Being better with numbers isn't a special talent, it's something we can all learn at any stage in our lives - National Numeracy Day on 15 May 2019 is a great place to start. The campaign aims to recognise the important role numbers play in all of our lives, as well as encourage people to sharpen their skills and improve their confidence using the National Numeracy Challenge.

Last year we hit national headlines, trended on Twitter, and helped around 25,000 people get started on their journey to improved numeracy. This year looks set to be even bigger.

Numeracy is both the confidence and the competence to use numbers and data to make good decisions in our daily lives, and we?re setting out to raise awareness of the importance of numbers in everyone's lives and encouraging us all to take action to increase numeracy levels across the UK.

But first a quick quiz - yes, you can use a calculator, and please take your time.

1. If you pay £24.75 per month for a mobile phone, how much do you pay in a year?
    
2. If a scarf costs £11.70 after a 10 per cent reduction, what was the original price?
    
3. A laptop costs £999, including VAT at 20 per cent. How much of the purchase price is VAT?

And secondly, to what extent do you agree with the following statements:

(Strongly agree / Agree / Neutral / Disagree / Strongly disagree)

• My mind goes blank when I have to do maths
• I tend to avoid situations which involve numbers and data
• When I think about maths, I begin to feel uneasy

?and relax. (Find the answers are at the bottom of this page, if you?re interested.)

Looking at the skills questions first, it may surprise you to know that quite a few people in the finance industry will struggle with them.

Based on government data, of all those working in ?Financial and Insurance activities?, one in 25 (four per cent) will struggle with question one (24.75 x 12).

If you introduce percentages (beyond ?what is ten per cent, 25 per cent  or 50 per cent  of something??) up to one in five (20 per cent ) of the finance industry will struggle.

By the time we apply more complex percentage calculations (like removing VAT from a purchase price or compound interest) nearly two out of three (64 per cent ) working in the finance industry will struggle to answer correctly.

And remember, this is all with a calculator (or pen and paper), with no time limit or exam conditions adding to the pressure.

Worryingly, these percentages (four per cent, 20 per cent and 64 per cent) rise to 24 per cent , 49 per cent  and 78 per cent  when taking into consideration all working-age adults.

Perhaps it may not be an issue for you personally, perhaps it might be (would you be prepared to admit if it was?), but if numeracy is a concern for you or your wider team, there is a good chance that the answers to the second set of statements may shed some light on what should be done to address this.

There are multiple barriers to engaging people with improving their numeracy, not least of all seeing the value of numeracy in our everyday lives, and appreciating that it will take effort - that it may feel uncomfortable at times as we get to grips with concepts that we, perhaps, last considered in a maths classroom many moons ago.

Yet the single biggest barrier we face in trying to improve our number skills is confidence. If you answered ?agree? to any of the questions above, it may just be the case that you or your colleagues need a confidence boost before getting started. (Our research shows that a lack of confidence is more likely if you are younger and if you are female.)

At National Numeracy we are committed to helping people improve their numeracy skills. Our work with employers shows that these barriers can be overcome, if only we are prepared to be open and honest about our confidence and competence to use numbers and data in our daily lives, either at work or at home.

National Numeracy Day is an annual celebration of numbers and how we use them in everyday life. Find out more at: www.numeracyday.com

Answers (a) £297 (b) £13 (c) £832.50