The essential basic business skills are reading, writing, speaking, listening and number skills, which the vast majority of us use nearly every day in our working lives.
Yet up to 3.5 million adults employed in the UK today have poor basic skills and do not have the ability to read, write and do maths at a level necessary to fulfil these everyday requirements. This is bad for business, with low productivity and poor quality work which costs £86,000 on average per small business per year. Individuals lose out in terms of lower wages and reduced opportunities in life.
Employer Toolkit
Free kit to help employers help their employees to improve their skills.
English & Basic Skills at Your Library
Help available in Birmingham Libraries including links to Homework support and the Learning Centres.
Literacy Skills
You need to register to use this site but it has lots of fun activities and useful
help to improve literacy skills.
Money Matters
Practical guides and help to coping with normal family finances and life problems.
Fun presentations with calculators, online workshops to help with figures and guides to improve financial skills.
Money & Number Skills
The use of money and need for number skills to make decisions that can affect our families and our future.
Financial literacy is a fundamental tool for each of us. 28 lessons and help with financial and numerical skills for new learners.
Business Studies
Business Studies is one of the most varied and diverse subjects available in education and operates at many levels from entrepreneurship in primary schools, GCSE studies, NVQ’s, College and University Business Courses to MBA’s, as well as all sorts of vocational options. Learning Insight supports individual learners and companies in their Business Studies via its resources and access to Learn Direct, Open Learning courses and other providers.
Information Skills
Many people are able to find information but not many are information-literate. They may know how to get data but not how to use it, evaluate it, store it, present it, find what they want quickly and communicate it properly. The new concept of “Information Literacy” includes study and web skills and is essential in a knowledge driven economy.
E-Mail
Top quality site on every aspect of E-Mail.
Simple guides to using E-Mail
Information Literacy
Information Literacy Skills
Excellent site from Texas that puts together an interactive information skills learning package suitable for anyone.
Information Literacy Tutorial
Concepts of information, how to find and evaluate IT tutorials.
Information and Knowledge Management Glossary
What some of the terminology means.
Managing Information
This guide helps you determine the information you really need in order to make a decision.
Presentations
Presentation Guidance
17 articles on all aspects of business speeches and presentation.
Presentation skills
Job Seekers
Take charge of your life by matching your skills and interests to opportunities in the workplace, whether unemployed, wanting a change of career or seeking promotion. It’s your future whether you want to start a business, need new skills, help with job searching or assistance with interview techniques, basic form filling or compiling a CV.
Use our physical services including job libraries or use these online tools for help.
Getting out of the Rut
Advice on changing career and moving on.
Self Assessment Resources
Careers A – Z The UK gateway to quality careers information online.
Connexions
Links suitable jobs to interests and qualifications.
Creative Industry Careers
Job Profiles
Over 700 job profiles with pay rates, qualifications needed, detailed job descriptions. Remember if you need more skills you can register with us for Learn Direct courses on (0121) 303 4306 which entitles you to tutor support, free use of PC’s, one to one interview, additional resources and learning support.
Finding Vacancies Online
Job Hunting Help
Practical advice and help from the Job Centre.
Job Seeker Skills
Interactive guide to assessing your skills, interview and job application techniques.
Job Search Tips
Get that Job
Total Jobs
Application Forms
Filling In Application Forms
Guide to Job Applications
CV’s
CV Preparation
CV Surgery
CV Tips
Interviews
Interview Advice Articles
Interview Help
This web site covers all aspects of modern interviews.
Interview Tips
Assessment Tests
Tests Explained
Learn Direct
Introduction
This is the major government resource in the UK for work skills and business learning courses as well as basic skills and many other topics. Many of these are free and where charges are made they are below commercial rates.
The service offers innovative online learning solutions for individuals and organisations of all types and sizes.
Because courses are delivered online as E-learning, you can work through them at a time and pace to suit you, from any location with web access.
Learning Centre
The Learning Centre in Central Library is a Learn Direct centre with qualified, experienced staff to support individuals and companies to register and complete these courses. This custom built centre’s support service for Learn Direct learners is unique within the UK.
Recommendation
We strongly recommend that you come in or phone the Learning Centre service to discuss taking up one or more of these courses. Few of us are able to learn solely from online courses without support and need other means of learning, such as books, tutors, discussion groups, talks, hands on help, to ensure we attain our goals.
Business Learning
In a fast-changing workplace we all need to develop and update our skills to start or run a business or simply get a new job. But making the time to gain new skills isn't easy and we need to learn in a way that suits our lifestyles and abilities. That is where Learning Insight comes in. Our qualified staff deliver learning at the level, pace, time, and location that individual learners choose.
In our context Business Learning is all about helping improve work skillsparticularly for individuals and small businesses, getting people started in business and helping people into jobs. It is not about formal education or Business Studies courses.
We are interested in the practical application of business knowledge to help improve individual lives and through this improvement help towards economic regeneration within the city.
Distance Learning
Distance learning is one particular form of open learning in which tutors and learners are separated by geographical distance. This is sometimes called a home-study or correspondence course. But many modes of communication are used for distance learning, not just postal correspondence. Most of us use distance learning techniques in some form in our daily lives: we read books and newspapers, watch programmes on television and request information over the telephone. These are all learning experiences which 'educate' in the broadest sense.
Distance learning offers:
Tailor-made distance learning package designed in consultation with you to meet your needs.
Delivery through a variety of media for self-study to help you study in a mode that suits you.
Use of the latest technology
Support from our staff including telephone support and one to one
Additional resources and sign posting help
The Learning Centre in Central Library (0121) 303 4306 has a wide range of distance learning courses for you to access and our Learning Shop service 0800 073 0634 can help you to find even more.
E-Learning
E-Learning, or online learning, is the term applied to Internet-enabled learning. It refers to the use of computer network technologies to create, deliver, manage and support learning, anytime anywhere. These technologies include digital text, graphics, 3-D models, audio and video and enable the creation of multimedia resources that address a wide spectrum of accessibility and learning needs.
In addition, communication tools such as real-time chat, audio/video conferencing facilities or asynchronous (not real-time) discussion forums allow learners to interact online with one another as well as with tutors.
E-Learning can be a full-blown online course, where all aspects of learning, from learner enrolment to tuition and support take place online. At the other end of the e-Learning spectrum, these elements may well take place in a face to face situation, with online materials providing just one aspect of a range of learning resources and activities. The online aspect in such scenarios may well be intended to be self-access (i.e. used by the learner with no or minimum feedback from a human tutor).
It puts the leaner in charge as they can access learning at times, locations and at a pace and level that suits them. E-Learning, then, is very varied. It can be, for example:
At the very least, a list of links to relevant and interesting websites.
A 'WebQuest' is a structured learning based on a pre-determined collection of themed websites.
Online discussion groups can be very powerful learning tools, making use of freely available online tools (email, discussion forums, chat).
'Multimedia objects' are short interactive learning episodes
A combination of the above such as Learn Direct.
Open Learning
Open Learning is a way of studying a subject at your own pace and at a time that suits you. You can try out a subject, increase your skills or learn new ones, test your own abilities or even prepare for formal qualifications.
It is especially useful for people who wish to return to work and would like to update their skills, or for people who would like to study a subject without joining a formal class. All materials are self-study and are in the form of either workbooks, computer programs or audio and videos.
Materials are available free of charge and can be borrowed, reserved and renewed in the same way as library books, although we make some copies of packs available as reference-only.