Foreword
Forward
We want everyone to have the opportunity to learn and develop the essential skills they need to succeed at any age. We know that numeracy is universally important for individuals’ life chances, and for the United Kingdom’s economy as a whole. 17m adults in England - half of the working-age population - have everyday maths skills roughly equivalent to those expected of a primary school child (Entry Levels)1. This compares poorly internationally – below the OECD average, and behind countries such as Japan, Germany and Canada2.
That is why the UK Government has committed that the first priority of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, will be Multiply. With up to £559 million in funding available, Multiply has the potential to reach adults across the whole United Kingdom over the next three years; improving their functional numeracy skills. This will support our Levelling Up mission to ensure that by 2030, the number of people successfully completing high-quality skills training will have significantly increased in every area of the United Kingdom.
We want to help people improve their ability to understand and use maths in daily life, home, and work. Whether that be improving household finances, helping children with homework, making more sense of the facts in the media, or improving numeracy skills specific to a line of work. To achieve that, Multiply will offer a range of options such as free personal tutoring, digital training and flexible courses that fit around people’s lives and are tailored to specific needs, circumstances, sectors and industries.
We know this really matters. People who improve their numeracy skills are more likely to be in employment, have higher wages, and better wellbeing. Gaining a maths qualification at Level 2 or equivalent also unlocks the door to progress to higher levels of free training to secure a skilled job in our economy. Improved numeracy also matters to businesses right across the country – small and big. Businesses that develop their employees’ numeracy skills can boost productivity, increase profits, and improve employee retention. With the launch of this investment prospectus, all local areas across the United Kingdom will be able to receive funding to deliver bespoke adult numeracy programmes over the next three years. Up to £430 million will be available across all four nations.
Through Multiply, we want to see these local areas invest in meaningful participation that boosts people’s ability to use maths in their daily life, at home and work and enable adults to achieve formal qualification that can open doors for them (such as into a job, progression in a job, or progression to further study). Adults who need to improve their numeracy (up to, and including, Level 2 or equivalent) will be able to access free flexible courses that fit around their lives – whether that be in person or online, at work or in the evening, part time or intensive. This prospectus sets out how.
In addition to providing funding to local areas to deliver innovative solutions to increase adult numeracy levels, Department for Education will also be launching a national digital numeracy platform later in 2022. This will give people the ability to learn at their own place (including at work, or at home), and pace. Through the platform, we hope to see people sign up for personalised free online tutorials, to help them build their confidence and take the stepping stones towards a maths qualification. We also intend to signpost to Multiply courses in local areas and would welcome your support in ensuring this.
We’ll also be launching a programme to test innovative approaches to reducing adult learning barriers and improving adult numeracy (such as through randomised control trials) and build the evidence base on what works – helping inform local areas’ approach to Years 2 and 3 of the programme.