National Adult Literacy Database

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.

Twenty-first century learning was the defining theme of the Halifax meeting, where ministers exchanged information on a number of education-related topics.

In times of economic uncertainty and ever-changing information technology, organizations – whether in the public domain or private sector – are often obligated to sit back, reflect and re-evaluate their activities and priorities. With this in mind, the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) is adapting some of its services and setting a new course for the future.

Essential Skills Ontario is currently working on releasing a series of research briefs that carries on the conversation first addressed in our widely received Menial No More report, in order to examine the challenges and opportunities in training adults without a high school diploma

Grass Roots Press, in partnership with ABC Life Literacy Canada, is delighted to announce the September release of four new titles to the popular adult literacy Good Reads book series. Good Reads are original books by bestselling Canadian authors written for adult literacy and ESL learners.

The Essential Skills Good Practice Guide from the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) was produced as a result of the Working with the Community project focusing on the development of Essential Skills (ES) tools and practices.

There's no shortage of skilled trade jobs in an economy where the resource industry is booming and employers are looking for able-bodied individuals to do everything from equipment repair to electrical and carpentry work.

Bill C-11 provides the legal framework necessary for students and teachers in elementary and secondary schools, colleges, and universities to use publicly available Internet materials in their educational pursuits. Consortium members believe this education amendment is essential at a time when governments are simultaneously increasing levels of connectivity, promoting skills development and innovation, and supporting the use of the Internet in classrooms.

The Board of Directors and staff of the former Ontario Literacy Coalition have announced they have officially become Essential Skills Ontario. "This new name and brand allows us to expand the reach of the organization and better achieve our mission of inspiring and leading the development of literacy and essential skills solutions through excellence in collaboration, research and innovation," said Lesley Brown, Executive Director.

"We are passionate about children's literacy and have been proud to support the TD Summer Reading Club for the past 17 years," said Frank McKenna, Deputy Chair, TD Bank Group. "Together with our partners at the Toronto Public Library and Library and Archives Canada we are thrilled to bring this program to more than 550,000 children once again this year."

Despite a conservative hiring forecast, nearly four in 10 (38 per cent) executives said they face a recruiting environment that is either somewhat or very challenging. This is up from 32 per cent last quarter.

For a small, northern literacy organization, the NWT Literacy Council has an unexpectedly wide reach. The resources it produces to help literacy workers do their jobs are in demand across Canada and internationally. Many of the resources are among the documents most downloaded from the online library of the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD).

Social and Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI) has announced the 15 community organizations that have been awarded a total of $999,267 from the TD Financial Literacy Grant Fund to support financial literacy projects.

This new report, published by AlphaPlus in French, discusses the use of assistive technologies in the workplace and offers an approach to address the needs of francophone adult learners. More specifically, this report on assistive technologies and learner motivation is designed to help improve the instructional design of assistive technologies in order to prepare learners to develop and maintain new skills throughout their lives.

According to a discussion paper and several speeches, the Government of Ontario has floated the idea of moving to a three-year degree structure, delivering 60 per cent of a degree online, and introducing year-round university programming.