Ninety-nine per cent of Ballarat callers to the national Reading Writing Hotline seeking help in the pandemic had been from an English speaking background, compared to 68 per cent of callers nationally.

Hotline manager Vanessa Iles estimates 15,000 people in Ballarat would struggle to fill in a simple form, based on the national average for low literacy levels.

Ms Iles said literacy was a complex problem stemming from many situations but there was a real shame attached to struggles in reading and writing, despite the fact this was a widespread issue.

Now the pandemic was starting to take an extra toll as the world moved online and Ms Iles said people with low literacy were feeling "utterly isolated".

"People generally aren't nervous about saying they're no good at maths and can't add up well but no-one wants to say they can't read or write well. Literacy is something some people spend a whole life covering up, even from family," Ms Iles said.

"Kids have come home for learning and it's become a massive issue for people with low levels of literacy. Sometimes they have to reveal to their kids for the first time they can't read and can't help.

"We've also had an increase in calls from April to June because people are coming out of work and wondering how they're ever going to get back in. A lot of training now is all online and they requires high levels of literacy."

Calls to Reading Writing Hotline spiked 30 per cent in April to June from parents struggling to teach children, workers struggling to fill in Centrelink forms and older people struggling to stay in contact with family and support services online.

Ballarat's primary caller demographic is on par with national figures: two in five Ballarat callers are aged 25-44; almost two-thirds are male; 44 per cent are unemployed; and, two in give left school before year 10.

Ms Iles said multiple levels of disadvantage and disrupted schooling, with parents moving about, was a common factor. So too, were issues stemming from school bullying - whether from teachers or peers.

Stress was a key factor for hindering a person's ability to learn. Ms Iles said this could be from a big issue or from a terrible experience like stuffing up when reading aloud in class and being laughed at.

"This can be a positive time to get help while at home," Ms Iles said.

"One of the stories we had from Ballarat was a young mum wanting to improve her spelling - she had been afraid to write anything because her spelling was poor. You've got that shame attached, but she wanted this time to make a difference.

"Like a lot of things, when you stop writing, you lose those skills. A lot of people might leave school and avoid any kind of job where you need to read or write, they might rely on their partner to do it for them and then life changes, their job or their relationship."

Ms Iles said a big positive for Ballarat was a high level of employers calling the hotline to seek help for their employees. This made up 11 per cent of calls from Ballarat, compared to the national rate of two per cent of employer callers.

"This tells me there's a lot of people in jobs in Ballarat who risk falling out of their job. But, when an employer calls the hotline, that means it's a great worker and they want to keep them," Ms Iles said.

For example, Ms Iles said a lot of driving jobs like cranes or truckies had increasing literacy demands in log books and training manuals.

Ballarat's other strength in supporting adult literacy is in its support and teaching providers, when not impacted by the pandemic. This is in Federation University TAFE, community college programs and via Ballarat Library, the latter which hosts computer classes the hotline has identified as good support.

"The main thing we want people to know is that they're not alone and this is not their fault," Ms Iles said.

"It's also never too late to learn. We have qualified teachers on our phone lines who are used to working with people who have low levels of literacy. They can also explain when you do go to TAFE what a class will look like or what you will do so there's not uncertainty."

Reading Writing Hotline is a free national referral service for adults: 1300 6 555 06.

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