National Adult Literacy Database

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.

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.

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.

“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.”

There are three components to the problem of labour shortages. The first two – an aging and shrinking work force, and a knowledge-skills shortage – have been well documented. But the third is a shortage of the essential skills required in any job.

The Big Rothesay Read in New Brunswick is about to embark on its fourth year of involving the entire student body of Rothesay High School and increasing numbers of teachers, parents and citizens in a community-wide reading initiative.

In rural and remote areas of Canada, women make up approximately 45 per cent of the labour force, but significant gaps still exist between women and men in labour force participation rates, employment rates and income. This year's theme for International Women's Day and International Women's Week celebrates women's roles in the economic prosperity of rural, remote and Northern regions.

The PEI Literacy Alliance has released the results of an environmental scan of literacy and essential skills programs on PEI. “Affordable and accessible adult programs are needed to address the training needs of Islanders," says Catherine O’Bryan, executive director. “This scan shows us there are some positive practices taking place and what else can be done.”

The Northwest Territories Literacy Council has several resources on its website to help you observe Aboriginal Languages Month. Included are the announcement, a languages map, a quiz, ideas for adult education programs and tips for families.

From the stockroom to the executive suite everyone is impacted by the need to constantly improve his or her digital technology skills. But sadly it’s the workers at the lowest levels, the ones who can least afford it, who suffer most and are the hardest hit by these changes.

The Canadian Education Statistics Council (CESC), a partnership between the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) and Statistics Canada, has just published a new fact sheet on educational attainment and employment rates at the pan-Canadian and provincial and territorial levels. The fact sheet also includes data for 12 OECD countries that are of key comparative interest for Canada.

Most Canadians expect to work past the age of 66 — and the majority of those workers say it will be because they need to, not because they want to, a new survey suggests.

With every new year, countless individuals search for differentiating methods to demonstrate why they alone deserve a position or raise. Those who are successful have recognized the new reality of today’s career growth and job search.