National Adult Literacy Database

May 1998

Series: WWestNet's The bottom line

Authors: Western Canada Workplace Essential Skills Training Network (WWestNet)

Collection: Research Materials

This issue includes an article about a partnership between Bow Valley College (formerly Alberta Vocational College – Calgary) and educational institutions in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Funded by the Canadian International Development Agency, the project combines skills-based technical instruction with hands-on entrepreneurial experience. Canadian labour representatives are also involved in the project.

Another article focuses on the development of a skill-assessment tool called the Test of Workplace Essential Skills (TOWES), which assesses individual ability in textual reading, document use and quantitative literacy.

A distance-education workplace-writing course is the focus of another article. Flint Canada, an Alberta-based contractor with satellite operations around western and northern Canada, chose to use email as the link between instructors and participants in the program.

Other articles discuss the Alberta Federation of Labour’s worker literacy project and the City of Calgary’s newly opened employee education centre.

Added: 2010-03-10

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Series: The Conference Board of Canada Publications

Authors: The Conference Board of Canada

Collection: Research Materials

The Conference Board of Canada's education and learning case studies series examines outstanding education and lifelong learning programs and initiatives. This case study focuses on the essential skills program at Palliser Furniture, a Winnipeg-based manufacturer of wooden and upholstered furniture. Pallister regards solid grounding in basic skills among its employees as fundamental to its business success and has developed a strong education and learning program. The company approaches employee training and development by helping to overcome barriers to workplace education. This case study looks at various aspects of this successful workplace learning program, including the program's development, challenges, keys to success and benefits for both employees and employers.

For more information about The Conference Board of Canada visit its website at http://www.conferenceboard.ca.

Added: 2008-12-04

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Resources for Literacy Workers

Authors: Metro Toronto Movement for Literacy

Collection: Research Materials

This book is a resource for literacy workers. One of its focus is on the challenges of people having limited literacy skills when they attempt to access counselling services. It also includes information for workers who may be working with victims of abuse and violence.

Added: 2005-11-23

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Women's Education des femmes, Fall 1991 • vol. 9 no.2

Series: Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women (CCLOW)

Authors: Elizabeth Bohnen, July Klie

Collection: Research Materials

This article is about the “BRIDGES to Equity training program (BRIDGES)”, an employment equity measure developed by the City of Toronto, designed to help women employees move from their traditional jobs into trades, technology, or operations within their own organization.

It is written in English with a summary in French.

Added: 2004-02-11

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Workforce Curricula for Learners with Low Level Literacy Skills

Series: Bridging the Employment Gap

Authors: Simcoe/Muskoka Literacy Network

Collection: Learning Materials

This manual is part of Bridging the Employment Gap for Learners with Low Level Literacy Skills, a two-phase project begun in 2001. Phase 1 of the project focused on students with the lowest level literacy and basic skills, especially the developmentally challenged population. In Phase 2, the focus was expanded to include all Essential Skills Level 1 learners. This project involved the development of job-specific sector manuals that include step-by-step learning activities for selected tasks in specified sectors. All the activities have been aligned to the Essential Skills and to the selected National Occupation Classification profiles.

There are six manuals in the series: Clerical, Grounds Maintenance, Janitorial, Kitchen Help, Retail, and Ready for Work.

The Clerical binder will help individuals who may have the opportunity to work in an office setting. It includes six main units: Safety, Collating, Photocopying, Preparing Envelopes for Mailing, Taking Phone Messages, and Making Telephone Calls. This manual should be used in conjunction with Ready for Work, a manual that addresses the "soft skills" common to many jobs.

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Added: 2009-03-02

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Workforce Curricula for Learners with Low Level Literacy Skills

Series: Bridging the Employment Gap

Authors: Simcoe/Muskoka Literacy Network

Collection: Learning Materials

This manual is part of Bridging the Employment Gap for Learners with Low Level Literacy Skills, a two-phase project begun in 2001. Phase 1 of the project focused on students with the lowest level literacy and basic skills, especially the developmentally challenged population. In Phase 2, the focus was expanded to include all Essential Skills Level 1 learners. This project involved the development of job-specific sector manuals that include step-by-step learning activities for selected tasks in specified sectors. All the activities have been aligned to the Essential Skills and to the selected National Occupation Classification profiles.

There are six manuals in the series: Clerical, Grounds Maintenance, Janitorial, Kitchen Help, Retail, and Ready for Work.

The Grounds Maintenance manual will help individuals who may have the opportunity to work for a landscaping company or the municipality doing general yard and garden care, outdoor maintenance, and minor repairs. It includes seven main units: Safety, Understanding Hazardous Product Labels, Tools and Fasteners, Lawns and Gardens: Tasks and Tools, Lawnmowers, Flower Gardens, and Communicating on the Job. This manual should be used in conjunction with Ready for Work, a manual that addresses the "soft skills" common to many jobs.

