
3,100,000 persons between 18 and 65 are facing illiteracy in France
(survey IVQ INSEE-ANLCI )
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

6. Factors for success and outcomes of basic skill training

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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

11. 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”

12. How to raise awareness of employers on literacy training?

13. 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.

14. 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

15. 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

16. To work together
The 20 professional organisations which have signed the charter