National Adult Literacy Database

Insights is an electronic newsletter that highlights important LES research findings for Canada. This issue focuses on employer supports and strategies for workplace LES training. It also includes information about the PIAAC survey for which data will be available in 2013.

Ontario is investing in training and development projects that will support jobs and improve the quality of life for First Nations communities in the Ring of Fire. New projects will focus on providing social, community and economic development supports to First Nations to help them participate in potential Ring of Fire developments.

The National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) is beginning a new year with an updated Vision, Mission and Values/Guiding Principles. NALD staff, under the direction of CEO Bill Stirling, started the renewal process with the NALD Board of Directors, including the CEO, adding the finishing touches and formalizing the new guidelines and the NALD Value Proposition at a recent board meeting.

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.

Skills/Compétences Canada, a national not-for-profit organization that actively promotes careers in skilled trades, has announced that Lowe's will be renewing its Toolbox for Education Grant Program for 2013. This will be the third year that Lowe's, in partnership with Skills/Compétences Canada, offers the program benefiting students and educators in Ontario and Alberta.

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.

"When Essential Skills Ontario (the Ontario Literacy Coalition [OLC] at the time) began in 1987, the skills needs of adults were much different than they are today. Since then, much has changed: our lives, communities and workplaces have become more technologically centric and we have shifted towards a knowledge economy." -- Essential Skills Ontario's Board of Directors and Staff

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.

As the country continues to experience skills shortages in key sectors of the economy, Randstad Canada describes the country's growing shortage of highly skilled labour as critical, predicting shortages in the manufacturing, automation and energy and utility industries.

ABC Life Literacy Canada has announced the 2012 Life Literacy Award winners in recognition of outstanding achievement in adult literacy and essential skills. Awards were presented in the categories of community literacy, workplace education, journalism and corporate excellence.

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.

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.