Research shows that young people entering the workplace often lack the speaking and listening skills to communicate successfully. 70% of employers rate literacy skills as one of their three most important considerations when recruiting school and college leavers. CBI Education and Skills Annual Report.

“I want to say a big thank you and well done to all the students that participated today. I thought they were great and all the volunteers (from Provident Financial Group) were buzzing from the experience. The school has been really welcoming, and it was a great experience for us all to be back in school and to work with such lovely young people” (Helen Curtis, Project Manager, National Literacy Trust).

Equally, enthused by the programme were the students. We’ve captured just a few of the many comments made by students during their feedback on how the programme has impacted them.

“Words for Work has inspired me to think about different options for my future and has given me the vocabulary I need for the working world”.

“We learned phrases to help us in interviews and presentations. I feel more confident now about public speaking”.

“I feel more ambitious and I know what I need to do to make my hopes and dreams come true”.

“I will keep in mind what I have learned. I know it will make me more successful”.

“Through the National Literacy Trust's ‘Words for Work’ programme, we have learnt how to develop our writing, speaking and communication skills. This also helps us to understand the link between success at school and later in life”.

“I have learned to make eye contact when speaking to people, and I feel more confident about speaking in public. I also have learned to think about my body language”.

“This programme has really helped us. We now know how to present ourselves and how to change our tone, pace and vocabulary to match different situations”.

Mrs Ware, English Teacher, said, “Our students have greatly enjoyed working with the National Literacy Trust and dedicated volunteers from Provident Group. It was fantastic to hear students aspire to become doctors, engineers, architects, and AI (artificial intelligence) in the tech world, and what steps they need to take to get there. We look forward to working with you again in future. We can't thank you enough!”.

Mark Hughes, OIAMFS Trust Member added, “May we take this opportunity to say a big thank you to Helen Curtis and Charlie Millman of the National Literacy Trust for such a fantastic programme. 

In addition,  thank you to volunteers Carole King, Nathan Bissett, Stephan Rowe and Rebecca Todd, of Provident Financial Group for their efforts. Provident’s support goes back over a decade with One In A Million Charity. Thank you for investing in Bradford’s young people”.  

About the programme

Words for Work aims to:

• Demonstrate the importance of literacy for success in employment by providing workplace context for students
• Improve young people’s verbal and written communication skills through activities lead by teachers and through engagement with corporate volunteers
• Give young people confidence in their own abilities and raise their career aspirations
• Help schools to achieve The Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance.