Posted: May 1, 2013 |

Categories: Essential skills, Learning
“Throughout its long history, the literacy and essential skills field has continually evolved and adapted in response to the changing needs of adults. This timeline captures some of the important people, events, initiatives and other influences that have helped shape the literacy and essential skills field in Canada over the past 200 years.” -- Essential Skills Ontario
Young Inuit children are growing up with fast-evolving technology but some parents fear their traditional language skills just can't keep up. That's what inspired one Iqaluit father to create educational software for children in the Inuit language.
Beyond reading, homework, educational games and visiting the library, the poll identified different activities that might be helpful with literacy and numeracy - such as involving kids in chores and cooking. Only 14 per cent said they always use paying their bills as a learning opportunity, with 19 per cent using the sorting and matching potential of laundry.
Posted: January 9, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
Sit on the sidelines of a child's soccer or baseball game and you will see both men and women handling work issues from their cellphones or iPads while cheering from the bleachers. Today, the workplace goes wherever we go, and these parents are trying to juggle it all.
Posted: January 9, 2012 |

Category: Learning
A First Nations Education Act could arrive before Parliament this year, aimed at breaking the cycle of failure on reserve schools and representing one of the most important and unexpected priorities for the Harper government.
The new year is here and with it come promises of change – eating healthier foods, going to the gym, getting a new job. But beyond the traditional resolutions, improving your literacy skills can help you make the ultimate change.
Family literacy programs are offered in communities all over Canada and are directed towards parents to provide them with tools and strategies to support their children’s learning on a daily basis.
Posted: January 6, 2012 |

Categories: Essential skills, Learning
The intent of the new law is to deter the most damaging and deceptive forms of spam from occurring in Canada. Spam includes more than unsolicited commercial messages. It has become the vehicle for a wide range of threats to online commerce affecting individuals, businesses and network providers.
Posted: January 6, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
Canadian workplaces lead developed countries in giving employees access to technology and allowing workplace flexibility, but are far behind what’s happening in developing countries, according to a new survey.
Posted: January 6, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
After two consecutive months of declines, the Canadian economy created jobs again, though the unemployment rate still inched up to 7.5 per cent from 7.4 as more people looked for work and outpaced the gains.
Posted: January 5, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
Canadians across three generations want to retire before 65 but will they be financially prepared to achieve that goal? According to the TD Age of Retirement Report, 61 is the average age of expected retirement for Canadians, and the average is lower for those in Generation X (ages 31-46) who plan to retire at age 60, and those in Generation Y (ages 25-30) who plan to retire at age 59.
Posted: January 4, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
The first thing Kyle Vuchko didn't know about Internet business was how hard it was going to be to start one. Now he could write a book about it. "Also, being in an investor-backed company, you have to think about return on investment, the lifetime value of a customer and cost of (customer) acquisition," he said.
Posted: January 4, 2012 |

Category: Learning
“Education is a priority of this government and I need input from people of all ages and backgrounds to ensure this new legislation reflects the values and priorities that Albertans place on their education system,” said Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk.
Posted: January 3, 2012 |

Category: Learning
Why do we as English Canadians speak the way we do? How do people abroad distinguish us from our American cousins and what is a Canadian anyway? Sarah Elaine Eaton looks at these issues in her paper: Canadian English: Not Just a Hybrid of British and American English.
Posted: January 3, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
Michelle Durant-Dudley's goal was simple: to ensure that First Nations people had the credentials they needed to take full advantage of emerging job opportunities, rather than being relegated to the back rooms. “It’s like being in a candy store, but you can’t touch anything,” she said. “They see these great jobs, but they’re stuck in housekeeping.”
Posted: January 3, 2012 |

Category: Learning
A professor at the University of New Brunswick has been named one of the top 10 Canadian news makers in education technology for 2011 by one of the country's leading consulting firms. Steve Pierce, director of the Atlantic Centre for Educational Administration and Leadership with the university's faculty of education, joined the likes of David Suzuki, the British Columbia Premier's Council and digital media company Bitstrips Inc. on Mindshare Learning's second annual list.
Posted: January 3, 2012 |

