What are the Experts Recommending Be Done About Workplace Literacy?
The following are
excerpts of recent recommendations made in support of workforce literacy:
A Pan-Canadian Approach…
- Establish a pan-Canadian
literacy development system, supported by federal, provincial, and
territorial governments. Establish programs to improve literacy and
adults’ knowledge of basic grammar and vocabulary.
- At the best practices
workshop on literacy, participants strongly agreed on the need for
a pan-Canadian literacy strategy involving all levels of government,
businesses, labour, education, and training providers, as well as
literacy groups and non-governmental organizations. Above all, they
saw a need to raise awareness and promote understanding of literacy
issues, and to develop and share best practices in connection with
family and community-based literacy activities.
- Priority actions
(include) a national approach to credentials recognition, and national
programs for putting skills into curricula.
-- Canadians
Speak on Innovation and Learning, Canada’s Innovation Strategy,
Human Resources Development Canada, 2002
Support
for Partnerships…
- Strong and valuable
partnerships have been developed over the years with literacy organizations,
employers, employee representatives, educators, and a vast number
of other stakeholders, all of whom are dedicated to improving the
literacy skills of Canadians … Without additional public and
private sector investments in this critical area of human capital,
Canada will lose a major opportunity to improve the economic and social
welfare of many thousands of willing participants who lack the necessary
basic skills to participate more fully in Canadian society.
- That the National
Literacy Secretariat continue to promote and develop partnerships
that pool resources and utilize best practices for creating opportunities
fore workplace literacy.
-- Raising
Adult Literacy Skills: The Need for a Pan-Canadian Response,
Human Resources Development Canada, June 2003
- HRDC should
enhance existing partnerships with organized labour to support delivery
of workplace literacy and essential skills training that is worker/learner-centered.
-- Strengthening
Our Literacy Foundation is Key to Canada’s Future,
Movement for Canadian Literacy, April 2003
- Through the NLS,
and in partnership with the literacy community, the federal government
should continue to identify and fund best practices and develop innovative
new initiatives related to workplace literacy. NLS funding for workplace
literacy initiatives should be increased to keep up with demand.
-- Strengthening
Our Literacy Foundation is Key to Canada’s Future,
Movement for Canadian Literacy, April 2003
- Business groups
should partner with the Conference Board of Canada, Literacy BC, and
governments to hold literacy “best practices” forums in
BC.
-- Closing
the Skills Gap: A Report of the British Columbia Chamber of Commerce
Skill Shortages Initiative, April 2002
The Role
of Sector Councils…
- At HRDC’s
‘Innovations in Workplace Skills and Learning’ workshop,
participants discussed two specific workplace training issues: essential
skills and recognizing workplace learning. Essential skills training
provides the foundation skills that workers need to learn technical
and managerial skills. Participants suggested that sector councils
were an effective mechanism for delivering essential skills programming,
and recommended that support be provided for workplace and career
development practitioners who develop and implement this training.
- Sector councils
were applauded (by labour organizations) for providing a forum where
unions and management can work together to meet their respective and
collective needs. They enable unions to identify skill requirements
and develop training programs that help union members. This, in turn,
leads to skills upgrading in the current work force, which benefits
the employer. This type of “win-win” outcome was identified
from essential skills development programs at the “Innovations
in Workplace Skills and Learning” workshop. A representative
from the Canadian Labour Congress explained how essential skills positively
affect workers’ lives and, in turn, positively affect organizations
and businesses by creating safer, more empowered, and productive workplaces.
- Encourage workplace-based
learning and opportunities for workers to “learn while they
earn”. Examine with partners possible financial incentives for
employers who support essential skills development for their employees.
-- Canadians
Speak on Innovation and Learning, Canada’s Innovation Strategy,
Human Resources Development Canada, 2002
Aboriginal
Peoples and Others Facing Barriers…
- Encourage the
participation of those facing barriers to labour market participation.
Consider, in cooperation with provinces and territories and other
partners, targeted skills development initiatives to help persons
with disabilities, Aboriginal people, visible minorities, individuals
with low levels of literacy or foundation skills, and others facing
particular barriers to participation in the labour market.
