National Adult Literacy Database

The OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) will support countries in their efforts to design and implement policies which foster both the development of skills and the optimal use of existing skills.

All workplace meetings are good in theory but often these and countless other conference room characters can derail a gathering. This article points out seven of the biggest meeting offenders, along with advice you can use to avoid becoming one yourself.

By fusing classroom rigor with workplace know-how, these colleges fix a failing of high schools and universities in Japan — and in the United States. It’s called the “skills gap,” and it’s the bitter fruit of educational systems in both countries that aspire to make college accessible for all — but that often produce students who, if they do get a degree, focus too narrowly on abstractions, while neglecting the hands-on competence necessary for landing jobs that pay middle-class wages.

The National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) is co-hosting this event in Moncton on October 26, 2011. By attending this session, you will benefit from new insight into practical and effective workplace learning practices tailored to the needs of small to medium-sized employers. The Centre for Workplace Skills will profile its recent project titled Investing in Skills: Effective Work-related Learning in SMEs.

The Skills and Partnership Fund is part of the federal government’s approach to help First Nations, Métis and Inuit people get training and work experience to secure sustainable, meaningful employment.

Just in time for National Boss Day October 17, new research from OfficeTeam indicates few workers today are angling for the top spot.

Following two months of little change, employment rose by 61,000 in September, all in full-time work. This increase pushed the unemployment rate down 0.2 percentage points to 7.1 per cent, the lowest rate since December 2008.

This two-week class in Regina involves not only learning how to make cold calls on potential employers, but also charting them on a wall chart that everybody can see, along with the number of letters and resumés sent out.

Mike Holmes, Canada's most trusted contractor and official spokesperson for Skills/Compétences Canada, will be participating in several activities at the WorldSkills London 2011 Competition. A long-time supporter of the skilled trade movement, he will focus attention on the important role that youth in the skilled trades and technologies have on the economic future of Canada.

The report examines the number of NALD Library documents, in both English and French, which are viewed and downloaded by visitors to the websites NALD and BDAA.

Those who want to save are more apt to keep socking money away and more of it too, if they have just one goal in mind, shows work done in multiple countries by two researchers at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

These new interactive learning tools will be a welcome resource for practitioners and program administrators who are often faced with the task of determining how to remove barriers that impede successful learning outcomes. The tools are a project of George Brown College's School of Work and College Preparation, Centre for Preparatory and Liberal Studies, in partnership with Spiral Community Resource Group.

NALD values feedback from the literacy and essential skills community so we are asking you to please complete a short online survey. The information you provide will be important in helping us understand more about our current users and what new services we may provide in the future. We have extended our submission deadline and would appreciate your responses by October 11, 2011, if possible. Thank you.

The unveiling of a new award promoting literacy innovation was among the highlights of Life Literacy Night, ABC Life Literacy Canada’s annual awards ceremony, held at Toronto’s Gardiner Museum recently.

Regardless of how qualified you may be for the position, your chance at an interview will likely be missed if the scanning technology or human eye does not see keywords that tell them you are relevant for the job.