Why ignoring adult literacy and numeracy gaps puts the future of workforce training at risk
Workforce education has inspired plenty of enthusiasm lately, but enthusiasm can’t bridge foundational skills gaps.
As short-term credential programs become more common and new funding streams like Workforce Pell increase access, more people ostensibly should have opportunities for affordable, job-aligned education.
But this momentum is built on the assumption that adult students already have the foundational literacy and practical math skills they need to succeed, when many do not. Not only that, but those skills are declining nationwide even as jobs increasingly require higher levels of education and training.
An “if you build it, they will come” approach risks leaving behind adults without the communication, critical thinking, math, and reading skills needed to succeed.
The overlooked prerequisite
Recent studies show that 28 percent of adults aged 16 to 65 read below a third-grade level, and 34 percent can only perform basic math tasks. These are significant gaps that shape who can access a good job and who is left out.
At the same time, the economy is moving in a different direction, with more good jobs requiring more education and training. Analysts project a 37 percent increase in jobs that require higher levels of education and training. This growing disconnect means a significant share of adults fall further behind, and this tension has real consequences.
Adults with low literacy and numeracy skills are more likely to remain underemployed or unemployed, even as new pathways to workforce training expand. Access to programs alone is not enough if students cannot fully engage with the math and English skills required in the curriculum.
Community colleges are playing a critical—and often unrecognized—role in minimizing that growing gap. Because of their strong ties to local communities, they’re well-positioned to support adult learners by integrating foundational literacy, numeracy and digital skills directly into workforce training rather than treating them as separate requirements. Reaching national credential goals will require building foundational skills into programs designed to help people earn them.
This is an important shift. It shows that we’re beginning to recognize that foundational skills are not abstract academic hurdles to simply mark as “complete,” but practical, lifelong workforce skills that are daily requirements in many jobs. When these skills are taught in context, they become more relevant and attainable.
When skill meets real life
There is new attention on this issue. Recently, the Urban Institute presented at the annual conference of the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE), sharing early findings from a landscape scan on supporting foundational skills for workforce success. Urban researchers highlighted the state of the evidence, the relationship between literacy and numeracy skills and job quality, and community colleges’ important role in delivering foundational literacy and numeracy skills training directly or in collaboration with employers or other partners. A key takeaway is the importance of foundational literacy and numeracy skills can be for accessing higher-paid jobs and of integrated workforce programs that combine or connect technical and foundational skills instruction.
Strategies for addressing foundational skills gaps to support workforce success have been piloted by community colleges for decades, with new opportunities to build on and improve these models. and demonstrate what works. Additional findings from the COABE presentation highlight examples of students improving English skills and gaining confidence at work through participating in integrated workforce programs at community colleges. Another strategy includes state initiatives that better align math instruction with real job needs, so students are better prepared.
There are also examples of employer-based models offered in partnership with community colleges. National Immigration Forum’s English Advance initiative creates customized literacy lessons tailored to specific industries or careers and taught by community college instructors. Workers—who may never have thought of themselves as college students—receive instruction contextualized to their jobs from an accredited community college or adult school to support further advancement. The program has shown some meaningful results. Eighty-six percent grew their proficiency, and 97 percent felt more confident speaking English at work.
Meanwhile, the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin is working to better align math pathways from early education through workforce training. Their Launch Years Initiative asks a critical question to education leaders: how can math be made more relevant and accessible for all students? And in Arizona, state teams identified in-demand jobs in their communities, reviewed the math skills required in each job, and compared them against the state’s math standards.
This example reinforces the need to align the math students learn in school with the math skills these jobs actually require. Urban Institute researchers compiled a helpful framework with guidance for the state teams to work together to better align these skills so that students are equipped with the math needed to succeed in the job.
There’s no shortcut around the fundamentals
These efforts highlight a larger truth: expanding access to workforce training isn’t enough. If foundational skills gaps go unaddressed, many adults will remain locked out of these opportunities.
For us at Lumina Foundation, this challenge is central to the goal of ensuring that 75 percent of adults in the U.S. labor force hold a credential of value by 2040. Reaching that goal will require intertwining literacy and numeracy into every pathway.
That’s why we’re investing in approaches that integrate foundational skills directly into workforce training. Because without those fundamentals, expanded access alone won’t deliver on the promise of workforce education.