- With respect
to skills and learning issues for Aboriginal children and youth, participants
at the Aboriginal Skills and Learning Roundtable called for …More
direct investments in literacy and numeracy.
- Many (Aboriginal)
participants underscored the need for comprehensive training-to-employment
plans to ensure that Aboriginal people can access these opportunities.
It was suggested that plans should include the use of innovative methods
such as prior learning assessments, workplace literacy programs and
e-learning. In a similar vein, improvements in adult basic education
systems and investments in Aboriginal post-secondary education were
identified as essential to ensuring successful labour market participation
for Aboriginal people.
- Business associations
… called for greater attention to literacy and numeracy problems,
adult education, better apprenticeship training, and workplace training
and measures to improve employability skills for Aboriginal Canadians.
Improving labour force mobility through greater portability of credentials
across provincial boundaries, along with better recognition of the
skills of immigrants, was also seen as a key factor in developing
the Canadian talent pool.
-- Canadians
Speak on Innovation and Learning, Canada’s Innovation Strategy,
Human Resources Development Canada, 2002
- That the comprehensive
agreement that is currently being negotiated with the provinces and
territories to remove barriers to participation in work and learning
for persons with disabilities include literacy and numeracy skills
development as key components.
- That the federal
government allocate $15 million to supplementary Aboriginal Human
Resources Development Agreements to fund Aboriginal workplace literacy
initiatives. In addition, some of the new funding (i.e. $25 million
over the next two years) to be delivered under the Aboriginal Skills
and Employment Partnership should be earmarked for literacy and numeracy
skills development in major projects across the country. Furthermore,
all federal programs aimed at increasing labour market participation
of Aboriginal peoples in Canada should include basic education upgrading
and literacy programs.
-- Raising
Adult Literacy Skills: The Need for a Pan-Canadian Response,
Human Resources Development Canada, June 2003
- We must work
together to address this education gap. Canada’s Aboriginal
population is growing more quickly than the overall Canadian population.
Between 1991 and 1996, the Canadian population grew on average by
1.6% every year. The Aboriginal population increased on average by
3.6% -- more than twice as rapidly. We must work together to address
issues of economic and social inequity, to ensure that Canada’s
Aboriginal peoples have the resources they need to thrive as communities,
and as full participants and contributors to Canada’s future
economic and social prosperity. Investment in Aboriginal literacy
development is a crucial step toward this goal.
- The federal government
should support and fund a forum where representatives from First Nations,
Innuit, and Metis communities, as well as relevant Ministers from
provincial and territorial governments, and the federal Ministers
responsible for HRDC and Indian and Northern Affairs can come together
to develop a multi-government Aboriginal Literacy Action Plan. This
Aboriginal Literacy Action Plan should build on knowledge and best
practices that respect Aboriginal cultures and languages, with the
goal of creating healthy, literate communities, integrated programming,
meaningful educational experiences, and programs and policies to address
learning and educational gaps.
- The federal government
should make ongoing support and funding available to contribute to
the provision of autonomous, stable Aboriginal Literacy programs.
-- Strengthening
Our Literacy Foundation is Key to Canada’s Future,
Movement for Canadian Literacy, April 2003
- Attending community
college and school board programs is not always an option for union
members. Shift work, family responsibilities, cost, transportation
difficulties and fear are all barriers to learning. Programs that
are offered at or near the workplace with other members and on company
time help to remove these barriers.
-- The
L Campaign Information Kit, BC Federation of Labour,
1999
EI Reform
and Incentives to Investment…
- That the federal
government increase spending under Part II of the Employment Insurance
Act by $100 million. Subject to the terms of a pan-Canadian accord
on literacy and numeracy skills development, the government should
negotiate supplementary Labour Market Development Agreements and enact
the necessary changes to the Employment Insurance Act to provide literacy
and numeracy skills development assistance to all unemployed and employed
individuals, irrespective of their historical attachment to Employment
Insurance. These supplementary agreements should ensure that a certain
proportion of funding is made available to address the literacy needs
of members of designated groups. Seventy five percent of the increase
in Part II funding should be allocated to supplementary Labour Market
Development Agreements, while the remaining 25% should be allocated
to addressing workplace literacy needs as identified by sector councils.
