National Adult Literacy Database

Through the Skills and Training Plan, the B.C. government is committed to accelerating student transition to the workforce by exposing students to technical trades and skills and by expanding opportunities for students to begin apprenticeships before graduation and earn graduation credits.

The purpose of the State of the Literacy and Essential Skills Field report is to provide an overview of Literacy and Essential Skills across Canada from the unique perspective of CLLN and its national network partners, the provincial and territorial literacy coalitions. This is the first national environmental scan to be conducted by CLLN and as such it will inform the direction of future scans and will be the basis of further work to show how the Literacy and Essential Skills field is responding to trends.

The Centre for Excellence in Foundational Learning at Bow Valley College is looking for experienced adult education practitioners to serve on an advisory committee for an innovative adult writing assessment project titled Write Forward. Members will assist in reviews of project design and development through all stages, and assist with networking and promotion of the project across Canada.

ABC Life Literacy Canada would like to help employers build a better skilled, more resilient and effective workforce. If you are the company owner, general manager or HR manager, the organization would appreciate your completing this survey.

The eMentoring program is geared to aboriginal youth in grades 6 through 12. Those who participate get matched with a UBC health-sciences student (who could be studying anything from nursing to physical therapy), and from there they connect via an online platform that allows for safe, secure discussions and semi-structured activities.

To mark the beginning of Financial Literacy Month, CCFL has launched the Financial Literacy Evaluation Resource Kit, a complete set of tools to enable community organizations to measure, report on, and enhance the impact of their financial literacy education activities. This initiative was funded by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada.

Ushering in Financial Literacy Month in Canada, Scotiabank has announced the introduction of a global financial literacy strategy to support communities in Canada and across Scotiabank's global network.

It is clear that finding and using sources of sound financial information and advice and being able to manage one's own financial affairs effectively are more important than ever for Canadians. In recognition of these challenges, a number of organizations have joined together to raise awareness of the issues, to help find solutions, and to declare November 2012 as the second annual Financial Literacy Month in Canada.

The skill areas where respondents experience the most challenges in working with distressed employees are communicating effectively and understanding their own emotional reactions. Survey results showed that nearly one-third of managers/supervisors had some challenges in these areas.

Decoda's Workplace Wednesday connects you with resources that link literacy to business, industry and the workplace. Today’s resource is a review of essential skills literacy initiatives in Ontario.

Sandi Howell is Provincial Manager, Sector Council Program, Essential Skills and RPL, at Industry Workforce Development (IWD), in Manitoba’s Department of Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade. She also serves as the province’s strategic advisor to Workplace Education Manitoba.

Organizations that focus on developing healthy workplaces enjoy tangible benefits. These take the form of increased productivity, higher staff engagement, lower absenteeism, lower benefits claims costs, lower turnover, and greater resilience. Returns on healthy workplace investments reported by large private-sector organizations can range from $1.81 to $6.15 for every $1 invested.

The B.C. government has committed $250,000 for the two-year First Nations Forestry Technician Training Program, being offered at numerous college and universities across the province, including College of New Caledonia and Vancouver Island University.

Over the past 18 months, the Canadian Literacy and Learning Network (CLLN) has been engaged in a series of research projects exploring the links between literacy and earnings, resulting in the complex Literacy and Earnings Project.

Business leaders recognize that investment in people has a direct impact on the bottom line. Raising awareness of this relationship is the goal of Learn@Work Week, an initiative of the Canadian Society for Training and Development (CSTD). This year, CSTD recognizes 16 senior business leaders who understand this relationship and are active advocates of learning in the workplace.