The participants of the Effective Communication in the Workplace course approached the question of how to deal with the ending of the workplace program by conducting a brainstorming session. This helped determine what their next steps should be given all the learning that had transpired. The class members indicated their desire to develop a tool that would encourage the flow of information and communication among all employees within the organization, namely in the form of an Employee Handbook that would cover associated policies and procedures. The class felt very strongly that all employees needed to know and understand this type of company information. Given the small size of the organization information on the policies and procedures existed, but was not readily available in a single document. They felt that by taking on the task of writing and distributing an Employee Handbook with some assistance from an advisor, would not only demonstrate the use of all the communication skills they had acquired in the course, but would also serve as a way to move forward from the classroom setting. They believed that this project was a real work related opportunity to evaluate their skill retention.

The participants of the basic level Essential Skills class reported that they could now communicate effectively with their co-workers, deal with their day-to-day paperwork, and understand what was being said in the quarterly employee meetings. They also indicated that continued classes at the workplace were not necessary. However, what they did want was to have more opportunities to practice their skills. All of these basic level learners had participated in cross training. Moreover, they had been placed in teams where English was the common language. They strongly felt that this experience, more than anything else had contributed to the strengthening of their English skills. In addition, these teams consisted of employees who supported the training program. They took a keen interest in the material that was covered in class and helped their co-workers to study.