They provide a foundation for progression into employment or further technical education and develop skills for everyday life.
[1] Functional Skills qualifications provide reliable evidence of a student’s achievements against demanding content that is relevant to the workplace.
They should be able to listen, understand and respond to verbal communication in a range of familiar contexts; acquire an understanding of everyday words and their uses and effects, and apply this understanding in different contexts; read with accuracy straightforward texts encountered in everyday life and work, and develop confidence to read more widely; and write straightforward texts and documents with clarity and effectiveness, and demonstrate a sound grasp of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Functional Skills English qualifications at these levels indicate that students should be able to speak, listen, communicate, read and write clearly, accurately, confidently and with effectiveness.
Functional Skills mathematics qualifications at these levels should indicate that students can demonstrate their ability in mathematical skills and their ability to apply these, through appropriate reasoning and decision making, to solve realistic problems of increasing complexity; introduce students to new areas of life and work so that they are exposed to concepts and problems which may be of value in later life; and enable students to develop an appreciation of the role played by mathematics in the world of work and in life.