National Adult Literacy Database

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.

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.

A new publication in the NALD Library could serve as a wakeup call for Canadians interested in or concerned about the future of the workforce. A follow-up to People without Jobs, Jobs without People (2010), Dr. Rick Miner’s latest work is entitled Jobs of the Future: Options and Opportunities (2012).

Through a competitive process, the Sectoral Initiatives Program will fund partnership-based projects that are national in scope and that support the development of labour market intelligence to help address skills shortages in key sectors of Canada’s economy.

We invite you to send us information about events you may be hosting in your community or projects you may be working on to mark the occasion on or around September 8, 2012.

Social finance is an approach to investment or managing money that aims to deliver social and/or environmental benefits. Social finance models are being widely explored as potential new sources of funding to address social/environmental issues. Since these investments must produce both a social and a financial return, proponents assume that social finance approaches are more likely to generate innovative practices and better performance by funding recipients.

After nearly 20 years of operation, the Nunavut Implementation Training Committee (NITC) closed its doors for the last time in the spring. The organization provided scholarships, workshops, and employment training for Inuit in Nunavut.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada has awarded $199,721 to support a partnership project that targets university students at risk for academic difficulties because of a history of unidentified reading difficulties. NALD is part of the project’s knowledge dissemination team.

A career coach says victims of workplace bullying can't be afraid to complain to the company or even to take legal action. You need to stand up for yourself, and you must do it immediately. You should begin by documenting the instances of the behaviour that you feel is bullying in as much detail as possible.

The third annual Essential Skills Day will take place September 21, 2012, to raise awareness of the nine essential skills as defined by the Government of Canada and the importance of training in the workplace.

Business owners in Alberta (73.3) and Saskatchewan (72.5) have collectively been the most optimistic in Canada for 11 consecutive months, while entrepreneurs in Manitoba (65.9), New Brunswick (65.7) and British Columbia (65.6) are comfortably above the national average, and those in Newfoundland and Labrador (61.3) are close to average.

In times of economic uncertainty and ever-changing information technology, organizations – whether in the public domain or private sector – are often obligated to sit back, reflect and re-evaluate their activities and priorities. With this in mind, the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) is adapting some of its services and setting a new course for the future.

The Essential Skills Good Practice Guide from the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) was produced as a result of the Working with the Community project focusing on the development of Essential Skills (ES) tools and practices.