National Adult Literacy Database

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.

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.

An overwhelming majority of Canadians (94 per cent) believe that small businesses play a critical role in the growth of the economy and almost nine-in-10 (88 per cent) view them as vital job creators, according to an RBC/Ipsos Reid survey.

Consulting firm Towers Watson says it has found evidence that employers with a fully engaged workforce tend to have higher profit margins. The firm’s study covered some 32,000 employees, including 1,000 in Canada. It found that about two-thirds of the Canadian employees surveyed weren’t “fully engaged” in their work and felt frustrated by the level of support they receive.

Businesses that successfully hire and retain Aboriginal workers benefit in more ways than just finding qualified employees. Employing Aboriginal workers helps organizations build stronger connections and relationships within their local communities. Businesses become more diverse and inclusive when they tap into the talents of Aboriginal workers, and Aboriginal peoples who are successful in the workplace act as role models for others in their communities.

The Globe and Mail newspaper conducted a survey of student readers, asking whether they thought their summer earnings would cover their expenses for the school year. Of more than 150 respondents, 87 per cent said they had found a summer job, and 13 per cent said they were unemployed.

In June, employment was little changed for the second consecutive month and the unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 7.2 per cent, as fewer people searched for work. Compared with 12 months earlier, employment increased 1.0 per cent or 181,000.

The Centre de documentation sur l’éducation des adultes et la condition féminine (CDÉACF), located in Montreal, has won the NALD Innovative Technology Award for its new online repository: Compétencesessentielles.ca - 9 Compétences Essentielles pour apprendre, travailler et vivre.

"CUPE has a proud history of supporting our First Nations, Inuit and Métis members. Our National Aboriginal Council works to increase participation of Aboriginal peoples in our union, and promotes and defends the rights of Aboriginal workers in both our union and in the community." - Paul Moist, national president, and Charles Fleury, national secretary-treasurer