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Added: 2009-03-02

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Workforce Curricula for Learners with Low Level Literacy Skills

Series: Bridging the Employment Gap

Authors: Simcoe/Muskoka Literacy Network

Collection: Learning Materials

This manual is part of Bridging the Employment Gap for Learners with Low Level Literacy Skills, a two-phase project begun in 2001. The first phase focused on students with the lowest level literacy and basic skills, especially the developmentally challenged population.
In the second phase, the focus was expanded to include all Essential Skills Level 1 learners. This project involved the development of job-specific sector manuals that include step-by-step learning activities for selected tasks in specified sectors. All the activities have been aligned to the Essential Skills and to the selected National Occupation Classification profiles.

The janitorial manual contains units on safety; understanding hazardous product labels; understanding signs; mopping following a pattern; and garbage and recycling. It should be used in conjunction with Ready for Work, a manual that addresses the "soft skills" common to many jobs.

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Added: 2009-03-02

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Workforce Curricula for Learners with Low Level Literacy Skills

Series: Bridging the Employment Gap

Authors: Simcoe/Muskoka Literacy Network

Collection: Learning Materials

This manual is part of Bridging the Employment Gap for Learners with Low Level Literacy Skills, a two-phase project begun in 2001. Phase 1 of the project focused on students with the lowest level literacy and basic skills, especially the developmentally challenged population. In Phase 2, the focus was expanded to include all Essential Skills Level 1 learners. This project involved the development of job-specific sector manuals that include step-by-step learning activities for selected tasks in specified sectors. All the activities have been aligned to the Essential Skills and to the selected National Occupation Classification profiles.

There are six manuals in the series: Clerical, Grounds Maintenance, Janitorial, Kitchen Help, Retail, and Ready for Work.

The Kitchen Help manual will help individuals who may have the opportunity to work in a kitchen, bakery, or restaurant. It includes six main units: Safety, Loading and Unloading the Dishwasher, Counting, The Condiment Station: Sorting and Storing Food, Setting Temperatures: Burners and Ovens, and Measuring Ingredients. This manual should be used in conjunction with Ready for Work, a manual that addresses the "soft skills" common to many jobs.

Funders:

Added: 2009-03-02

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Workforce Curricula for Learners with Low Level Literacy Skills

Series: Bridging the Employment Gap

Authors: Simcoe/Muskoka Literacy Network

Collection: Learning Materials

This manual is part of Bridging the Employment Gap for Learners with Low Level Literacy Skills, a two-phase project begun in 2001. Phase 1 of the project focused on students with the lowest level literacy and basic skills, especially the developmentally challenged population. In Phase 2, the focus was expanded to include all Essential Skills Level 1 learners. This project involved the development of job-specific sector manuals that include step-by-step learning activities for selected tasks in specified sectors.

There are, however, many non-sector-specific job-related skills needed by all employees. Ready for Work is the resource that has been developed to address these needs. Ready for Work should be used as a complement to the other five sector manuals: Clerical, Grounds Maintenance, Janitorial, Kitchen Help, and Retail.

The Ready for Work resource binder has three main sections: Essential Skills, Student Units, and Evaluation. The Essential Skills section includes a description of the nine essential skills and examples from the National Occupation Classification Profiles. The Student Units section is divided into "Before Applying for the Job" and "On the Job." The Evaluation section includes checklists for the student, employer and support worker.

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Added: 2009-03-02

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Workforce Curricula for Learners with Low Level Literacy Skills

Series: Bridging the Employment Gap

Authors: Simcoe/Muskoka Literacy Network

Collection: Learning Materials

This manual is part of Bridging the Employment Gap for Learners with Low Level Literacy Skills, a two-phase project begun in 2001. Phase 1 of the project focused on students with the lowest level literacy and basic skills, especially the developmentally challenged population. In Phase 2, the focus was expanded to include all Essential Skills Level 1 learners. This project involved the development of job-specific sector manuals that include step-by-step learning activities for selected tasks in specified sectors. All the activities have been aligned to the Essential Skills and to the selected National Occupation Classification profiles.

There are six manuals in the series: Clerical, Grounds Maintenance, Janitorial, Kitchen Help, Retail, and Ready for Work.

The Retail binder will help individuals who may have the opportunity to work in a retail setting. It includes four main units: Counting Money, Sorting by Size, Matching UPC Numbers and Stocking Shelves. This manual should be used in conjunction with Ready for Work, a manual that addresses the "soft skills" common to many jobs.

Funders:

Added: 2009-03-02

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