- That the federal
government implement a two-year pilot project that offers small and
medium-sized businesses an Employment Insurance premium rebate and
other incentives such as tax credits to cover the costs of providing
workplace literacy and numeracy skills development to employees. Following
the completion of this pilot project, an evaluation should be conducted;
if the pilot project is deemed successful, it should be extended to
all employers, with a continuing emphasis on small and medium-sized
businesses.
- All employees
with low literacy skills, irrespective of their employment status,
be assisted and encouraged to submit a personal learning plan to raise
their literacy and numeracy skills … Learning opportunities
should be made available during working hours.
-- Raising
Adult Literacy Skills: The Need for a Pan-Canadian Response,
Human Resources Development Canada, June 2003
- The federal
government should build on current expertise and best practices in
workforce literacy through the development of tax incentives; infrastructure
development; public awareness campaigns and supportive policies.
--
Building a Pan-Canadian Strategy on Literacy and Essential Skills,
ABC Canada, FCAF, Frontier College, Laubach Literacy, Movement for
Canadian Literacy, and National Adult Literacy Database, 2003
- The federal government
should create tax incentives to encourage small- and medium-sized
businesses to provide workplace literacy and essential skills training
for their employees.
- The federal government
should use increased funding for sector councils as leverage to urge
councils to develop strategies for essential skills development within
the workplace skills development specific to their sector.
-- Strengthening
Our Literacy Foundation is Key to Canada’s Future,
Movement for Canadian Literacy, April 2003
- Panel participants
demonstrated that there are important and exciting opportunities for
employing and leveraging human capital in every sector. In most cases,
what is required to take advantage of these opportunities is to help
people to change their attitudes, so that they recognize … the
importance of having and using workplace appropriate skills, attitudes,
and behavior … and combining employability skills with technical
and business management competencies.
-- Making
the Connections, Employability Skills Forum, October
2002
The Role
of Job Placement Programs…
- Training and
employability skills development, by itself, is not particularly effective
in helping income assistance recipients make successful, long-term
labour market transitions. Training and employability skills development
initiatives need to be undertaken in conjunction with job placement
programs.
--
Heather Dickson, Assistant Deputy Minister, Employment,
Government of BC, Employability Skills Forum, October 2002
- Opportunities
for placement coordinators to make more, and better, matches include
… making Adult Basic Education courses more accessible to clients
who want to complete high school.
-- Sheila
Gibb, JobWavePlacement Coordinator, Fort St. John
and Brigette Ballantyne, JobWave Placement
Coordinator, Kelowna, Employability Skills Forum, October 2002
The Role
of the Canadian Learning Institute …
- Many groups stressed
the importance of issues such as literacy and prior learning assessment
in the workplace, and they felt these issues should be included in
the broad mandate of the Canadian Learning Institute.
--
Consultations on the Government of Canada’s Proposal to Establish
a Canadian Learning Institute. Levin, Benjamin and Seward,
Shirley. Canadian Labour and Business Centre, February 2003
‘Lifelong
Learning’ in Practice…
- Since half of
the people who will make up the workforce in 2015 are already working
and have completed their formal education, it will be imperative for
everyone to practice lifelong learning as a way of adapting to constant
workplace change and continuing to contribute to the labour force.
-- Heather
Dickson, Assistant Deputy Minister, Employment, Government
of BC, Employability Skills Forum, October 2002
- What youth need
most, if they are to contribute to the economic life of their community,
is to be taught how to learn: Teach someone to learn and they will
be employed for life.
-- Laurene
Clark, CEO, Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce,
Employability Skills Forum, October 2002
- While there
was an appreciation of the importance of all aspects of lifelong learning,
most business and labour leaders stressed that the focus should be
on adult and workplace learning. They talked about the importance
of skills upgrading, recognition of credentials of immigrants, inter-provincial
mobility and literacy.
--
Consultations on the Government of Canada’s Proposal to Establish
a Canadian Learning Institute. Levin, Benjamin and
Seward, Shirley. Canadian Labour and Business Centre, February 2003
- The provincial
government should ensure that public post-secondary institutions and
school districts continue to make literacy and basic skill development
an appropriate priority.
-- Closing
the Skills Gap: A Report of the British Columbia Chamber of Commerce
Skill Shortages Initiative, April 2002
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