C. An Historical Context in Canada

While English in the Workplace programs have been around since the early seventies, it was not until the mid-eighties that a more concerted effort to address literacy needs in the workplace occurred. The formation of the National Literacy Secretariat in 1988 with a financial stream which addressed workplace literacy through its business/ labour partnerships initiative paved the way for the development of the field of workplace education and workplace educators. In the mid-eighties, there was little Canadian material in terms of any kind of practitioner resources, research or professional development for workplace education. In 1984, the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Culture sponsored a two-week practitioner institute. Staff from the National Institute for Industrial Language Training (NCLIT) shared a holistic approach to workplace education in multicultural workplaces. Several western provinces sent representatives to the institute. This institute represented the first significant, large-scale attempt to offer development to those who would later practise workplace education. Following that event, a number of practitioner institutes for workplace education were offered in Ontario and Nova Scotia during the late eighties. As other provinces developed their approaches to workplace education, other practitioner development opportunities followed.

In contrast to the mid-eighties, the dawning of the millennium represents a very different story. Today there are innumerable Canadian and international resources on workplace education. These resources represent "how to" guides, case studies, research, specific curriculum, trainer the trainer programs and other areas related to workplace education. Most provinces and territories have offered some kind of practitioner development for workplace education over the last decade. The National Adult Literacy Database reported over 300 workplace entries on its database.

D. The Colleagues and the Questions

This paper focuses on the role of the workplace educator. I have defined the term workplace educator as someone who is connected to the learning process in the broadest sense. Within this definition, the workplace educator can play a variety of roles including instructor, researcher, needs assessor, program developer, instructor trainer, mentor, educational advocate and more.