National Adult Literacy Database

While humour can be used to great effect in the workplace, be cautious about flexing your funny bone during the application process. It's okay to show some personality in your resume and cover letter, but don't go overboard. Attempts at humour don't always translate on paper.

This issue features occupational task profiles, a course review, OLES tools and information about the CLLN online forum for adult educators.

Want to keep employees satisfied in their jobs without one foot out the door? Give them a little credit, a new OfficeTeam survey suggests. More than half of workers interviewed said they would be somewhat or very likely to leave their current position if they didn't feel appreciated by their manager.

The Further Education Society of Alberta (FESA) is excited to announce that its newest curricula Aboriginal Workplace Learning Circles (AWLC) and Workplace Learning Circles (WLC) are now available.

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.

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.

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.

“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.”

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.

Job seekers need strong communications skills to implement the recommended networking strategy involved with finding new 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.”

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.

In observance of International Adult Learners’ Week in Canada, NALD offers several handy tips for engaging learners in the education process.

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.

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.