2.5 Program Goals
Many early program goals reflected the need to address immediate problems in the workplace, such as health and safety issues, revised job descriptions leading to new hiring policies, meeting the requirements of provincial certification programs, managing internal promotions and improving internal communications. Often very specific literacy programs were designed solely to solve the immediate set of problems and were delivered on a limited basis.

An example of such a program was demonstrated at the City of Ottawa. A problem was identified by training staff in one branch of a single, large department. A delicate partnership was formed between Corporate Human Resources, the department in question and the union. A 'pilot' program using the Basic Education Skills Training model (BEST) was designed and implemented to address the immediate needs of the employees concerned. Once the needs had been met, the program was not renewed or extended. Although the results in the area in questions were positive and significant, jurisdictional issues, the lack of a good set of evaluation tools and continuing problems over the scheduling of class time marred the marketability of the program to other parts of the organization and weakened the opportunity to make it an established program.

Later programs chose to associate literacy with the concept of ongoing development and designed programs that were part of the organization's Training and Development program, providing access to all employees who might wish to improve their literacy skills in a variety of areas and on many levels. The introduction of such continuous learning programs that increased skills in the workplace and in the personal lives of employees did much to remove the stigma attached to low literacy levels. Such programs forged lasting partnerships for literacy between management and unions and formed new partnerships with other community resources.

2.6 Union Involvement
In all cases where a union was in place, it was involved in program implementation. Unions were partners from the outset in providing ongoing input and support to programs. They played a major role in marketing programs, advising members of opportunities, lending credibility to programs and in championing participant confidentiality. The labour-management partnership was an opportunity to work together collaboratively toward a goal of mutual concern. These partnerships were protected and kept separate from other workplace-contentious issues.