Category: Learning
Following a year in which Canadians were reminded about the benefits of financial literacy, a CIBC poll reveals they are increasingly seeing the value in setting financial goals for themselves, and are confident they'll reach these goals.
Posted: December 23, 2011 |

Category: Essential skills
New numbers from the Corporate Executive Board’s quarterly study of 20,000 employees over the second half of 2011 took a look at the biggest drivers of employee retention – that is, the reasons people choose to stay loyal to their company – and found that it’s not about the money in the post-recession workforce.
Posted: December 23, 2011 |

Category: Learning
A descendant of Irish immigrants, Paul Martin points to himself and other non-aboriginals. "Our ancestors were not treated very well," said Martin, adding that later generations were successful thanks to strong schooling.
Posted: December 23, 2011 |

Category: Essential skills
Newfoundland and Labrador is in the midst of an unprecedented energy and resources boom that is straining the province’s ability to keep up. Finding enough workers to complete some $43-billion worth of major projects under way and planned is proving to be a monumental challenge.
How can you help support hunger and literacy at the same time? Turn your Family Literacy Day event into a food drive. Encourage families that attend your event to bring a non-perishable food item that you can then donate to your local food bank.
Participate in the Family Literacy Day Colouring Contest from now until January 31, 2012, for a chance to win one of 13 Family Literacy Day Raise-a-Reader prize packs! If you haven’t already planned your Family Literacy Day activity for this year, this is a great option for everyone to enjoy on January 27.
Posted: December 22, 2011 |

Category: Essential skills
The Canadian Retirement Income Calculator will provide you with retirement income information, including OAS and CPP benefits. You will need to work through a series of modules in order to estimate your retirement incomes and compare them to the 70 per cent income replacement rate often recommended by retirement planners. It also allows you to see the impact of increased savings.
Posted: December 21, 2011 |

Category: Learning
Since 2004, the Aboriginal Education Incentive Awards have been celebrating the hard work of those who have embraced a renewed pursuit of learning. Applicants must have resumed studies after a minimum of 12 months out of school and have completed one or more years in an educational program.
Posted: December 20, 2011 |

Category: Essential skills
Based on the success of its Labourer Teacher (LT) program, which has been operating for over 110 years, Frontier College is partnering with the Federal Government on the "LT Second Century Project." The project addresses employability issues by upgrading the essential skills of low-literate individuals and enables them to become more job-ready and capable of adapting to the unique skills required at a job site.
Posted: December 20, 2011 |

Category: Essential skills
Despite higher education levels, Canadian immigrants experience higher unemployment rates and lower incomes than workers born in the country, according to a new report issued by RBC Economics.
Posted: December 20, 2011 |

Category: Learning
Google Canada celebrates its 10th anniversary with a look back on a decade of accomplishments and advances that have changed the way Canadians find, share and organize information, network, and do business. A decade ago, most Canadians didn't Google things. Texting was a new technology, most of us were connecting to the Internet via dial-up, and we couldn't imagine the possibility of taking a virtual drive along our own streets.
Posted: December 16, 2011 |

Category: Essential skills
The Canadian Human Rights Commission welcomes the Government of Canada's move to repeal sections of the Canadian Human Rights Act and Canada Labour Code that permit employers to force employees to retire once they reach a certain age, regardless of their ability to do the job.
Posted: December 16, 2011 |

Category: Learning
The Rural Alberta Development Fund Board of Directors has approved $3.2 million in funding supporting a collaborative delivery model aimed at increasing access to quality learning for rural learners. Led by NorQuest College, the project will identify the learning needs of adult learners within NorQuest’s stewardship region to better prepare them for post-secondary education and/or employment opportunities in their communities.
Posted: December 14, 2011 |

Category: Learning
The Canadian Education Statistics Council, a partnership between the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) and Statistics Canada, has just released 39 updated tables from the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP). PCEIP tables offer statistical measures on education systems in Canada for policy-makers, practitioners, and the general public to monitor the performance of education systems, across jurisdictions and over time.
Posted: December 13, 2011 |

Category: Essential skills
As a greater number of baby boomers delay retirement and remain in the workplace past the traditional retirement age, it will become increasingly common to find older, more experienced workers reporting to significantly younger managers.