Responding to news of additional funding for adults to improve their maths, Jane Gratton, Head of People Policy at the BCC, said:

“We welcome this as a positive step to improve adults’ access to the training they desperately need to be able to apply for higher skilled jobs.

“With more than one million vacancies currently available much more needs to be done to close the skills gap and improving numeracy sits at the very heart of that.

“This programme also addresses one of the key asks of the Workplace Training and Development Commission report, instigated by the BCC, for more bite-size skills training to address people’s needs.

“But solving the UK’s skills crisis will not happen overnight and will also require coordinated effort across business, government and the skills sector. Local Skills Improvement Plans, currently being piloted, offer a real opportunity to match business need and local training for the longer term.”