Encouraging adults to acquire literacy skills involves knowing who we want to reach, designing recruitment strategies to attract the interest of adults, being honest about what we can deliver, treating each individual with dignity and respect, being committed to sound adult learning principles, providing quality service, and having fun together. For all of this to happen demands commitment of energy, enthusiasm and, above all, the necessary resources to do the job.
Advertising and recruitment cannot be performed in a vacuum, or we risk hearing comments such as: "Advertising doesn't live up to its promises!" Satisfied learners are the programs' best ambassadors. "There should definitely be more classes like this. People have to know about them." People cannot be told about them however, if there is not enough room to accommodate everyone and there are already waitlists. This is a dilemma faced by many programs in many parts of Canada. Is the circle closed before it is open?