Posted: April 5, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
Following four months of little change, employment increased by 82,000 in March, mostly in full-time work. This brought the unemployment rate down 0.2 percentage points to 7.2 per cent.
Posted: April 5, 2012 |

Categories: Essential skills, Learning
The award recognizes outstanding achievement in developing and implementing a technology initiative that contributes to the advancement of adult literacy and essential skills. Specifically, the product, project or service should promote, support and/or facilitate knowledge exchange within the adult literacy community.
Posted: April 4, 2012 |

Category: Learning
The world premiere of "The Hockey Sweater" musical will be hosted by famed Montreal Canadiens goaltender Ken Dryden and narrated by the original author himself, Roch Carrier. Mr. Carrier is the honorary chairperson of NALD.
Posted: April 3, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
The Essential Skills in the Gaming Industry website contains a wealth of information about the industry itself and responsible gaming. It also features a new series of documents to assist individuals with their skill levels beyond the core competencies required for employment positions. The series is also available in the NALD library.
Posted: April 3, 2012 |

Category: Learning
This literacy and essential skills training project will place Frontier College's labourer-teachers in businesses across Canada, focusing on high-needs sectors, with particular attention to Aboriginal and new immigrant workers. The labourer-teachers will provide one-to-one tutoring, mentoring and other educational support in the workplace.
Posted: April 2, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
The Office of Literacy and Essential Skills (OLES) at HRSDC is a centre of expertise with a workplace focus, building awareness and capacity in what works in order to improve the literacy and essential skills of adult Canadians.
“Ministers of education recognize that Canada works best when all citizens have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed,” said Ramona Jennex, Minister of Education for Nova Scotia and current Chair of CMEC. “This means there can be no one left behind: young people, adult workers, Aboriginal Canadians, new immigrants, and those with differing abilities. All must have access to quality educational opportunities to ensure their success.”
“We cannot hope to have a skilled workforce and a strong economy when 43 per cent of the population does not have basic literacy and essential skills,” said Lindsay Kennedy, president and CEO of CLLN. “Skills development is a vital part of Canada’s economic strength and a national literacy and essential skills strategy must be the foundation for a productive workforce.”
Adult learning in Canada and around the world since the Second World War owes a great deal to a handful of Canadians who continue to provide leadership today. Although adult education has been practised in Canada since the early 19th century, it wasn’t until after the war that it developed its own formal field of study.
For the 10th anniversary of International Adult Learners' Week in Canada (IALW) 2012, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO would like to stress the urgent need to reach a broader public. Better synergy among stakeholders facilitates the sharing of lessons learned, as well as its giving greater visibility to learners across the country, the organization says.
Take part in the celebration of International Adult Learners’ Week by practising your literacy skills - read about a new hobby, complete a crossword, word jumble or Sudoku puzzle, or sign up for a professional development program at work.
Lindsay Kennedy, president and CEO of CLLN, says, “We would like to ask you to join Canadian Literacy and Learning Network in celebrating adult learners during the week of March 24 to April 1, seek out and listen to adult learners across the country, and be part of the force of change that life-long learning can bring to Canada.”
Category: Essential skills
From hairdressing to welding, the skilled trades are changing. Come learn how. Why would a carpenter or welder need to use a computer? How do hairstylists’ math skills help them get ahead?
Posted: March 21, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
“As the Canadian labour market tightens and the natural resources sectors expand, we have a unique opportunity for an educated, skilled Aboriginal population to become full participants in a robust Canadian economy,” said John Duncan, federal Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, in Calgary recently.
E-reading has many advantages for today’s adult learners. While many of us love the feel of a good book in our hands, learners benefit from e-books in ways that paper books simply can’t match.
Posted: March 20, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
In 2012-2013 CLLN, funded by OLES, will conduct a large-scale survey of L/ES practitioners to get a comprehensive picture of who works in the L/ES field. The study will allow CLLN to provide a picture of the demographics of L/ES practitioners as well as what kinds of work they do, where they do it and how they do it.
Posted: March 20, 2012 |

Category: Learning
Spring is all about new beginnings and there is no better time of year to refresh your skills and focus on lifelong learning.
In observance of International Adult Learners’ Week in Canada, NALD offers several handy tips for engaging learners in the education process.
Categories: Essential skills, Learning
March 24 to April 1, 2012, is International Adult Learners' Week. Members of Canada's literacy and essential skills community want to know how YOU continue to learn throughout the years.
Posted: March 16, 2012 |

Category: Learning
Bilingual immigrants are healthier than those who speak one language, according to a new study from Rice University in Houston. Sociologists at the school rated the English and native-language skills of nearly 5,000 immigrants from China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico, then asked them to rate their own health.
Posted: March 15, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
Dr. Philip Hunter, a director in PwC's People and Change practice, believes that Gen Xers are perhaps being "squeezed" by older workers delaying retirement, and younger, more aggressive Gen Ys intent on rising through the ranks quickly.
Posted: March 15, 2012 |

Category: Learning
The national chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students says: "Instead of cutting important programs such as the Service Canada Centre for Youth, the federal government should be increasing funding to help youth and students get a head start in life." For post-secondary education, students are recommending four concrete budget steps to ensure students and their families are not being left out.
Posted: March 14, 2012 |

Categories: Essential skills, Learning
Frontier College is observing 100 years of being a cornerstone of literacy support in Quebec, as well as the rest of Canada. Trained volunteers work with children, youth and adults in homework clubs, reading circles, and one-to-one tutoring. As well, Frontier College teaches other community organizations how to improve their clients' literacy skills.
Good Reads authors Joy Fielding and Deborah Ellis sat down with ABC Life Literacy Canada to discuss the writing process for adult learners, why they love writing for the Good Reads program, and even shared a bit about themselves.
Posted: March 13, 2012 |

Category: Learning
ABC Life Literacy Canada is pleased to announce that nominations for the 2012 Peter Gzowski Life Literacy Fellowship are now being accepted online. The fellowship is open to accredited media and freelance journalists working and residing in Canada, along with current journalism students attending an accredited post-secondary institution in Canada.
Posted: March 13, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
There's no question that some job-search approaches are more productive than others. Richard Bolles devotes several pages of his book What Colour Is Your Parachute? to exploring the most and least effective angles.
Posted: March 13, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
This webinar hopes to bring together a wide variety of stakeholders
to discuss the importance of essential skills for immigrants in today's
knowledge-based economy, to exchange valuable information and to showcase
innovative approaches on how to support the development of immigrants'
essential skills.
Posted: March 9, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
Compared to 12 months earlier, employment in Canada was up by 121,000 (+0.7%), with the bulk of the increase occurring in the first half of the period, according to the new Labour Force Survey results from Statistics Canada.
Posted: March 8, 2012 |

Category: Learning
Distance education allows students to learn at their own speed, at a time and place that is convenient to them. This distance learning program was launched in Little Burgundy three years ago by Desta, a non-profit organization that helps marginalized young adults primarily from Montreal’s black community.
Categories: Essential skills, Learning
“Change is everywhere in today’s workplace,” says Bill Stirling, CEO of the National Adult Literacy Database. “New technologies, global competitors, new markets and changing standards or certifications mean that workers today are constantly dealing with change. They have to be continuous learners and problem solvers.”