To be heard, learn to read and write.

Byline: Katy Chance

To be heard, learn to read and write Literacy opens the world to adults and the deaf, says JACKIE Carroll of Media Works, which she founded 15 years ago, was named last year's Media Women Entrepreneur of the Year by Topco, for empowering women. However, her remit is far more encompassing; it's about empowering those adults, already in the workplace, who have limited or no ability to read and write.

Obviously some of these people didn't finish school, she says. But what is really frightening is that the majority of them have been through the school system, some with matric, some not and they cannot write a CV. They're in their 30s, young, but without these fundamentals there is almost no chance of further training. Carroll started Media Works with the aim of improving English literacy skills and basic numeracy through Adult Basic Education Training (ABET) in the workplace. The bulk of her clients come from blue-collar industries with large pools of labour, such as manufacturing, mining and agriculture.

Sometimes, there are people who have never even held a pen. At the end of our training, …