Workplace literacy programmes a win-win situation

By ESTELLE SARNEY

When Samoan carpenter Masi Siaopo arrived in New Zealand 10 years ago he knew little English, and even less about the plastics industry in which he found work.

Today he is a supervisor at Rotaform Plastics in Mangere, is a key liaison between its 14 manufacturing staff and management, and can help his six-year-old daughter with her homework.

Much of his success has come from his commitment and that of his company to a workplace literacy programme run at the plant for the past three years. Last month the Workbase literacy organisation started another year-long course at Rotaform, which all its manufacturing staff are keen to do.

Although it's a cost to general manager David Brumby, both in a financial contribution to Workbase and in the loss of production time while workers attend their hour-long weekly tuition, Brumby says the benefits are worth it.

"When we first started it we discovered that most of the guys who were weighing raw materials didn't understand the difference between a gram and a kilogram.

"If they were half a kilo out each time, that was hundreds of thousands of dollars a year we were losing.

"But it's the men's increased confidence to communicate that's been just as important. Before, if they weren't confident enough to write down or even voice a problem, we didn't know about it until three days later when the product was going out the door.

And it's difficult to put a dollar figure on morale. Siaopo's self-esteem shot up when he was made supervisor.

"That made me feel so great. The course has helped in my work - we have fewer rejected products, I can solve problems that come up and help train the other guys.

"It's helped my family. My daughter and I sit at the table and do our homework together". Siaopo, 40, was among the 45 per cent of New Zealand adults, 100,000 of whom were in paid work, that an OECD international adult literacy survey found to be below the level "required to meet the demands of everyday life".

Workbase defines literacy as a complex web of reading, writing, speaking, listening, problem-solving, creative thinking and numeracy skills, and includes skill in modern communications technology.

Its programmes are tailored to each company.

Workbase business development manager Susan Reid says the organisation, which is partly funded by the Government, has established literacy programmes in 40 workplaces since it started in 1991 and teaches about 800 new learners each year.

The cost of the course, or "investment" as Reid prefers to call it, is roughly $3000 per worker per year, but this varies depending on the size and nature of the workplace.

Employer contributions also vary, but average 30 per cent of the course cost, with Workbase paying about 30 per cent and the relevant industry training organisation contributing the rest.

Some courses are ongoing, such as that at Norske Skog Tasman in Kawerau which has had more than 1000 workers pass through its education in the past seven years.

Workbase recently won one of five annual literacy awards given out by the Unesco International Reading Association.

"We also work with the employers to ensure that their newly-trained workers are not being thrown back into what we call the polluted lake. That is, a workplace where documentation is unnecessarily complex and where instructions are given without anyone understanding them," says Reid.

There are other organisations running on-site literacy schemes, some of which Workbase funds with a targeted subsidy.

In line with the Government's adult literacy strategy launched in March, Skill New Zealand provides funds for employers and industry training organisations to enlist literacy tutors.

It spent $230,000 this year on 11 programmes in industries as diverse as forestry on the east coast and seafood in Nelson.