National Adult Literacy Database

Canada remains a nation of French and English speakers, but people are speaking a greater variety of languages at home, as long-term trends in immigration shape the country’s linguistic landscape.

Some 160 educators, policy-makers, literacy experts, elders, businesspeople and other northerners have come together for a unique pan-territorial forum to explore effective northern approaches to adult literacy and skills development. The conference Made in the North: Adult Literacy and Skills Development takes place in Yellowknife October 23-25.

Post-secondary education is important for many jobs in the economy today. Yet one in five university graduates in Canada makes less than $18,501 per year.

A best-of-both-worlds education program – theory-based, hands-on, job-friendly – "might happen more often if Canada had a national strategy for post-secondary education, one that clarifies what the country expects from the institutions creating its next generation of leaders and skilled workers, and defines how Canadians will know when they’re getting it right."

The Canadian Building Trades have commended Minister Jim Flaherty for introduction of Bill C-45 which solidifies the execution of the Economic Action Plan 2012. Specifically of importance to the skilled trades in Ontario and beyond are the legislative commitments to the DRIC or Windsor-Detroit Bridge.

The Golden Oak program makes it possible for adult learners to build necessary skills, and also creates an environment where new readers of any age can discover the pleasure of reading a good book. The mandate of the Forest of Reading program has always been to foster a lifelong love of reading, and of course it’s never too late to begin.

A career management consultant says young job seekers know how to network, write a résumé, and prepare for an interview. But, she says, they don’t understand subtle details or basics such as how to behave in a networking situation, follow up with a potential contact, or present themselves in the best possible light.

The launch of ourlanguages.gc.ca on the go! coincides with the third anniversary of the Language Portal of Canada, the website that showcases Canadian expertise in the area of language.

“The Good Reads project is helping to ensure that all adults, regardless of their literacy skills, have an opportunity to access literature by well-known Canadian authors,” said Dr. Pat Campbell, president of Good Reads publisher Grass Roots Press. “Good Reads books provide a bridge to other worlds and allow all adults to read for pleasure."

The skill areas where respondents experience the most challenges in working with distressed employees are communicating effectively and understanding their own emotional reactions. Survey results showed that nearly one-third of managers/supervisors had some challenges in these areas.

On Thursday, Nov. 1, the Investor Education Fund (IEF), a leading Canadian authority on financial literacy education and research, will stage Ontario's first Financial Literacy Youth Summit, designed to be a crash course for high school students about the importance of managing their money.

Recognition Counts! Micro Loans for Skilled Immigrants offers loans of up to $10,000, to cover everything from the cost of new tools to paying for certification exams or for additional training. The program also gives low-income, high-skilled newcomers valuable career and financial counselling to help address challenges with entering the labour market.

British Columbia is set to become the first province in Canada to offer students free online, open textbooks for the 40 most popular post-secondary courses.

Just months away from the opening of its new South Campus, Bow Valley College celebrated another milestone by smashing its fall term enrolment record, welcoming over 5,633 new and returning learners, the largest fall term in the college’s history.

Just as literacy has evolved from reading and writing into the nine essential skills, literacy training is now evolving into contextualized learning. Research conducted by the National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy explored the impact of embedding literacy in vocational programs in five regions of England.