LiteracyExpressCanadian Literacy and Learning Network Winter 2013

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State of the Fieldw h e r e t o g o F r o m h e r e

The new year has landed with a flurry ofactivities at CLLN. Planning over the last fewmonths is coming to fruition with these threenew projects and partnerships:

Incorporating Digital TechnologyCLLN is conducting an environmental scanto investigate how digital technology is beingused in adult L/ES programs and networksacross Canada. We believe it will help thefield better understand and incorporatedigital technology to best meet the needs ofCanadian adult learners.rough this scan, we hope to discover whattools are being used and how, along with anybarriers to the full integration of digitaltechnology in institutions, agencies andnetworks. We will use these findings to makerecommendations for further research andaction to support the Literacy and EssentialSkills workforce.And to complement this information CLLNand Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF)have a joint project to look at what digitaltechnology is being used in the workplace.

Employers’ Perceptions and Attitudes onthe Impacts of Technology on Apprenticesand Journeypersons in the WorkplaceWe are exploring employer attitudes, invarious trades, toward the impact oftechnology on skills requirements in theworkplace. We want to know: What tradesare being impacted the most? What are theemerging skills requirements and how willthis impact training?Workplace Learners in Canada

CLLN is undertaking a joint project with theCanadian Union of Public Employees(CUPE) to identify current knowledgearound workplace learner needs andworkplace learning through an environmentalsnapshot. It will capture information aboutcurrent workplace programming in unionizedand non-unionized environments, andsuccess indicators from workplace learners’perspectives.

LiteracyExpressWinter 2013

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CLLN N e w S

CLLN Labour market Study

U p d at e

In this issue:

CLLN News

4 New Projects

4 survey of L/es workforce

FOCUs: state of the Field:

Next steps

4 ways of LearningFormal, Non-Formal, Informal

A Curriculum wheel for Lifelong Learning

Pathways to education

Adult Learning in Nunavut

Building Bridges: Promoting

College and Career Readiness

Learning Communities of all Kinds

4 Corporate Canada Responds to the skills crisis

eCe: A High-Priority Investment

Canada’s Labour Market Mismatch

Perrin Beatty on the skills Crisis

4 success story: enhancing essential skills at Fundy Pros

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We know quite a bit about the people whoaccess Literacy and Essential Skills programsin Canada, and the tools used to teach theseskills. But we don’t know enough about thepractitioners who work across the countryhelping people to upskill.is gap in our knowledge has been revealedin recent studies. Working to address the gap,CLLN, with funding from OLES, iscoordinating a large-scale, confidential surveyof L/ES practitioners. is is a survey by andfor L/ES practitioners; to yield the bestpossible data, we need you to participate.is is an opportunity to have L/ES workvalued, documented and recognized. It is the

first step in examining the richness of ourfield and it will provide tangible data topolicy makers and stakeholders.Once the analysis is completed, we will havethe first comprehensive picture of the L/ESworkforce in Canada–demographics ofpractitioners working in the L/ES field,information about what kinds of work theydo, where they do it and how they do it–-anda better understanding of the humanresources issues affecting practitioners as wellas program providers.Watch for the online survey link coming toyour inbox in March, or monitor the Literacy Professionals section of literacy.ca.

New Projects & Partners at CLLN

Now it’s your turn!

CLLN is funded by the Government ofCanada's Office of Literacy and Essential Skills

this newsletter is published by

Canadian Literacy and Learning Network342A Elgin Street

Ottawa, ONK2P 1M6

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LiteracyExpressWinter 2013

State of the Field reportN e x t S t e p SCanadian Literacy andLearning Network (CLLN)released the State of theLiteracy and Essential SkillsField to our national networkof partners last November.e report* provides anenvironmental scan showingthe state of field across thecountry. As the first reportof its kind, it providesmuch-needed baselineinformation from whichfuture scans and newtargeted research projects

can be developed.

