Source: Tertiary Education Commission
Eligibility
For details of tertiary education organisation (TEO) eligibility, programme eligibility, and learner eligibility please see the funding conditions for the relevant year.
Funding conditions by year
For information about Employer-led Workplace Literacy and Numeracy (EWLN) funding, see the Employer-led Workplace Literacy and Numeracy Fund Finder.
Employer-led Workplace Literacy and Numeracy Fund
Learner eligibility
For the specific learner eligibility criteria please see the funding conditions for the relevant year.
Funding conditions by year
For information on other valid domestic enrolments, please see the Other valid domestic enrolments webpage.
Other valid domestic enrolments
TEO-led WLN is intended for individuals in the paid workforce. This includes employees as well as contractors and temporary staff working for the employer.
Employees who participate in the programme must have low literacy and/or numeracy skills. This may manifest as difficulties in:
understanding written and/or verbal instructions,
completing forms (such as health and safety forms),
reporting verbally and/or in writing,
understanding and/or completing basic calculations, and
expressing literacy and numeracy through digital devices necessary for work.
These difficulties may be exacerbated by having English as a second language.
Changes to learner eligibility from 1 January 2024
For learners to be considered to have low skills in literacy, numeracy, or literacy and numeracy for the purposes of the Fund they must:
present at Step 3 or lower on the Learning Progressions for reading, and/or step 4 or lower on the Learning Progressions for numeracy when assessed using the Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool (LNAAT); and
either:
have fewer than 121 credits on the NZQCF (or equivalent); or
have more than 120 credits on the NZQCF (or equivalent), and have fewer than 31 credits in literacy and/or numeracy in unit standards and/or achievement standards (or equivalent); and
not have an undergraduate, postgraduate, or Level 5 or above Qualification gained in New Zealand or that is listed on the NZQCF.
Learner eligibility requirements for literacy and numeracy provision were updated for 2024 onwards.
TEOs can only enrol learners with Level 5 or above qualifications in literacy and numeracy funds in exceptional circumstances, with prior written approval from us.
Exemptions for learners with exceptional circumstances, who have a qualification at Level 5 or above
Following Ministerial approval of the 2024 funding mechanism, the funding conditions were updated to include a condition that excludes learners who have previously gained a qualification at Level 5 or above on the New Zealand Qualification and Credentials Framework (NZQCF) (including undergraduate and post-graduate degrees).
We understand that some learners who have higher level qualifications may have additional literacy and/or numeracy needs due to their exceptional personal circumstances.
Exceptional circumstances exist where a learner:
has completed a Level 5 or above qualification; and
has personal learning needs that meet the policy intent of the fund; and
has circumstances that are out of the ordinary for most learners in New Zealand, and the circumstances are:
significant in the context of the learner; and/or
comparatively rare.
These exceptional circumstances may include but are not limited to situations where:
The learner is neurodivergent and needs additional support to improve their literacy and/or numeracy skills, for example:
their Level 5 or above qualification was achieved with support from learning and/or computer tools that are not readily available to the learner in the workplace, and/or
their qualification did not focus on literacy and/or numeracy.
The learner has a disability or suffered a serious medical event and needs additional support (such as a learner suffering a stroke and a course under these funds may be the most appropriate for the learner’s circumstances).
The learner received a qualification from a provider where it was evidenced that there were particular compliance concerns relating to that qualification. These concerns have been confirmed by Monitoring and Crown Ownership.
We may consider circumstances where the learner gained their qualification overseas in a language other than English, and has low literacy skills. However, in this scenario an English Language Teaching – Intensive Literacy and Numeracy (ELT) Fund (formerly known as Specialised English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)) funded programme may be more appropriate.
To request an exemption application form, please obtain the permission of the learner, then contact us at customerservice@tec.govt.nz with subject: (EDUMIS number) L5 exemptions request.
In your email, please briefly outline:
the learner’s exceptional circumstances,
the learner’s Level 5 or above qualification
the fund you are applying for the exemption under
confirmation that the learner meets all other eligibility criteria in the funding conditions.
If you are invited to apply, we will send you the application form. The application must be submitted by a senior member of staff, such as a Head of/Manager of Admissions (or equivalent) or above.
Please ensure the learner meets all other learner eligibility criteria in the Funding Conditions before applying.
Funding conditions by year
If you have any questions about this process, please contact us at CustomerService@tec.govt.nz or 0800 601 301.
Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool (LNAAT)
The LNAAT is an online adaptive tool that provides robust and reliable information on the reading, writing and numeracy skills of adults.
Following Ministerial approval of the 2024 funding mechanism, the funding conditions were updated to require using the LNAAT to determine learner eligibility for the TEO-led WLN fund fund.
Learners must present at Step 3 or lower on the Learning Progressions for reading, and/or step 4 or lower on the Learning Progressions for numeracy when assessed using the LNAAT.
We also recommend you use the LNAAT at the beginning of the programme to identify employees’ literacy and numeracy skill levels.
For more information about using the LNAAT see the 2024 LNAAT Guidelines.
2024 LNAAT Guidelines
Programme eligibility
Intensity of delivery
The intensity of literacy, numeracy, or literacy and numeracy, tuition received by each learner enrolled in a TEO-led WLN programme with a TEO must be 40 hours over any 10 to 40 week period (or portion of the period). Alongside that programme duration the delivery model is as agreed among the employer, employee and the TEO delivering the programme.
The reason for this approach (rather than a range of hours per week) is to provide flexibility for TEOs to ensure the delivery model meets both employer and employee needs. Delivery could, for example, be weekly, or it could be in blocks with breaks of several weeks between.
Example:
Calculating time period for delivery for a 25-hour TEO-led WLN programme:
25 hours/40 hours = 0.625 (proportion)
0.625 x 10 weeks = 6.25 weeks (shortest 25-hour programme duration)
0.625 x 40 weeks = 25 weeks (longest 25-hour programme duration)
The 25-hour programme must be delivered over at least 6.25 weeks (rounded up to the nearest whole day) and over no more than 25 weeks.
