National Adult Literacy Database

Many workers are saying "Bah, humbug!" to company holiday parties, a new OfficeTeam survey suggests. Although more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of senior managers interviewed said their employer is holding a holiday celebration this year, only 55 per cent of employees gave the festivities high marks.

The Saskatchewan Literacy Network has prepared this report to provide the context for literacy and essential skills activities in the province and to gain a more strategic understanding of existing and emerging skill shortages and their impact on literacy and essential skills.

CSTD programming focuses primarily on those areas that are specific to training and development. While general management and leadership topics are always included in their programs, priority is given to the five core competency areas for the profession.

I DO BUSINESS. National Summit & Trade Show (Success for Aboriginal Entrepreneurs) will bring together business and literacy to support current and emerging Aboriginal entrepreneurs from coast to coast to coast in Canada. Planned for March 4-6, 2013, in Toronto, this event brings to the forefront the importance of connecting economic development and adult literacy to support Aboriginal business development.

The Centre for Excellence in Foundational Learning at Bow Valley College is looking for experienced adult education practitioners to serve on an advisory committee for an innovative adult writing assessment project titled Write Forward. Members will assist in reviews of project design and development through all stages, and assist with networking and promotion of the project across Canada.

In the heart of Saint‑Boniface, Winnipeg's officially bilingual community, an organization founded in 1982 by and for women in Manitoba, celebrated its 30th anniversary in October. The theme of the celebration was "Thirty years of living in harmony."

An extension of an agreement between the B.C. government and the Central Interior Logging Association (CILA) will allow 30 more students to train as log and chip truck drivers or heavy-equipment operators under the Forest Industry Readiness Skills Training (FIRST) program and place them in permanent positions within the sector.

Over 100 eminent academics have signed a letter to Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister John Duncan demanding that core funding for Aboriginal organizations be restored to protect vital research projects underway. The signatories highlight that researchers partner with tribal councils, the National Aboriginal Health Organization, and other Aboriginal representative organizations to address "health, education and infrastructure issues that are preventing Canadian First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities from reaching their full potential."

It’s a truism that Canada is a nation of immigrants, but in the years ahead, demographics — an aging population and low birthrate — and changing employment patterns, with increased demand for specific skills, indicate the role of immigrants in the Canadian economy will only grow.

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.

The Welsh Baccalaureate qualification, known as the Welsh Bacc, teaches a core of subjects such as math and languages and gives students the chance for work experience. Rebecca Williams, policy officer at Wales' teaching union UCAC, described the Welsh Bacc as a positive, saying it "combines the academic subjects with more real world type skills."

Alberta has the highest job vacancy rate in the country, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, and that is translating into close to 55,000 unfilled private sector jobs.

Making life better for Nova Scotians with disabilities is the goal of an upcoming symposium in Halifax. The 5th Annual Symposium on Inclusive Education and Employment, on Monday, Dec. 3, and Tuesday, Dec. 4, focuses on challenges and opportunities persons with disabilities face in the workplace and with education.

November 18-25, 2012, is Multiculturalism Week in B.C. If you’re interested in multiculturalism, or want to know more about working with learners from diverse backgrounds, check out some of the resources in the Decoda Literacy Solutions library.

When analyzing the size of pay raises, the TribeHR Pay Raise Index found that men were three times more likely to earn a salary increase in excess of 25 percent. Looking at pay raises of 5 percent or more, 60 percent went to men and just 38 percent to women.