Find out about funding assistance that employers can access and training providers who can help.
The government provides funding assistance for certain programmes and training providers.
The Workplace Literacy and Numeracy Fund is administered by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC). The fund supports training programmes that range from 25 to 80 hours and are delivered in the context of workplace learning, so the programmes are tailored to meet the needs of employees and their employers.
The programmes are offered in two ways: training provider (TEO-led) and employer-led.
The tasks and outcomes are the same for both approaches, it is the funding and contracting process which is different.
How do these programmes work? The TEC contracts training providers to deliver workplace literacy and numeracy programmes. Employers contract a provider who develops and delivers the programme in consultation with the employer. The employer does not have to pay the provider for the training, but neither do they receive any funding for the programme. To learn more about these programmes, including learner eligibility please visit the Tertiary Education Commission’s website.
A list of providers currently offering these programmes can be found here. This list has been provided by the Tertiary Education Commission and is accurate as at March 2023.
This fund helps employers to:
From research, employer reports, and direct employer engagement, we know that investment in high-quality literacy and numeracy provision in the workplace that focusses on addressing employers’ productivity problems has positive effects for employers, employees and their families.
How do these programmes work?
The TEC contracts directly with the employer to organise a workplace literacy and numeracy programme. This is done following a contestable application process and if successful the employer receives funding from the TEC to develop and deliver the programme. The employer then contracts a person to work in-house or a third-party provider to develop and delivers the programme in consultation with them.
Forming a consortium
The employer can be part of a consortium with other employers who between them can deliver a training programme to a minimum of 20 employees. Organisations that have relationships of trust with employers have an opportunity to project manage a programme consortium. The TEC is particularly interested in using consortia to include smaller employers that do not have the same ease of access to TEC funding as larger employers. A short guide for potential project managers of EWLN programme consortia outlining an example approach is available here.
In conjunction with the employer:
Assessment of work tasks including their literacy and numeracy requirements AND the literacy and numeracy skills of employees who are being targeted for the programme.
Programme development design and delivery of a training programme based on the needs of the employees and the skills they need for work. Measure the extent to which it has made a difference for employees and what they do at work.
Building sustainability look at how aspects of the programme can be sustained after the training period including for example upskilling in-house training staff, revising in-house training programmes, and revising workplace documentation.
Funding for workplace literacy and numeracy provision by employers is agreed through a funding letter.
To learn about employer, programme and learner eligibility for the fund, as well as monitoring and reporting requirements please visit the Tertiary Education Commission’s website.
Click to download the fund application form and guide. The form for consortium partners is here.
There are set application deadlines after which the applications will be assessed.
The final application deadline for 2023 is Friday 13 October 2023
A list of current and recently funded employer-led workplace literacy and numeracy programmes can be found here. This list is provided by the Tertiary Education Commission and is accurate as at April 2023.
This list includes providers who are receiving funding through the training provider (TEO)-led and employer-led strands of the Workplace Literacy and Numeracy Fund. This is not a preferred provider list. Please note that the provider information in this section has been supplied by the providers themselves and Skills Highway cannot vouch for the accuracy of that information.
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