Adult Literacy and Essential Skills (L/ES) development andtraining are relevant to a range of policy areas that cross politicalboundaries. e State of the Literacy and Essential Skills Field canhelp inform government, labour, business, social service agencies,partners and stakeholders about the impact of Literacy andEssential Skills on the Canadian economy and the well-being ofCanadians.

e report draws out a number of nation-wide issues and trends:

e looming labour shortage linked to Canada’s agingpopulation, combined with ongoing shifts in the labourmarket and a widening skills gap, make humanresources issues the greatest economic concern ofCanadian business. Literacy and Essential Skillsimprovements are part of the solution.

e under-representation of First Nations, Métis, Inuit,new immigrants and persons with disabilities in thelabour market is both a challenge for Canada and apotential solution for labour shortages—if effectivesolutions for removing barriers and encouragingupskilling can be developed.

e Literacy and Essential Skills level of Canadianyouth remains an area of concern across Canada. Eventhough fewer youth are dropping out of school, somestudents who graduate with a Grade 12 diploma don’thave adequate skills. With low-skill jobs disappearing,Canada must improve the L/ES level of high schoolgraduates and develop more effective programs for the10% who still don’t graduate and the 43% who haveskills at IALS levels 1 and 2.

With many governments facing budget deficits,reducing expenditures is a priority. Recent researchindicates that an increase in Literacy and Essential Skillscould provide significant reductions in Canadians’reliance on income support from EmploymentInsurance as well as workers compensation and socialassistance programs, freeing up significant fiscalresources for governments.

Many of the articles in this edition of Literacy Express touch onthese issues. Policy makers, business leaders and educatorsincreasingly understand that these are critical challenges forCanada. Building solutions will require effective collaborationand significant investments.

Literacy and Essential Skills are part of the “right to learn”required for people to function effectively at work, at home andin their communities. e State of the Field shows how Literacyand Essential Skills have a powerful effect on the economic andsocial lives of Canadians. Our challenge now is to take thisknowledge and use it to keep the conversation going, buildstronger alliances with the stakeholders outside the immediateL/ES field, and make real progress on building a culture oflearning in Canada.

read the report online here

download the pdf here

The State of the Field report is…A national picture of theL/ES field

Baseline information tosupport future researchAn L/ES lens on key issueschallenging Canada’seconomy and social fabricAn educational resource foroutreach and partnershipbuilding

*Note: e State of the Literacy and Essential Skills Field is sometimes shortened to “the State of the Field” or simply “the report” in thisissue of Literacy Express, for length and readability.

e notion of different types of learning that could becategorized as formal, non-formal and informal began to takehold in 1996 when the OECD education ministers agreed todevelop strategies for “lifelong learning for all”. Formal learning is the most studied and best understood of thethree, and it may be over-valued as a result. Developing a betterunderstanding of non-formal and informal learning is essentialfor recognizing, and in some cases certifying, learning that takesplace outside of a formal setting.

“e recognition of non-formal and informallearning is an important means for making the‘lifelong learning for all’ agenda a reality and,subsequently, for reshaping learning to bettermatch the needs of the 21st century knowledgeeconomies and open societies. “

(OECD,https://www.oecd.org/edu/highereducationandadultlearning

/recognitionofnon-formalandinformallearning-home.htm ,retrieved January 29, 2013)

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State oF the FieLdw a y s o f L e a r n i n g

For most people, the word “learning” and the word“schooling” are fairly synonymous. When we hear the word“learning” many of us are likely to imagine a classroom withdesks and chairs and a teacher at the front of the room.But traditional school-based classroom learning has not been asuccessful experience for everyone. As the State of the Literacyand Essential Skills Field report clearly reveals, many Canadiansdo not acquire the skills they need to be successful in life fromthe school environment. Too many young people still do notgraduate from high school, and a disturbing number graduatewith insufficient literacy skills. In addition, most of thepopulation groups under-represented in the labour force (FirstNations, Métis, Inuit, newcomers and people with disabilities)have a comparatively high likelihood of negative schoolexperiences.For groups identified in the State of the Field as having highlevels of need for L/ES upgrading, structured classroom

learning may seem intimidating. Normally, young people gainskills at high school. However, youth who didn’t do well informal education may have substantial gaps in learning butthink that they have better skills than they actually have. eymay need different types of programs to attract them back to alearning environment. We recognize that some immigrant and refugee groups requiredifferent approaches for learning to be effective. With olderworkers, it is always important to avoid the perception thatthey are being “sent back to school” because their skills areinadequate.e key to success for many adult learners is simply wanting tolearn and finding a way to make it happen–and there are manydifferent ways of learning. is section of Literacy Expresstakes a look at different ways of learning and some innovativeprograms that put people on the path to realizing theirpersonal learning goals.

