National Adult Literacy Database

As part of the Top 10 Barriers to Canadian Competitiveness initiative, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and its network recently held its largest-ever consultation with membership on a single issue: the skills crisis. Roundtable discussions were held in 14 locations, and the network was mobilized to lead the conversation, asking for their best practices, and polling their opinions via eight online surveys.

This program will streamline the licensing process for internationally trained architects through a national online assessment tool and standard interview process.

"Workers with the knowledge and skills to get the job done are critical to economic development in this province,” says PEI Literacy Alliance Executive Director Catherine O’Bryan. "We want to encourage workers to take training in the essential skills so they can become more efficient, effective and adaptable.”

In the context of reaching more people in your community, see how you can learn more about the needs of local businesses by putting the essential skills into action.

Representatives from groups involved with literacy and essential skills across New Brunswick hope to raise awareness about the need for improved skills training in the workplace. Bill Stirling, CEO of NALD, says: “We are seeing a significant increase in the skills required even for entry level jobs throughout all sectors of the economy. Essential Skills Day provides a focal point for Canadian employers and workers to take stock of the learning culture in their workplace."

Over the past 18 months, the Canadian Literacy and Learning Network (CLLN) has been engaged in a series of research projects exploring the links between literacy and earnings, resulting in the complex Literacy and Earnings Project.

Some of the fastest growing jobs in the coming decade have yet to be identified. In fact, the term “new job” itself is changing. It can refer to a job that did not previously exist, or a job that carries the same name but requires such different skills as to render it changed. In either case, the need for skilled employees to fill these positions is increasing.

Once a company wants to meet you, it means your resumé has been viewed, and the company you applied for, likes what you have presented on paper. So now, it's your time to shine. Chances are if you don't make it past the first interview, then something you said or did within the interview setting was not right.

A vast majority of companies worldwide, including a growing number of Canadian companies, continue to struggle with attracting and retaining the high-potential and critically skilled employees necessary to increase their global competitiveness.

The Helmets to Hardhats Canada website is dedicated to helping veterans and men and women in uniform find jobs in the building and construction industry as they transition to civilian life. The site was launched by Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, and Brigadier-General (Retired) Gregory Matte, Executive Director of Helmets to Hardhats Canada.

An initiative of the Canadian Society for Training and Development (CSTD), Learn@Work Week is an annual celebration recognizing the value of workplace learning and development in Canada. Workplace learning has a positive impact on employee performance and productivity, and is crucial to a healthy Canadian economy.

"It’s not that we don’t have skilled workers; it’s that we don’t have the workers with the right blend of skills required in the 21st-century labour market of a globally connected economy."

High jobless levels aren’t just trouble for the unemployed and their families, but also the tax bases of countries, exacerbating the trouble climbing out and making deficit-trimming all the more difficult. It’s going to take a lot to fix it, including retraining.

Ofsted’s recent reports Moving English Forward (published in March 2012) and Removing barriers to literacy (January 2011) highlight that too many children and young people are falling behind at the beginning of education and lack the practical skills to successfully make their way in the adult world.

"Literacy is a ladder out of poverty, but the real issue is poverty. Some of our former learners said it seemed as if they were caught in a never-ending cycle. You need school to get a job, but some people can’t afford to come to school. They’re hungry, they can’t concentrate or they have an upset stomach. It’s basically do or die. It’s like you’re thrown into a well with no rope to pull you up."