National Adult Literacy Database

The first major fund-raising campaign by Canada's leading communications foundation has surpassed its goal. The Communications + Public Relations Foundation will use proceeds to conduct original research to establish the profile of today's public relations practitioners and determine the skills and aptitude that Canadian employers will be expecting from public relations professionals in the future.

The Government of Canada has officially launched Canada Summer Jobs 2012, creating thousands of job opportunities for students.

Statistics Canada will use 2011 census results to shine a spotlight on gradual but profound shifts in this aging country – one where the elderly will soon outweigh children as a share of the population and there will be difficulty finding sufficient younger workers to replace those ready to retire.

With an unemployment rate in northern B.C. sitting at 11.5 per cent and layoffs looming at northern colleges, the B.C. government's vaunted BC Jobs Plan is failing northern communities, unions representing post-secondary workers say.

Not all francophone minority communities carry the same weight or have the same institutional support. “On the Acadian peninsula of New Brunswick and in certain regions of Ontario, people can easily obtain services in French. They have institutional support whereas in British Columbia it takes people a long time to obtain services in French. It is important to make that distinction,” says Yvon Laberge, a member of the NALD Board of Directors.

Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of chief financial officers (CFOs) interviewed for a new survey from Accountemps said an employee's sense of humour is important for fitting into the company's corporate culture.

According to a recent national survey reporting on nearly 10,000 Canadian classes, one in every six students has an identified learning exceptionality. In addition, more than one in 10 students in these classes have challenges understanding the school's language of instruction. The survey, conducted by the Canadian Teachers' Federation drew responses from nearly 3,800 teachers, the largest number obtained in a CTF online survey to date.

Ramona Jennex, chair of CMEC and Nova Scotia’s minister of education, says learning opportunities don’t begin and end with the formal school day. "Parents and caregivers are ‘teachers of the world’ for children and serve as guides on the learning journey, whether the trip is to the neighbourhood park, the city next door, or a country halfway around the world.”

"We are committed to increasing the participation of women in science, engineering, trades and technology. To accomplish this, we have to work in partnership with industry, educational institutions, community organizations and unions to provide opportunities for women in non-traditional careers. This is yet another example of jobsHere, our plan to create good jobs and grow the economy, in action." - Marilyn More, Nova Scotia Minister of Labour and Advanced Education

"As New Brunswickers, we have a responsibility to value reading and acknowledge its importance in every child's development," said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Jody Carr. "The Department ... is taking steps to do things more efficiently, free up resources and focus efforts where they will have the most impact – with our children."

Frontier College advises reading with your children at least 15 minutes a day and making praise a part of the activity. In addition, let the child decide what you will read.

Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which is guaranteed them under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

What are provinces doing to boost workplace essential skill levels? The HR Council for the Non-Profit Sector outlines what's happening strategy-wise in Nova Scotia and British Columbia.

"It is time for governments around the world to take urgent action on behalf of the millions of children in need of a decent primary education. A Global Fund for Education would be a bold step in the right direction." - Gordon Brown

CIBC World Markets says in the report that when one considers certain factors — such as trends in full-time employment versus part-time employment, how much of the job market is moving to self-employment and how well compensated new full-time jobs are — the state of affairs is worse than it was a year ago.