Formal learning

This type of learning is intentional,

organized and structured. Formal

learning opportunities are usually

arranged by institutions. Often this

type of learning is guided by a

curriculum or other type of formal

program.

Non-formal learning

This type of learning may or may not

be intentional or arranged by an

institution, but it is usually organized

in some way, even if it is loosely

organized. There are no formal

credits granted in non-formal learning

situations.

Informal learning

This type of learning is never

organized. Rather than being guided

by a rigid curriculum, it is often

thought of as experiential and

spontaneous.

Formal, Non-formal and Informal LearningApplications in the Canadian L/ES and Language Learning Context

e brief definitions (see boxprevious page) are provided byDr. Sarah Eaton in her researchreport, Formal, non-formal andinformal learning: e case ofLES and language learning inCanada. Dr. Eaton’s reportinvestigates the links amongthese types of learning. In theCanadian context, thesenotions of learning arelinked to literacy andessential skills (includingHRSDC’s L/ES tools), as

well as the learning of secondand other languages in Canada.

e paper highlights certain Canadian examples forunderstanding literacy and language learning, and seeks to startcross-disciplinary conversations between L/ES professionals andthose working with second or other language learning.Particularly intriguing are the potential applications of the asset-based Common European Framework of Reference for Languages(CEFR) to language learning in Canada. CEFR has severalelements in common with HRSDC’s system for viewing Literacyand Essential Skills, both proposing a way of understanding andvaluing skills and competencies that transcends borders. Bothsystems recognize and value learning of all kinds, reinforcing andinspiring lifelong learning.Dr. Eaton’s report is recommended reading for all L/ESprofessionals.

Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph. D., Founderand Principal Advisor, EatonInternational Consulting

Copies of the report may be accessed through the National AdultLiteracy Database:Formal, non-formal and informal learning: e case of LES andlanguage learning in Canadahttp://library.nald.ca/research/item/8549http://www.nald.ca/library/research/eaton/eaton.pdf

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WEBINARS

www.literacy.ca

Feb. 20, 2013 – 2pm to 3pm esT

Measuring Impact: Telling Your story to

social Investors

An overview of measurement methods andavailable tools, helping Literacy and EssentialSkills organizations to maximizecommunications to stakeholders and funders.

Presented by Annette Hegel, Manager ofCommunications, CLLN

click here to register

March 13, 2013 – 2pm to 3pm esT

Labour Market study of the L/es workforce -

everything you ever wanted to know about

the upcoming survey

Literacy and Essential Skills practitioners workacross Canada in various settings to helpCanadians achieve better L/ES results. Whilemore is known about who accesses L/ESprograms and what tools are used to increaseL/ES skills, recent studies have shown that thereis a gap in our knowledge about who works inthe L/ES field..

Presented by Anne Ramsay, LMS projectmanager, CLLN

click here to register

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“e Wheel” is a tool that was developed to illustrateScotland’s curriculum framework for adult learning. A wheelwas chosen to represent the curriculum because its developerswanted the curriculum to revolve around the learner.Because it represents the curriculum asconcentric circles, the wheel acts as avisual reminder to both tutors andlearners about learningopportunities, and theprinciples that shouldinform adult learning.

By placing the learnerat the centre and thehigher-order goalsin a ring aroundthe outside, thewheel presents aholistic vision ofindividuals’lifelong path oflearning. As a tool,the wheel can beused to helplearners work outtheir own individuallearning plan andgoals, with the assistanceof their tutor.

While problem solving is anelement within the wheel, it isn’tthe frame: the focus is not on solvinga specific problem, such as needing a higherliteracy level or better computer skills. Nor is thepath a linear one: for example, job loss training employment. e learner is not framed as a person with a

problem that needs solving, but as a person becomingempowered to improve their life.

e curriculum wheel resonates with one of the key findingsof the State of the Literacy and Essential Skills Field

report: the need for Canada to develop aculture of learning and for

Canadians to embrace lifelonglearning. Learning doesn’t end

with a diploma or degree.Adults need to continue

learning, whatevertheir skill level. Weneed to promotelifelong learningand provideopportunities forpeople to upskill.is isparticularlyimportant whenpeople areprevented from

reaching theirgoals because of low

literacy levels.

e Wheel is availableas on online tool at Adult

Literacies Online,Scotland’s national databank

of resources supporting adultliteracy and numeracy.

http://wheel.aloscotland.com

A Curriculum Wheel for Lifelong LearningScotland’s curriculum framework for adult learning

Share your ideas with the network! Let

us know about resources, new research or

the work you are doing.

