It’s National Numeracy Day, the perfect time to unlock your potential with FREE Multiply courses

This National Numeracy Day, Buckinghamshire Council is continuing its commitment to empowering adult learners and employers across the UK with essential numeracy skills. The national awareness day, launched in 2018 by charity National Numeracy, serves as a reminder of the importance of numerical proficiency in everyday life and career progression. The aim of the day is to get children and adults across the UK to think about their number skills so that they can feel empowered to reach their potential.

Multiply is a government-funded programme to help adults who do not already have a maths GCSE at grade C (or equivalent) improve their confidence with numbers. From basic maths taught through fun classes like healthy cooking on a budget, to more advanced classes covering budgeting, data and getting to grips with Microsoft Excel, the courses are designed to meet diverse needs and empower learners to navigate numerical challenges confidently.

Delivery of the Multiply initiative is part of Buckinghamshire Council’s Opportunity Bucks programme, which aims to improve outcomes for people in Buckinghamshire, focusing on ten wards across the Aylesbury, Chesham and High Wycombe areas.

Councillor Anita Cranmer, Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services commented:

“With the right support, anyone can build their confidence with numbers. Our Buckinghamshire Adult Learning team is supporting local residents improve their confidence with essential skills such as digital, literacy and maths. All of the Multiply courses and training are designed to fit around daily life, making it easy and convenient to take part. Whether you’re looking for support for you and your family, career progressions, job opportunities, gaining qualifications, managing household budgets, cooking healthy meals on a budget or helping children with homework, we’ll help you find the right course for you.”

For employers, investing in the numeracy skills of their workforce is key to driving business growth and enhancing productivity. From basic numeracy training to advanced financial literacy, Buckinghamshire Adult Learning is also offering Multiply courses designed to align with business objectives and foster a culture of continuous learning.

This summer, Buckinghamshire Adult Learning will continue to offer more of the popular Multiply courses such as ‘healthy cooking on a budget’ and ‘getting to grips with spreadsheets’ to build confidence to use numbers in everyday life. Also, for adults who are ready to gain formal English and Maths qualifications, our ‘start your journey’ sessions will support enrolment to either English or maths Functional Skills or GCSE qualification courses, supporting steps to progress in life and at work.

Ken, a Multiply learner from Aylesbury, added:

“I found the budgeting Multiply course you ran to be very helpful, particularly the money helper website which allowed me to list every single payment each month in detail to help me identify where it would be possible to cut down some of my monthly outgoings. This gave me a sense of more control over my spending. The advice on using comparison websites was very useful to compare not just insurances but also banking services and even local petrol prices. “

For more information about Multiply, visit Buckinghamshire Council's Adult Learning website or call Christina Katsimitsiri 07977 155 937.