National Adult Literacy Database

Nova Scotians are encouraged to recognize people for their contributions to literacy and learning through the Council of the Federation Literacy Award. The deadline for nominations is Monday, April 22.

"Newfoundland and Labrador is facing very real challenges related to our population and demographics in the coming years. In fact by 2020 we will need 70,000 skilled people to ensure we can take maximum advantage of the economic opportunities before us. Through our recently announced Population Growth Strategy, we will build on the work of the Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism and keep attracting new Canadians as part of our plan to address these challenges." -- Joan Shea, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills

Laubach Literacy Ontario's 2013 conference titled "Looking Ahead" is being hosted by the North Bay Literacy Council in celebration of its 35th anniversary. Location will be Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario, June 21-23, 2013. The organization is looking for presenters to provide workshops on Saturday, June 22. The deadline for submissions is April 18, 2013.

Internationally renowned commentator on global affairs, CNN's Dr. Fareed Zakaria, who delivered the keynote address, said of the conference: "I think having a meeting like this ... to begin this process of really transforming education for the future so that it becomes something that is as innovative and as forward looking and as dynamic as so many of the other aspects of society going forward, is a tremendous advantage."

Some of the world’s most accomplished and promising minds working in diverse scientific disciplines will receive significant support from the federal government, through the Canada Research Chairs program, to pursue world-class research at post-secondary institutions across Canada.

The survey provides LES workers with a unique opportunity to speak about their own experience and reality as a member of that workforce. It is part of a larger study that will allow CLLN to provide a picture of the demographics of Literacy and Essential Skills practitioners as well as what kinds of work they do, where they do it and how they do it.

The Quebec Association for Lifelong Learning (QALL) will recognize The Centre for Literacy's Executive Director Linda Shohet and two other Quebec adult educators at its 2nd Annual Champions of Lifelong Learning Gala on March 22, 2013. QALL is an English-language association that supports those who support learners. Linda is a former Board member and a co-founder of the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD).

Canadian employers expect the hiring climate to remain steady for the second quarter of 2013, with employers in the transportation and public utilities sector reporting the strongest job prospects, according to the latest results of the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

The Native Women's Resource Centre of Toronto (NWRCT) is hosting the Minaake Awards, Toronto's first Aboriginal Women and Youth Community Achievement Awards, on April 10, 2013. NWRCT is an award-winning charity that offers life-enhancing resources, cultural ceremonies and teachings, and skill development programs to Aboriginal women and their children.

The ESL Literacy Network invites you to participate in its upcoming online workshop series: Using the ESL Literacy Readers. This two-week online workshop is an opportunity to learn, share ideas and connect with other ESL literacy practitioners.

Help inform and shape thinking around policy, practice and research as The Centre for Literacy prepares for PIAAC. The Summer Institute will examine and compare the learning from IALS and ALL across Canada and other countries, and explore how we can make most effective use of soon-to-be released PIAAC results. We will look at the new segments – problem-solving in technology-rich environments and the reading components – and at the implications of changes in levels and cut-off.

Adult Learners’ Week can be a bit like New Year’s — an opportunity both to reflect and make plans for the future. And like New Year’s resolutions, the plans we make for learning are much more likely to come to fruition if they are practical and integrated into our regular schedule, and if we are truly motivated to learn.

Millennials, loosely defined as those born after 1980, aren't afraid of quitting their jobs. According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, Generation Y is expected to stay in jobs for just over two years, about half the amount of time spent by the current average worker.

"International Women's Day (March 8) is an opportunity to celebrate women's achievement and reflect on the barriers that women still face today," said Jessica McCormick, National Deputy Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. "High tuition fees and record levels of student debt, when coupled with the persisting wage gap, impede many qualified women from attending college or university in Canada."

Canada turned out 51,000 new jobs in February and more people are actively seeking work, but governments across the country are ignoring the underlying spread of precarious work at their own peril, said CAW President Ken Lewenza.