Contact Teresa LeGrand at

tlegrand@literacy.ca to get your info out

nation-wide in

LiteracyExpress or on www.literacy ca.

CLLN MembershipIf you aren’t already a member, or haven’t renewed your

membership, please click here for the membership form.If you have any questions, visit our website or

call the office at 613-563-2464 or email us at clln@literacy.ca.

Pathways to Education tackles one of Canada’s mostsignificant socio-economic challenges head-on–the highschool dropout rate in Canada’s most vulnerablecommunities.

e State of the Field provides national andprovincial/territorial statistics on dropouts–which areconcerning in themselves–but these figures don’t reveal thesituation at the community level. In some neighbourhoods,more than half the students don’t graduate from high school,taking a dramatic toll on our communities, our health andjustice systems, and our economy.

Founded in 2001, Pathways now operates in 12communities across Canada with programs inOntario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Manitoba

By 2016, Pathways will serve over 10,000 studentsand alumni each year

e Pathways program generates a $24 socialreturn for every $1 invested

Pathways’ mission is focused on helping youth in low-incomecommunities graduate from high school and successfullytransition into post-secondary education. Pathways addressessystemic barriers to education by providing leadership,expertise and a community-based program proven to lowerdropout rates.

e results of this unique program have been ground-breaking, reducing high school dropout rates by as much as

70%, and increasing the rate at which youth from theseneighbourhoods go on to college or university by up to 300%.

Working alongside the school system, Pathways provides after-school tutoring, mentoring and financial assistance. Eachstudent benefits from a personal relationship with a supportworker who motivates and guides students and their families,brings insight that can’t be found on report cards, and holdsstudents accountable to the contract they sign in order toparticipate in the program.

Pathways’ innovative, community-based model buildspartnerships with governments, social welfare agencies, andhundreds of diverse volunteers who share their talent andwisdom. Embedded within trusted local organizations, anddedicated to equality, inclusion and accessibility, the programis available to all students of high school age within thecommunities Pathways serves.

Pathways is helping to break the cycle of poverty and enablestrategic, long-term social change. To learn more aboutPathways to Education, including how communities areselected, visit their website at pathwaystoeducation.ca.

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Pathways to EducationWorking to Help Make Canada a Graduation Nation

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A significant measure of the future success of Nunavut will bethe ability of Nunavummiut—the people of Nunavut—totake an active role in the economic opportunities that becomeavailable in the territory. e Government of Nunavutenvisions future success from a social and economicperspective, understanding that respect for the values,traditions and abilities of Nunavummiut must be thefoundation of development.

Vision

“We envision a territory where learning andtraining build Nunavut-based capacity,providing Nunavummiut with opportunitiesto effectively engage in the cultural, social andeconomic development of our territory.Nunavut will become a place in which ourcommon goals are achieved throughcollaboration, cooperation and investment inour human resources.”

—Nunavut Adult Learning Strategy

e Nunavut Adult Learning Strategy sets a course for meetingthe adult learning challenges facing the territory. With almostthree-quarters of the working-age population struggling withliteracy issues, the learning needs and the social costs are great.Actions taken to combat poverty and social exclusion can onlyhave lasting effects if the basic skills of the population can beimproved.Opportunities are anticipated in the fields of government,construction, mining, fishing, tourism and traditionalactivities. But it will be a significant undertaking to providethe training, education and skills that individuals will need toengage in their communities and obtain employment. egoal is not only to upskill individuals to qualify for positionsthat have been typically filled by non-residents, but to buildthe capacity of Nunavummiut to become active participantsin determining their future.

e strategy is the first step toward a new plan for the deliveryof adult education and training in Nunavut. Its goals andobjectives seek to address four core issues affectingNunavummiut adults’ learning:

e learning needs are wide and varied, ranging fromliteracy and adult basic education to professionalprogramming, and there are not enough resources toaddress all needs. With building capacity as a primarygoal, a key challenge will be investing in areas that yieldthe greatest value over the long term.Many people lack basic literacy skills, especially in smallcommunities. A focused effort to raise literacy skills (inEnglish, Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun) and basic educationlevels among these people can increase the number ofcandidates for further education and trades training.e systems in place for delivering adult learning andcareer development services need to be evaluated, withthe goal of improving coordination to improve theeffective delivery of adult education programs andservices. All programs and services must be developed in aculturally appropriate manner, clearly reflecting theneeds of Inuit. e lack of programming in Inuktitut andInuinnaqtun, and programming that reflects communityneeds and values, must be addressed. It is important tovalue teaching and learning at all levels and from allsources.

