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Future Challenges and Opportunities – Multiply Scheme

The UK Government has committed that the priority of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will be Multiply.

Multiply strives to be a transformational scheme to improve the maths skills of hundreds of thousands of adults across the UK. Transformational is the keyword here, and this fits well with our mission and purpose.

The Multiply Scheme

The numeracy scheme will transform the lives of some of the 8 million adults in England who have numeracy skills lower than those expected of a 9-year-old.

We now know that funding for this will be channelled through the new £1.5bn UK Shared Prosperity Fund – which replaces a pot of money previously allocated and distributed by the EU, and this has the aim that government can target funding where it is needed most.

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 the Levelling Up mission to ensure that by 2030, the number of people completing high-quality skills training will have significantly increased in every area of the United Kingdom.

The Ambition with the Multiply Scheme

Chancellor Rishi Sunak

This scheme appeals to us on many levels – it strives to help people improve their ability to understand and use maths in daily life, at home, and at work. Whether that be improving household finances, assisting children with homework, making more sense of the facts in the media, or improving numeracy skills specific to a line of work. It will provide free personal tutoring, digital training, and flexible courses that fit people’s lives and are tailored to particular needs, circumstances, sectors, and industries.

People who improve their numeracy skills are more likely to be employed, have higher wages, and have better wellbeing. Gaining a maths qualification at Level 2 or equivalent also unlocks the door to progress to higher levels of training to secure a skilled job. Improved numeracy also matters to businesses right across the country – small and big. Companies that develop their employees’ numeracy skills can boost productivity, increase profits, and improve employee retention.

Pathway Group’s aspirations and activities towards meeting this opportunity may mean we look at any of the below which works for us and the regions we deliver; we have the ambition to build:

  • Courses designed to help people use numeracy to manage their money.
  • Innovative numeracy programmes are delivered together with employers. 
  • Courses aimed at people who can’t apply for specific jobs because of a lack of numeracy skills and/or encourage people to upskill in numeracy to access a particular job/career. 
  • New intensive and flexible numeracy courses targetting people without Level 2 maths, leading to a Functional Skills Qualification. Courses for parents wanting to increase their numeracy skills to help their children and help with their progression. 
  • Numeracy courses are aimed at prisoners, those recently released from prison or on temporary licence. 
  • Numeracy courses are aimed at those 19 or over that are leaving, or have just left, the care system. 
  • Numeracy activities, courses or provisions developed in partnership with community organisations and other partners aimed at engaging the hardest to reach learners.
  • Additional relevant maths modules are embedded into other vocational courses. 

“Our view is that it is positive to see early indications of these types of opportunities and that the focus will be on improving skills like numeracy and literacy.”

Pathway Group White Logo

Pathway Group, at its core, believes that these are the skills that people need to be equipped with to be successful in today’s and tomorrow’s world of work; we recognise that those furthest away from work usually struggle with maths and, at times English.

However, we believe that at every age, people have the opportunity to pick up new skills that they might not have learned and embrace authentic lifelong learning.

With this potential funding being distributed through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), we must be close to it and see the opportunities for what they are and create conversations at the first stage to put us at its heart. The second stage of developing a curriculum and offer that works for small businesses which at the front and centre of this.

With our networks in the small business enterprise space alongside links with community and funding, we believe we are well placed to contribute to the levelling up agenda in our unique way. We will also share our views with the decision-makers and ensure they realise the ambition of business owners in these areas.

We truly believe that providing the right support here will ramp up productivity for our nation, and we welcome this wholeheartedly. We will continue to be close to it and await any further details, activities, and actions.

To speak with us on any opportunities with the UK Shared Prosperity Fund or multiply, contact our team.

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