National Adult Literacy Database

Aboriginal peoples are gaining ground in Canada's population, but they are losing their languages. And their family structure is dramatically different than other Canadian families, with less than half of children living with both their parents. The rest are in single-parent homes, living with relatives or step-parents, or in foster homes. Indeed, half the foster children in Canada under the age of 14 are aboriginal, according to the National Household Survey.

A highly qualified and mobile skilled trades workforce is critical to Canada's productivity and competitiveness. By helping Canadians connect with available jobs and putting a priority on skills and training, we are ensuring continued economic growth, job creation and long-term prosperity.

Nearly half of the 46 mid-sized Canadian cities covered in The Conference Board of Canada's first Mid-Sized Cities Outlook 2013 have not recovered all the jobs lost during the recession, based on historical economic data between 2005 and 2012.

If you are involved in the provision of Literacy and Essential Skills programs and services, exclusively or as part of other services you deliver, to adults, as a paid teacher/instructor, skills assessor, program/curriculum developer, administrator, coordinator or manager, this survey is for you.

Many parents feel the need to give financial support to their grown children well into adulthood, from welcoming them back home after graduation day to helping them pay off their credit card. In fact, one-in-five Boomers (19%) admit they would consider putting their own security and financial future at risk to help support their adult children.

"I feel honoured and grateful to have worked with the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Literacy Network Inc. since 2005. After much consideration, the time has come for me to step down and pass on the leadership of this worthy organization. I would like to thank the many colleagues I have met over the years for your support and challenges." -- Carol Vandale, Executive Director

The Summer Aboriginal Literacy Camps are day camps that are run by Frontier College in Aboriginal communities across the country. The impetus for the camps, now in their seventh year, is to provide activities that are fun yet educational for Aboriginal children, ensuring that their reading levels remain the same or improve during the summer months.

The four Atlantic premiers have agreed, through the Atlantic Workforce Partnership, to harmonize apprenticeship programs across the region and deliver online training to small and medium-sized businesses. This will make the region a national leader in the delivery of critical skills training.

One of the organizers of Reading Week in Jamaica, Yvette Rodney, said socioeconomic conditions are a major factor in promoting reading. "We hope to have the children more interested in reading because most, if not all of them, are from the inner city and they don't really have the books," she said. "We hope to pique their interests to get them excited about reading."

Beginning in January 2014, the GED® test will move from a paper-based to a computer-based format, which simply means that you will complete the test using a computer and not on paper. The test content will remain the same – five tests: Language Arts, Reading; Language Arts, Writing; Social Studies; Science; and Math.

Overly restrictive and “antiquated” provincial regulations are contributing to a shortage of young apprentices and starving the economy of badly needed skilled workers, according to a C.D. Howe Institute study.

Business education has an important role to play in boosting Canada’s edge in the digital age by combining masters of business administration (MBA) programs with technology management skills, industry experts say.