Nunavut is making a commitment and significant financialinvestment to address the territory’s adult learning issues.Making progress will require a collaborative effort, over thelong term, beginning with the strategy’s implementation plan.It is interesting to see how Nunavut’s strategy aligns withScotland’s curriculum wheel: both place the learner at thecentre and identify the promotion of self-determination andlifelong learning as framing values.

www.tunngavik.com/documents/publications/2008-08-11-Nunavut-Adult-Learning-Strategy-English.pdf

Adult Learning in NunavutInvesting to meet unique challenges

1.

2.

3.

4.

e United States faces a skills gap similar to Canada’s (seePerrin Beatty on Canada’s Skills Crisis, page 11). e gap thatexists between the skills and knowledge of the current andprojected workforce, and the demands of jobs that are expectedto grow the most rapidly over the next decade, is seen as athreat to America’s competitive advantage in the globaleconomy.e U.S. Department of Education Office of Vocational andAdult Education held a virtual symposium for communitycolleges in 2012. Several briefs were produced to guidediscussion, including Promoting College and Career Readiness:Bridge Programs for Low-Skill Adults. In the U.S., bridgeprograms are a common intervention intended to improvesuccess rates for adults entering post-secondary programs.e brief begins from the premise that community colleges areideally positioned to help close the skills gap and have thepotential “to succeed as engines of workforce development andeconomic prosperity”—if some problems can be addressed. ebrief focuses on low rates of student persistence andcompletion, and the programs designed to alleviate thisproblem.U.S. research on adult literacy skills reports that half of adultsaged 18-64 who do not graduate high school have below basicliteracy skills; among those with a diploma or GED, just overhalf are at either below basic or basic. Many of these adultsneed to improve their basic skills before they can successfullytake advantage of training or employment opportunities.

Bridge programs support the transition from adult educationto the next step on an occupational pathway. ey aim toincrease the rates at which low-skill adults move into college-level programs, persist in these programs, and obtaincredentials that allow them to move jobs with family-sustainingwages and career advancement.In the U.S. these programs have developed mainly as part oflocal institutional efforts or state-led initiatives. e programsin Washington, Oregon and Illinois are described in overviewto provide a picture of the common components of leadingbridge models. Improving the data for analyzing studentprogress and successwill help promotecontinuousimprovement andsharing of bestpractices as bridgeprograms grow andevolve.

Promoting College and Career Readiness: Bridge Programs for Low-Skill Adults

U.S. Department of Education Office of Vocational and Adult Education

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cclo/brief-1-bridge-programs.pdf

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Building Brigdes: Promoting College and Career Readiness

Despite low literacy levels, post-secondaryeducation is a common goal of many adulteducation students—they have the desire andmotivation to learn, but not the skills they need tosucceed. Together, many adult education programsand community colleges in the U.S. have respondedto this problem by developing career pathwaysprograms and, within these programs, bridgeprograms.

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A learning community is commonlydefined as a group of people whoshare common values and beliefsand are actively engaged in learningfrom each other. From a quick scanof this issue of Literacy Express wecan find several examples of learningcommunities:

On the professional level we see government,communities and learning service providers workingtoward solutions for adult learning in Nunavut; andgovernment education officials, community colleges andadult learning programs building bridge programs inthe U.S.

e Chamber of Commerce roundtables on the skillscrisis may be thought of as a starting point for a nationallearning community of business interests seekingsolutions to human resource issues.

On the community level we have the Pathways toEducation program, creating learning communities forthe benefit of youth in Canada’s most vulnerableneighbourhoods.

e workplaceat FundyPros is an example of a positiveenvironment that fosters a continuous learningcommunity

e State of the Field report itself is to a degree theproduct of a learning community: CLLN members,researchers and staff collaborating to build andconsolidate knowledge within the L/ES field.

