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This is not going to be an essay on existentialism!
Access Testing came into existence because of our personal experiences of poor literacy standards in business and in the public sector. In addition, we were perplexed about constantly seeing the right people in the wrong jobs!
Seven million adults in the UK (and that's just the ones we know about), have reading ages below that of an 11yr old. Spelling ages will be even lower. A single typing error in a document may be understandable, but a letter littered with mistakes is unacceptable. The person responsible for writing it will feel bad and the recipient will not be impressed.
Having a problem with reading and / or spelling does not mean an individual is lacking in ability. Spelling is not the be all and end all. We are first to extol the virtues of the 'right brainer' whose non-verbal skill is superior, whilst spelling may be dire! Exceptional brainpower could be lying dormant within your working environment.
The peaks and troughs of our profiling would suggest where skills could be used to best effect. If literacy levels needed to be improved then future training could focus on this aspect.
Performing at a below average literacy level leads to difficulties when putting thoughts on paper. A spellcheck facility will confuse rather than illuminate, unless a certain standard has been obtained. |
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We can tell you if this level has been reached. If it has not, there may be other ways around the problem, but voice-activated software is not one of them (like spellchecks, they will only confuse the poorest of spellers).
If you require a potential employee to communicate at a high level, it is useful to know they have a good vocabulary. Some people express themselves well verbally, even though they have a difficulty with spelling and writing. The best salesperson we know, falls into this category. He keeps the orders flooding in, with the aid of an assistant to help with paperwork.
This is not simply a 'shop-floor' problem. In our professional and personal lives, we have encountered medical doctors who are semi-literate.
There are jokes about doctors writing badly, and indeed dysgraphia (difficulty with handwriting) can often be found in the most able of individuals.
The population at large may be astonished to learn that medical examinations (like many others these days) are often multiple choice papers. If in doubt, tick the middle box! This does not help consultant or patient when a 'houseman' with poor literacy skills is unable to write up a meaningful discharge letter to a GP.
Our population is suffering because of this breakdown in communication. If a problem is recognised and acknowledged
it can be addressed. Achieving a pass in a meaningless literacy test will make the problem worse, not better. |
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