COMPANIES in the South are on average 11 per cent less productive than their German counterparts because of poor literacy and numeracy among their staff.

British businesses employ "some of the most highly-skilled people in the world but we also lag behind many of our competitors in terms of basic literacy and numeracy skills," warns business Link Wessex.

"We have too high a proportion of low skilled workers, 57 per cent compared with 20 per cent in Germany," said a spokesman. More than eight million people working in the UK have qualifications below level 2 which equates to NVQ or GCSE standard. Some seven million adults of working age have standards of English below secondary school level - "for maths the situation is even worse." Firms with higher productivity "tend to have a higher proportion of skilled workers".

Improving basic skills may mean increased staff flexibility and confidence and increased efficiency.

"Many businesses do not realise that some of their employees may have problems with literacy and numeracy," said the spokesman.

"Most adults with poor English or numeracy skills find ways to 'get by' and are adept at hiding the fact."

Business Link Wessex is using government Skills for Life funding to arrange free advice and training courses in English and maths.

Business Link Wessex is offering:

Free training and support for firms' employees to help them improve their English and maths;

Courses tailored around business needs, such as improving health and safety compliance;

Taster sessions and 'brush-up' courses for adults to help them gain the new adult qualification in English or maths.

"You may have already identified some areas in the workplace where you 'could do better'. Human error probably accounts for a lot of these inefficiencies," said the spokesman.

"Wastage due to incorrect calculations, poor customer relations - simple mistakes impact on your profitability."

Contact Business Link Wessex - 08454 588558.