“Government employees need to learn screening techniques and know about the resources in the community … Government departments are not working together enough.” – Government Representative during Consultation

“Guiding principles are collaboration and partnership around facilities and programming, networking and student-focused courses.” – Educator during Consultation

“We need more business and education partnerships so students can better meet the needs of today’s economy.” – Employer in the Supplemental Business/Labour Telephone Survey

“Government has the responsibility to ensure society understands the importance of education (staying in school and getting training and upgrading). We need a culture of knowledge seekers.” – Union Representative in the Supplemental Business/Labour Telephone Survey

• Many people expressed the need for more collaboration and partnership within their communities.

• Networking in this field is crucial for clients because they need a variety of resources. All agencies need to know what other groups are doing to empower the client – and they need to work together in a collaborative and client-centered approach. Often, agencies don’t listen to the real needs of the client.

• Some School Districts expressed a desire to work more closely with the medical profession, with child development agencies, and with the Ministry for Children and Families. They also talked to us about the need for greater networking and collaboration among school districts.

• Repeatedly throughout the consultation, people expressed a need for more strategic cooperation and collaboration among the social, economic, community development, and employment agencies in their communities. They believe their strategies and interventions – particularly around upgrading – need to be coordinated because they share so many of the same clients. Many expressed a frustration at the “shuffle them off to another office” approach.

• Agency clients today need “systems literacy” just to navigate through the bureaucracies that supposedly serve them. We need there to be better inter-agency knowledge and networking among agencies so that clients can be sensitively transitioned to whatever services they need.

• An integrated, community-wide approach to helping people also requires appropriate technology. Systems need to be in place, for example, that link literacy to other issues from the point of intake, no matter what the agency.

• Community mapping is seen to be useful in providing a community with an inventory of their assets and an indication of where there may be gaps in services. In the case of literacy, it would assist agencies in knowing where to direct clients who need upgrading – and of what options are available, depending on the client’s needs.