Tina Bosworth: My name's Tina Bosworth and I work for a recruitment agency.
Literacy and numeracy are really important for job seekers.
The market place is very competitive out there and companies are after looking at looking at literacy and numeracy levels as a benchmark for recruitment.
Male wearing stripy shirt: This job here is £6 an hour for 40 hours, so to work out your wages, you would times 40 by six, which would work out to £240 before tax.
Tina Bosworth: The numeracy element also comes into people's wages and salaries.
Quite often, temporary workers are paid on a weekly basis, and therefore they need to budget specifically for what they're doing week by week.
Female with brown hair tied up: I'm looking for administration and receptionist work. Here's my CV.
Male wearing suit and tie: Oh OK, thank you.
Tina Bosworth: One of the most important things with literacy is that the first impression that somebody gets is either a CV or an application form.
Male wearing suit and tie: CVs are very important to employers because they need to stand out for when you're applying for roles.
Spelling is very, very important, we must get spelling right, also punctuation, grammar, and just make sure that the CV is up to date and concise.
Tina Bosworth: The important thing when you're looking for a job is to actually be able to read an advert and actually really understand about what that job is actually all about.
Male wearing glasses: Reading and understanding is very important when you're looking at a job description because we need to not only read, but we also need to understand what the employer is looking for.
Tina Bosworth: One of the most important skills to have nowadays in a work environment is to be able to use a keyboard and to be able to type.
Female with curly brown hair: This is a test for job seekers and for our employers to see, not only the speed of the data entry and typing, but also the accuracy as well.
Tina Bosworth: It's really important that people make sure they've got those levels of literacy and numeracy skills because that's what employers are looking for, and they're looking at that benchmark to make sure that people have those skills that they can take to their environments.
Quick tips for tutors
These resources cover some of the literacy and numeracy skills that may be needed to find a new job. They also signpost to further websites to find more information. All the resources can be cross-referenced to the national adult literacy or numeracy curriculum and will also be relevant for learners on functional skills courses.
Downloadable Factsheets
Entry 3 - Informal language. document
This factsheet explores the use of formal and informal language in different situations.
Entry 3 - Interview questions. document
This factsheet is about different types of interview question: closed and open.
Entry 3 - Reading adverts for jobseekers. document
This factsheet looks at how to scan job adverts for crucial information, including annual salary.
Entry 3 - Jobseeking. document
This factsheet looks at how to search for a job, including advice on searching websites and visiting your local Jobcentre Plus.
Level 1 - Writing a covering letter. document
This factsheet offers advice on how to write a covering letter when applying for a job.
Level 1 - Useful words for jobseekers. document
This factsheet offers a summary of common words used in job adverts.
Downloadable Worksheets
Entry 3 - Open and closed questions. document
This worksheet offers an activity on different types of interview question.
Entry 3 - Formal and informal language. document
Use this worksheet to spot the difference between formal and the informal language.
Entry 3 - Reading adverts. document
This worksheet challenges you to answer questions about a sample job advert.
Entry 3 - Skills for jobseekers. document
Use this worksheet to assess your jobseeking skills.
Level 1 - Idiomatic expressions. document
Use this worksheet to match idioms to their meanings.
Level 1 - Understanding skills and qualities. document
This worksheet offers an exercise in distinguishing between skills and qualities in a list of jobseeking words.
Level 1 - Transferable skills. document
This worksheet offers a discussion and writing activity about transferable skills.
Level 1 - Jobseekers words in use. document
This worksheet is about matching jobseeking words to correct definitions and practicing using these words.