I remember the early days of workplace education when it was still more of an idea than a reality. My foray into this work began in the hospitality industry (hotels, flight kitchens and fast food restaurants) in Toronto in the mid-eighties. There were few resources available to orient the novice practitioner to workplace education and those available were American or British. In contrast, one can find at least 300 entries for workplace and workforce education on NALD today!

What have we accomplished?
The last decade or so has resulted in the development and demonstration of successful workplace literacy initiatives. There have been strong union-run programs and the development of training centres across the country. There are employers that have embraced workplace literacy and stayed committed to it over the years. Sector initiatives have had success in raising awareness and creating activity with respect to workplace literacy. Practitioners in this field have had the opportunity to develop and hone their skills and knowledge through informal methods and a variety of training opportunities.

In Canada, we are fortunate to have the National Literacy Secretariat (NSL) providing support for literacy with a strong focus on workplace literacy. This has made it possible for developmental and then more substantive work to happen around the country. The NLS program has been non-prescriptive. This has allowed different constituencies to develop their own solutions to the issue. As a result, there has been experimentation in terms of delivery, the development of a variety of resources and tools for practitioners, textbooks, case studies and even research on literacy and work and the value of workplace programs. There are strong structures for workplace literacy in place in several provinces and others are in the process of developing approaches.

There are more informal and formal networks within labour, government, and practitioner groups. And there are more partnerships and networks among these groups locally, regionally, nationally and even internationally. These partnerships would not have been possible ten years ago as constituencies were still in the process of determining their position and approach. The strength of these partnerships has increased interest in workplace literacy on the part of business and labour and created more opportunities for practitioners to share knowledge and develop professionally.

Where do we need to go in the future?
Although we have accomplished a great deal over the last 10-15 years, there is still a long way to go. First, as the world becomes increasingly complex, I believe we need to continue to think about workplace literacy as it is connected to the entirety of workers’ lives and situated within broader workplace practices. Workers state they want and need the opportunity to develop broad skills within this picture.

Second, we must develop better ways of convincing business to invest in training and education and specifically the importance of workplace literacy to their goals and objectives. Ensuring that workplace literacy is part of a larger training and development strategy is one way. Using a sector approach is another. Sector councils and associations have access to large numbers of companies and unions in their industries. They have great potential to move the development of deeper partnerships between business and labour forward and to ensure that their different interests are met. Third, full-time jobs for practitioners as well as opportunities for development and networking are necessary to keep talented, experienced educators from leaving the field.

In the next millennium we will be challenged to develop and provide new kinds of opportunities for people to keep on learning. Part of this challenge will be ensuring that the integrity of the principles and good practice of adult education remain central to these new opportunities.