Workplace Literacy

In 1999 the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union established the National Literacy Project to increase awareness among union members and local union officers about literacy, and to examine the literacy demands and literacy learning needs experienced by CEP members today.

This manual is designed for use by instructors in workplace education programs to assist them in their roles in developing and instructing.

This report profiles some of the professional development opportunities made available to Workplace Education practitioners across Canada at the local, regional or national level in recent years.

An organization may have employees who lack the necessary basic skills (i.e. reading, writing, numeracy, problem solving, communication, and decision making) or job-specific skills. As well, the number of young entrants into the labour market is expected to decrease by 25% during the nineties. Organizations must therefore deal with the issue of workplace education if they wish to remain competitive.

Canada's economic and social prosperity depends on the strengths and skills of our citizens. To prosper in the new economy, we must develop policies that nurture these skills and we must create a culture that values life-long learning. A sound literacy foundation is key to achieving both of these goals.

The goal of adult basic education programs is to see the student make the transition to permanent, meaningful employment or to postsecondary studies that will lead eventually to such employment. While most adult students will achieve the goal, a minority of students will not. However, while those students don’t achieve the major program goal, their educational experiences can still improve their lives.

This research report provides a synopsis of the major issues and trends with respect to the issue of literacy and the Canadian workforce, and offers recommendations for government policy makers.

The purpose of this research was to review other public awareness campaigns throughout Canada for Workplace Literacy programs.

These programs ranged from formally planned and orchestrated campaigns with collateral materials, to informal networking and partnership building.

The forum was attended by 30 practitioners in Winnipeg, Manitoba in March, 1999. Mentoring and networking, both electronic and in-person, have created other important opportunities for professional development. Now, documenting and recognizing the growing expertise, helps with continued growth and diversification of the field.

This resource guide is the end result of a three-day training conference held in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, in November 2000, on common assessment for the native stream. Conference participants agreed that “common assessment” referred to the use of similar language, direction and process for literacy assessment.