Executive Summary

Canadian promoters of workplace basic skills programs are commonly asked for evidence about the impact of programs on the workplace. Even with mounting information on the need for a more literate workforce, program promotion has become more difficult. Companies are increasingly focused on bottom-line considerations: "What," they ask, "is the payback for us?"

Though there is a substantial body of literature about workplace literacy, virtually none is Canadian, and very little is in a form that would be useful for promoting programs to sceptical workplaces. ABC CANADA hopes that the current study will provide information for effective, peer-based promotional strategies that will be useful in a broad range of contexts.

This report is based on the results of telephone interviews with 86 individuals from 53 workplaces across Canada. The study includes a diverse range of workplace types and sizes from both large and small communities. Every attempt was made to interview an employer and an employee representative from each workplace. Ninety-three percent of the eligible workplaces contacted were able to participate. Respondents were asked to describe the motivations of their workplaces for starting basic skills programs; the ways in which their workplaces organize the programs; and the impact of the programs on their workplaces.

Based on this study of 53 workplaces, it can be stated without reservation, that basic skills pro- grams are having a dramatically positive impact on workplaces in Canada. Regardless. of their position - whether company owners, human resources people, labour representatives, or participants themselves - the word is the same: workplace basic skills programs work. Representatives from all levels, and from all types of workplaces concur that basic skills education influences not only soft, "warm fuzzy" factors such as confidence levels, but also hard, bottom-line factors as well.

Study highlights:

• Central among the motivators for Canadian workplaces to start basic skills programs is the increased need for reading, writing, and verbal communication due to training requirements and technological developments.
• Half of workplace basic skills programs are coordinated by joint labour-management committees. A further 47% are coordinated by the company alone, through its training department (in 12% of cases) or by appointed individuals (in 35% of cases).
• In 96% of the workplaces surveyed, employees enter the basic skills programs on a voluntary basis.
• Over half the workplace basic skills programs are held on a combination of employer and employee time. In 32% of the workplaces, programs are held on employee time alone. The remaining 17% of programs are on employer time.
• Ninety-seven percent of respondents report that basic skills programs increase the confidence level of program participants.
• Ninety-four percent of respondents state that basic skills programs positively influence participants reading, writing and oral communication skills in ways that benefit the workplace.

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