National Adult Literacy Database

In today’s global economy, countries need high-quality education systems that will teach their citizens the skills necessary to meet the challenges of tomorrow. This series of videos, produced jointly by the OECD and the Pearson Foundation, highlights initiatives being taken by education authorities around the world to help school students do better.

The Canadian Paraplegic Association of Prince Edward Island is working in partnership with the PEI Council of People with Disabilities on the Discovering the Power in Me program. The program is receiving close to $120,000 from the governments of Canada and P.E.I. to help participants enhance their resumé and cover letter writing, improve time and stress management, develop self-assessment skills, as well as help them find and get jobs.

The Conference Board of Canada is conducting a study to determine what underlying challenges businesses face in recruiting and retaining Métis, Inuit and First Nations workers. The research findings will help Aboriginal communities, businesses, educators and other stakeholders better understand the challenges and how to overcome them.

Canadian employers slipped to 20th place in terms of the priority employers place on employee skills training in a recent ranking. Less than 30 per cent of adult workers aged 25-64 received job-related education and training in Canada, compared with 45 per cent in the U.S., show data from Industry Canada and Statistics Canada.

The report outlines three steps it is felt should be taken in fiscal year 2012-13 in order to alleviate urgent funding pressures, including the need to provide funding increases to First Nations schools equal to the funding increases being provided by provinces to provincial schools.

The lesson for young writers: All good fiction begins with the creation of characters. And once you have created them, stand them upright with every syllable they speak, from story beginning to story end, as Dickens did.

Literacy Nova Scotia invites adult learners to celebrate the power of adult learning by putting your words to paper or recording your story on video. Tell them about your new skills and new confidence. Tell them about your learning journey.

Flexible schedules are most often available in industries that employ highly skilled professionals such as law, medicine, technology and academia. But they are not generally available to low-skilled workers who may need them most because they have fewer options when family events demand their time.

"In its legacy report, the centrepiece of CCL’s recommendations for voluntary, co-operative and integrated intergovernmental action on learning has been the establishment of a federal/provincial/territorial Council of Ministers on Learning. ... Taken together, CCL’s recommendations and the reflections from Canadians heard during the tour suggest that it is indeed time to take action and move forward."

Last month, 14,717 job vacancies were posted to SaskJobs.ca, an increase of 44 per cent over January 2011 and an increase of 24 per cent over the month previous (December 2011).

Nova Scotia's sector councils and government are starting a new partnership to more strongly support the province's industry with human resource strategies.

“Reading opens the door to lifelong learning,” said Nancy Allan, Manitoba's education minister. “Once a child becomes a reader, his or her life is vastly enriched. I Love to Read Month is the perfect time to develop the reading skills necessary for rewarding school and life experiences.”

High school students in Alberta will have greater opportunities to access trades and technology programs and post-secondary credits under a new approach to preparing teachers to specialize in skills training.

The Bridging the Gap: From Education to Employment Model is a provincially shared initiative with a local non-profit organization. The model takes an innovative labour force concept and connects prospective employers with individuals who have barriers to seeking employment.

According to the results of Randstad's latest Global Workmonitor, surveying employees in 29 countries around the world, over half of Canadian employees expect to keep working beyond their official retirement age. Interestingly enough, nearly half of the respondents say they're happy about it.