National Adult Literacy Database

“Ministers of education recognize that Canada works best when all citizens have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed,” said Ramona Jennex, Minister of Education for Nova Scotia and current Chair of CMEC. “This means there can be no one left behind: young people, adult workers, Aboriginal Canadians, new immigrants, and those with differing abilities. All must have access to quality educational opportunities to ensure their success.”

Adult learning in Canada and around the world since the Second World War owes a great deal to a handful of Canadians who continue to provide leadership today. Although adult education has been practised in Canada since the early 19th century, it wasn’t until after the war that it developed its own formal field of study.

For the 10th anniversary of International Adult Learners' Week in Canada (IALW) 2012, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO would like to stress the urgent need to reach a broader public. Better synergy among stakeholders facilitates the sharing of lessons learned, as well as its giving greater visibility to learners across the country, the organization says.

Lindsay Kennedy, president and CEO of CLLN, says, “We would like to ask you to join Canadian Literacy and Learning Network in celebrating adult learners during the week of March 24 to April 1, seek out and listen to adult learners across the country, and be part of the force of change that life-long learning can bring to Canada.”

See the Creative Writing submissions on "Good Learning Anywhere," a not-for-profit, MTCU-supported, online learning organization whose focus is on reaching adult Aboriginal learners in northern communities in Ontario. Their programs are open to all adult learners within Ontario.

Since it was introduced in the fall of 2010, full-day kindergarten has become popular with parents and teachers. It is being gradually rolled out and won’t be in every school in Ontario until the fall of 2014.

In 2012-2013 CLLN, funded by OLES, will conduct a large-scale survey of L/ES practitioners to get a comprehensive picture of who works in the L/ES field. The study will allow CLLN to provide a picture of the demographics of L/ES practitioners as well as what kinds of work they do, where they do it and how they do it.

Experts say there is already a shortage of 50,000 skilled trade workers in Canada — and this number is expected to rise significantly in the coming decades. The Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities estimates the need for a million new skilled trade workers by 2020.

March 24 to April 1, 2012, is International Adult Learners' Week. Members of Canada's literacy and essential skills community want to know how YOU continue to learn throughout the years.

Dr. Philip Hunter, a director in PwC's People and Change practice, believes that Gen Xers are perhaps being "squeezed" by older workers delaying retirement, and younger, more aggressive Gen Ys intent on rising through the ranks quickly.

Good Reads authors Joy Fielding and Deborah Ellis sat down with ABC Life Literacy Canada to discuss the writing process for adult learners, why they love writing for the Good Reads program, and even shared a bit about themselves.

There's no question that some job-search approaches are more productive than others. Richard Bolles devotes several pages of his book What Colour Is Your Parachute? to exploring the most and least effective angles.

Compared to 12 months earlier, employment in Canada was up by 121,000 (+0.7%), with the bulk of the increase occurring in the first half of the period, according to the new Labour Force Survey results from Statistics Canada.

The participants in the Yorkton Friendship Centre’s project will attend life and employability workshops that focus on topics such as resumé writing, communication and leadership. They will then apply their new skills and gain hands-on experience through work placements with local employers.

There are three components to the problem of labour shortages. The first two – an aging and shrinking work force, and a knowledge-skills shortage – have been well documented. But the third is a shortage of the essential skills required in any job.