The Conference Board of Canada conducted a major research study, "The Economic Benefits of Improving Literacy Skills in the Workplace."was to help employers and individuals my informed decisions about literacy in the workplace by clearly demonstrating the economic benefits of enhancing literacy skills in the workplace so that businesses in Canada can improve their performance and emplayees can succeed within the workplace.

"Workers with higher literacy skills earn more income, are less likely to be unemployed, experience greater opportunities for job mobility, are likely to find full-time rather than part-time work and are more likely to receive further training. "

Copies of the full report can be obtained from the Conference Board of Canada, 255 Smyth Rd., Ottawa, ON, K2P 0X6. Fax: 613-526-4857. A limited number of copies are available from the Development Office.

Laubach Literacy of Canada bids farewell and a heartfelt "thanks" to Cate Durant, Program Development Coordinator of LLC's Family Literacy workshop series, Creating a Learning Culture in the Home.

Cate's two year project saw the development of three workshops: Access to Reading, Reading to Write, Writing to Read and Building Self-Esteem Through Communication.

Best wishes for all your future plans, Cate.

Hi LLC members and trainers. This is my first "Trainer's Corner" as new Chairperson of the Training and Certification (T & C) committee. I would like to extend an invitation to everyone, trainers, tutors and students alike, to contact me or your Provincial Training Officer (PTO) with any concerns, questions or suggestions you have regarding training offered by LLC.

To update you on training in Canada, the main theme recently has been quality and standards. The T & C committee has revised the requirements for becoming a certified trainer. Apprenticing Trainers - Literacy must now participate in at least six workshops (up from three) and do a mandatory "observation workshop." While most trainers were meeting these standards anyway, the committee felt it should make them official criteria for certification. T & C is also developing a comprehensive description of the Role of the PTO, as well as a Policy Manual. These documents will help ensure there is consistency across the country.

The Literacy Trainer Handbook and the Instructor of Writing Handbook are currently under revision. The new Instructor of Writing Handbook should be available early in 1998. A Peer Youth Tutor Training Manual is also in the works.

As a committee, T & C is taking a hard look at the accountability of trainers and at ways of measuring our success. We hope all of these efforts will produce better trainers, workshops and tutors - and most importantly - a more literate Canada.

Congratulations to the following LLC trainers who were certified at the June '97 Training and Certification committee meeting.