National Adult Literacy Database

Through a new Lighthouses Program Partnership program in Nova Scotia, about 20 girls will participate in job training and other activities, which will help create friendships and build positive support networks. Some of the girls are helping to develop activities to meet the needs of the group.

Preliminary 2012 data and revised 2007 to 2011 data on provincial and territorial labour productivity and its related variables for the business sector by industry are now available.

Walking along the street, you could pass by someone and never realize they struggle with literacy. Literacy Nova Scotia Executive Director Jayne Hunter says four in 10 adults in Nova Scotia have real challenges with literacy. Literacy Nova Scotia is located in Forrester Hall on Nova Scotia Community College’s Truro campus. For more information, please call (902) 897-2444, visit www.ns.literacy.ca, or find them on Facebook and Twitter.

In the coming months, the Government of Canada will take several steps to bring players together and stimulate innovative ideas for addressing social and economic challenges. The Government will look to leaders in the social finance sector, such as the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, the Centre for Impact Investing at MaRS, Vancouver City Savings Credit Union, Social Capital Partners, and others to help identify a way forward.

Learning disabilities are commonly considered a school-based issue; but struggling in school means struggling in life. This makes learning to be confident and acquiring a healthy mental attitude a particular challenge for those with learning disabilities. With children and youth as this year's focus for Mental Health Awareness Week, I would like to call attention to the relationship between mental health issues and learning disabilities.

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.

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.

Work is where confidence matters most and if we develop poor confidence at work, reversing it is a must. There’s nothing innate about poor confidence. It comes from negative thoughts and experiences. To develop workplace confidence, therefore, we simply need to replace this negativity with positive thinking and actions.

The Labour Market Study is surveying individuals involved in the delivery of Literacy and Essential Skills (L/ES) services in a variety of roles. Whether you are an instructor, trainer, coordinator, assessor, program manager, supervisor, administrator or have another role in L/ES program delivery, this survey includes you.

Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, and Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, have announced reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. “Canada is experiencing significant skills shortages in many sectors and regions, and Canadians must always have first crack at job opportunities when they become available,” said Minister Finley.

The province is taking steps to make sure international students studying at language schools in Nova Scotia receive a high-quality education. Nova Scotia is the first province to introduce legislation that will regulate language schools.

There’s still time to participate in Canadian Literacy and Learning Network’s (CLLN’s) national survey of the Literacy and Essential Skills (L/ES) workforce. The survey is scheduled to end on April 30.

This is a reminder that the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) has taken steps to enhance its popular online library. NALD library users have the opportunity to post their comments when accessing and making use of online resources. This interactive feature is designed to help promote the high calibre of the NALD library offerings and also to assist users in their search for resources that are best suited to their purposes.

I DO BUSINESS - National Summit & Tradeshow was held on March 4-6, 2013 in Toronto. The three-day event was a great success, with over 150 individuals participating from coast to coast to coast. This National Summit boasted a variety of top-notch speakers on business and Aboriginal Entrepreneurship. Participants also noted that the networking opportunities were excellent, with many people leaving the event with binders full of business cards representing new opportunities and new friends.