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Learning For Work

Stream Summary: 

Workplace Literacy and Essential Skills programming is unique to each province and, indeed, to each program site, yet every province shares similar issues. How do we engage employers in workplace education? How do we engage participants? How do we know which programs work? Effective practices, drawn from successful workplace education programs, have been identified as:

  • Speaking the language of the stakeholder (employer, union, student)
  • Embedding learning by using workplace-focused documents
  • Using outcomes-based evaluation

Even more crucial is engaging employers, employees and government stakeholders in order to produce optimal Workplace Literacy and Essential Skills programs. This, in turn, is key to the economic and social well-being of societies, businesses and individuals.

The workshops below highlight effective workplace literacy models and tools, and raise key questions about the evaluation of workplace literacy and learning.

Stream Links: 
WORKFORCE ESSENTIAL SKILLS ACROSS CANADA: PTP's NATIONAL PROJECT (Session 203) – Karen Geraci and Marisa Mazzulla
TIES 2 WORK: BUILDING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN EMPLOYERS AND INDIVIDUALS (Session 503) – Christina Fowler and Cathy Wright
Stream Documents: 
application/pdf iconSession 203 - Karen Geraci & Marisa Mazzulla
application/pdf iconSession 303 - Joyce Bigelow and Lori Farrington
application/pdf iconSession 503 - Christina Fowler & Cathy Wright
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An Occupational-Based Curriculum for Literacy

Presenter(s): 
Joyce Bigelow and Lori Farrington
Session: 
303

An Occupational-Based Curriculum for Literacy and Essential Skills Training

Joyce and Lori outline the development and use of job-based curriculum that focuses learning on a student’s desired employment outcomes and needed skills. Considering labour market needs as well as the abilities and desires of the student, Literacy Link Eastern Ontario worked with occupational skills profiles and developed curriculum based on the concept of embedded learning, using real-life (or job-based) materials, activities and language.

Quotes: 

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How Can We Partner?

Presenter(s): 
Joe Brown and Johanna Faulk
Session: 
403

How Can We Partner to Address Current Literacy Issues?

*Facilitated Networking Discussion

Key learnings from the collaborative networking discussion are: seek out a need, listen attentively, set appropriate goals and be flexible. Joe highlights how partnerships among workers, union, management and education facilitators build expertise, promote understanding, ensure better programming and are cost-effective. Johanna encourages participants to master their elevator speech. Describe your company in two sentences – tell employers why they should care and outline what makes your program unique.

Quotes: 

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Panel Discussion: How Can Canada-East Learn for Work?

Presenter(s): 
John MacLaughlin, Joe Brown, Sandi Howell
Session: 
603

In this session, Joe and Sandi discuss their workplace education programs in Nova Scotia and Manitoba, provinces often cited as leaders in Canadian Workplace Literacy and Essential Skills. Both provinces have a government-led workplace education initiative with an emphasis on cost-sharing and partnership among business, labour, government and practitioners. Both recognize the importance of an adaptable workforce and adaptable workplaces, and suggest embedded learning produces a better workforce and a higher skill base.

Quotes: 

“Partnership is at the root of what we do with business, labour, government and practitioners working together.” – Joe Brown

“Customize, customize, customize. That is the reason the Manitoba programs are still running 20 years later and why people are still banging down our door.” – Sandi Howell

Session Video: 
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Evaluating Workplace Literacy

Presenter(s): 
Kathleen Flanagan and Linda Shohet
Session: 
703

Learning from Manitoba and Nova Scotia

Kathleen and Linda outline their project which is evaluating Manitoba and Nova Scotia Workplace Education programs – the most developed workplace program infrastructures in Canada. Their research shows successfully funded and functioning workplace programs focus on outcomes – changes in companies and changes in workers in the short term and the long term. Kathleen and Linda outline the elements of their workplace program evaluation. Their goal is to develop a research framework based on effectiveness and ethics.

Quotes: 

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