As part of the project, an ‘employer ambassador' has been recruited and is visiting firms to raise awareness of the issues a lack of basic skills in a business can cause, as well as the solutions to address them.

Kathryn Hopkins-Morgan, Operations Manager for SummitSkills in Wales commented: "Having basic skills is not just about illiteracy, it's about acquiring the skills we need to perform our jobs more productively. For our sector specifically it also includes the ability to use IT effectively for instance. This is a golden opportunity for Welsh firms in the sector to put in plans to address basic skills issues in the workplace, which if left unsolved can affect the bottom line of a company.

The Basic Skills Employer Pledge will involve an employer pledging to 'help employees with poor basic skills in the workplace'. Working in collaboration with the Welsh Assembly Government's Basic Skills Cymru, the employer ambassador for SummitSkills has already successfully secured six medium sized firms keen to sign the pledge.  By making the Skills Pledge, these companies will gain access to a grant of up to £5,000, to help fund basic skills training in the workplace.

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