A longitudinal research project in the UK (Enhancing 'Skills for Life': Adult Basic Skills and
Workplace Learning, 2003–2008) that has been tracking outcomes from workplace literacy for
individuals (over 400 employees) and their employers found that “very few examples of direct
impact in narrowly economic terms”
were reported by employers. The study concluded that
“government policy makers were mistaken in expecting immediate and major effects on
productivity” (Wolf 2008: 1). Other studies have found otherwise. For example, in the US, the
state of Indiana is reported to have experienced “an overall state return on investment (ROI) of
148 percent for companies that invested in workplace education programs”
(Parker 2007: 3-4).
Similarly, although no figures were given, a study of twenty-seven Australian employers
offering workplace literacy and essential skills training to their workers found “improved
organizational performance and enhanced bottom line”
(Townsend and Waterhouse 2008: 8).
Gray’s review of the literature identified a cluster of “best practice” components relating to workplace literacy and essential skills training, what a recent and comprehensive document put out by the US Council for Adult and Experiential Learning termed the “building blocks for building skills” (CAEL 2006). These continue to inform the discussion and design of programs.
The Enhancing 'Skills for Life' longitudinal study in the UK concluded that, “Learning
programmes initiated by and within workplaces are the ones that survive long-term”
. In other
words, employer “commitment” is crucial to the “stability” and “sustainability” of workplace
literacy and essential skills training efforts (Wolf 2008: I). An in-depth review of a number of
workplace initiatives in the US came to the same conclusion, linking employer engagement,
“participation and support” to a program’s “impact” and ability to “endure”
(Rosen 2007: 10).
The issue is underlined in other literature, which places employer commitment and willingness
to make learning “a priority” at the top of the list of ingredients for success (Gray 2006: 25-6;
Townsend and Waterhouse 2008: 8; Gray and Sutton 2007: 41).
Unpublished research produced by Workbase Training in the UK in the mid-1990s also
underscores the importance of employer commitment to providing training and learning
opportunities below the managerial level. It appears to shape worker perceptions of being valued
and supported in rapidly changing economic conditions and workplaces where anxiety can ran
high. The research suggests that these perceptions feed into worker self-confidence, a lack of
which was identified in the study as a major barrier to participating in workplace training
programs (particularly among workers with low literacy and numeracy skills). According to the
study, where workers are “recognized” and encouraged to improve their skills by committed
employers, confidence can improve, providing an important stimulus to workplace training and,
as workers themselves indicated, “enhanced performance”, adaptation to new responsibilities
and technology, and “a more effective contribution to team-[work]”
(Workbase Training 1996:
9-10, 12).
Recent research in the UK stresses “the wider organizational environment”
in which workplace
training is offered, which can either “support” or “undermine” investment in learning. Studies
suggest that, for training investments to pay off, programs need to be supported by “learning
rich working environments”
(Taylor, Evans and Mohamed 2008: 9). Gray and others mention
the “adoption of new management practices”
actively supportive of learning, in particular
becoming a “learning organization”
. Such an organization, described by some as “high-
performance”
(CCL 2007; Jurmo 2004: 25-6), generally has “a greater commitment to the
development of the potential of the individual employee, rather than a straightforward
commitment to raising the overall level of skills or volume of training”
. There is a “can-do”,
positive climate in these workplaces, characterized by respect, a desire to make learning as
accessible as possible, the use of multiple learning approaches that are connected to the work at
hand, curiosity about learning, and a team-working approach to problem solving at all levels
within the organization (Gray 2006: 4, 31-2, 36-7; Townsend and Waterhouse 2008: 8;
Folinsbee 2007: 23-4; WfDB 2007: 21; CAEL 2006: 70, 73-4).