April 1996
Series: WWestNet's The bottom line
Authors: Western Canada Workplace Essential Skills Training Network (WWestNet)
This first issue begins with an introduction to the newsletter, explaining its purpose.
Other articles deal with an organizational needs assessment (ONA) at the Dynasty Wood Products furniture plant; a training project for community literacy coordinators in Alberta; and the partnership between the Government of Manitoba and the Workplace Education Manitoba Steering Committee.
This issue also includes an article about the Basic Skills Research Project, which involved gathering job information from 2,500 workers in hundreds of occupations in order to provide a basic-skills-requirements profile for each entry-level occupation.
Added: 2010-02-24
September 1998
Series: WWestNet's The bottom line
Authors: Western Canada Workplace Essential Skills Training Network (WWestNet)
An article in this issue focuses on the political issues underlying the development and delivery of essential-skills programs in the workplace. During a two-day workshop, practitioners and expert speakers discussed the need to understand the values and positions of stakeholders in workplace education.
Another article outlines ABC CANADA’s change in focus away from the provision of consulting services directly to business and labour, towards supporting the work of a range of local educational providers.
Other articles deal with the formation of an essential skills steering committee in Alberta; a workshop held in Edmonton for workplace education practitioners; and reviews of recent publications in the fields of adult literacy, workplace training and ESL – English as a Second Language.
Added: 2010-03-17
January 1999
Series: WWestNet's The bottom line
Authors: Western Canada Workplace Essential Skills Training Network (WWestNet)
This issue includes an account of a Winnipeg conference on training for the high-performance workplace and an update on trials for the first sets of questions for the Test of Workplace Essential Skills (TOWES).
Another article focuses on Speech Assisted Reading and Writing (SARAW), a talking computer program for students with physical disabilities. There is also an article focusing on the key role of essential skills in obtaining jobs in Calgary’s manufacturing plants.
The issue also includes reviews of publications on literacy policy and practice in Canada; basic education and institutional environments; and literacy skills for the knowledge society.
Added: 2010-03-17
April 1999
Series: WWestNet's The bottom line
Authors: Western Canada Workplace Essential Skills Training Network (WWestNet)
This issue contains an article dealing with an impact study carried out in Alberta to identify and address essential-skills needs in food-processing plants. The study was undertaken by the Alberta Food Processors Association (AFPA), in partnership with the Alberta Workforce Essential Skills Steering Committee (AWES)
Another article focuses on a Canada-wide research project entitled Workplace Education Development (WED): Customizing Accreditation Curricula, which studies the strategies being used by workplace educators to customize the delivery of established accreditation curricula such as the GED (General Education Diploma) to maximize learning.
A project to develop and pilot a training curriculum for construction craft labourers in Alberta is the focus of another article.
This issue also contains an item about the establishment of a workplace literacy project, Learning@Work, a joint undertaking of the Saskatchewan Labour Force Development Board (SLFDB) and the National Literacy Secretariat. There is also a review of a publication on the language of documents.
Added: 2010-04-07
July 1999
Series: WWestNet's The bottom line
Authors: Western Canada Workplace Essential Skills Training Network (WWestNet)
This issue’s lead article focuses on the award received by Winnipeg-based Bristol Aerospace for its efforts in workplace literacy. Bristol implemented its Adult Basic Education (ABE) program in 1995. To reduce the amount of time required to complete some of the training program, Bristol adopted Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR), which allows employees to challenge for credit for skills they already possess, then take only the courses required to complete a certification process. The award was presented by the National Literacy Secretariat, Human Resources Development Canada.
Another article describes plans by the Alberta Food Processors Association (AFPA) for a labour market study, using Statistics Canada data to profile workforce demographics and conducting interviews with industry representatives to define future trends in the industry. The project also includes an inventory of training programs in the sector and an essential-skills needs assessment.
The issue contains an item about personnel changes at SkillPlan, the British Columbia Construction Industry Skills Improvement Council. There are also reviews of publications dealing with the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) system in the food-processing industry; and with a good-practice framework for analysing workplace education programs.
Added: 2010-04-07
January 2002
Series: WWestNet's The bottom line
Authors: Western Canada Workplace Essential Skills Training Network (WWestNet)
This issue focuses exclusively on BHP Billiton Diamonds Incorporated’s Ekati Diamond Mine, located in the Barren Lands of the Northwest Territories. It outlines the company’s commitment to building a sustainable Aboriginal and Northern workforce, while dealing simultaneously with the low literacy skills of a significant portion of the pool of available employees.
The company began by developing essential-skills profiles for its entry-level positions, then used this information, along with the Test of Workplace Essential Skills (TOWES), to develop a customized “pre-assessment TOWES” for identifying learning gaps.
The company’s training department took on many initiatives, including computer-based learning; a leadership development program; and the establishment of an apprenticeship program.
The department points to the establishment of its Workplace Learning Program (WLP) as its greatest achievement. The guiding principle of the WLP is safety. A third of the company’s Aboriginal workforce struggles with reading simple documents; teaching these employees to read is vital to keeping them safe. The program promotes flexibility and inclusion to meet the needs of both learners and the workplace.
Added: 2010-04-07
June 2002
Series: WWestNet's The bottom line
Authors: Western Canada Workplace Essential Skills Training Network (WWestNet)
The lead article in this issue describes a Calgary company’s initiatives to help employees whose first language is Vietnamese improve their command of English with the goal of making the workplace safer.
Another article describes Applications of Working and Learning (AWAL), a one-day professional development activity to help teachers show students how the curriculum they are learning in the classroom is used in the workplace.
The issue also includes an account of a symposium, held in Calgary in 2002, on incorporating Essential Skills into workplace training agendas.
Added: 2011-07-05
July 1996
Series: WWestNet's The bottom line
Authors: Western Canada Workplace Essential Skills Training Network (WWestNet)
This issue’s lead article focuses on a workshop held in Saskatchewan to help educators adapt their skills and knowledge to the demands of workplace education programming.
Other articles deal with a conference held in Mexico on competency-based education; a look at the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS); the Calgary Learning Centre’s annual Breakfast of Champions; and a comparison of approaches to adult education.
Added: 2010-02-24
October 1996
Series: WWestNet's The bottom line
Authors: Western Canada Workplace Essential Skills Training Network (WWestNet)
This issue of the newsletter includes an account of a workshop addressing the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS)and its Canadian component. Another article deals with how reading and writing skills are applied in the construction industry. Other articles deal with a needs assessment carried out by the Alberta Restaurant and Foodservices Association; a program designed to introduce disadvantaged youth to skilled trades; an update on workplace literacy in the Northwest Territories; and a workplace literacy program initiated at a remote uranium mine site in Saskatchewan.
Added: 2010-02-24
January 1997
Series: WWestNet's The bottom line
Authors: Western Canada Workplace Essential Skills Training Network (WWestNet)
This issue includes articles on a symposium held in Calgary to consider the results of the Canadian component of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS); plans for a workplace literacy forum to be held in Yellowknife; and the link between literacy retention and workplace literacy demands.
Another article challenges myths about literacy, including the view that literacy and education are synonymous; the belief that immigration is a significant contributor to literacy problems in Canada; and the idea that literacy skills, once learned, are never lost.
Added: 2010-03-03
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