We can imagine other related learning communities engagedin formal, non-formal and informal learning—for example, anon-formal, on-reserve community program to sharetraditional skills and language could foster a strong learningcommunity; an informal adult learners’ study group canbecome a community of people who help each other througha challenging college program.Learning communities can be defined by common interest oraffiliation, institutional or geographic boundaries, or both.Over a lifetime of learning, people may belong to manydifferent learning communities of varying degrees of formality.Anytime that people engage to learn from each other, they arebuilding learning communities and strengthening a culture oflifelong learning.

Tamarack is aCanadian institutededicated tofosteringcommunityengagement andcollaborativeleadership.rough anational website,Tamarack hasmade a homefor a growinglearning community of practitionersfrom different sectors, working together and learningfrom each other to address complex community issues andcreate positive change. Tamarack’s community shares responsibility and leadership forbuilding vibrant communities across Canada and beyond. Asa collective, Tamarack seeks to advance the field ofcommunity engagement and collaborative leadership.Tamarack has established three intentional learningcommunities, each linked by a dedicated website offeringopportunities to learn and connect.

TamarackCCI.ca is a network for collaborativeleadership professionals

VibrantCanada.ca invites engagement, innovationand collaboration aimed at reducing poverty inCanada’s cities

SeekingCommunity.ca offers people theopportunity to create a profile, explore questionsof community and connect with other

Tamarack’s virtual learning communities are working at anational level to build collaborative leadership and strengthencommunity engagement on the ground at the local level.

Learning Communities of All KindsFosteringLifelongLearning

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4

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Tamarack’sLearningCommunities

Late in 2012, two of Canada’s major banks publishedarticles relating to the Literacy and Essential Skills field.While the topics might not seem to be especially similar atfirst glance, both relate to themes addressed in CLLN’s Stateof the Field report, and both reveal the importance ofensuring that there is opportunity for all in order to build aprosperous Canada.

TD Economics’ Special Report looks at the benefits of earlychildhood education. CIBC World Markets’ In Focusexplored the issue of “haves” and “have nots” in Canada’sworkforce. Where is the alignment? Both support the needto foster a culture of learning in Canada from earlychildhood through adulthood.

e following articles summarize some of the key points raisedin these reports. You can follow the links to the full text if youwant to read more.

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e Bankers are Talking … about Literacy and Essential Skills

TD’s special reporton early childhoodeducation (ECE)takes the form of aliterature review.While it’s noted that

some of the studies reviewed may haveshortcomings and there is a potentiallylarge margin of error in quantifyingbenefits, the report nonethelessconcludes that early learning promotes“pervasive widespread benefits”.e report finds “compelling evidence” ofthe benefits of early learning: benefits for the children, as well aspositive impacts on the parents and the economy. Ultimately,making investments in early education can help address manyof Canada’s challenges—poverty, skills shortages, and improvingproductivity and innovation are singled out in the highlights.

Despite clear evidence that the benefits ofECE far outweigh the costs, publicspending in this area falls short of theinvestments made by most advancedeconomies. In fact, Canada’s spending onECE services as a percentage of GDPranks us last among 14 countries.However, the report acknowledges thatmost governments in Canada are currentlyin deficit-reduction mode and are notlikely to invest in substantial newprograms at this time. erecommendation is that governments

should consider investing in ECE as a “high priority over themedium term” as finances move back into balance.Not considered is the question: What are the costs of waiting?

ECE: A High-Priority Investment

State oF the FieLdC o r p o r a t e C a n a d a r e s p o n d s t o t h e S k i l l s C r i s i s

Special Report, TD Economics – November 27, 2012“Early Childhood Education has Widespread and LongLasting Benefits”http://www.td.com/document/PDF/economics/special/di1112_EarlyChildhoodEducation.pdfIn Focus – Economics – December 3, 2012“e Have and Have Nots of Canada’s Labour Market”http://research.cibcwm.com/economic_public/download/if_2012-1203.pdf

e TD special report includes datashowing that children whoparticipate in ECE have lower graderetention, require less funding forspecial education, and are less likelyto drop out of school. We also needto know if they are more likely tograduate with a higher L/ES level.

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CIBC WorldMarket’s Decemberissue of In Focusprovides aprovocative look atcurrent trends in

Canada’s labour market. e analysisshows a “growing divide between haveand have not occupations.” Have and have not occupations correlateto Canada’s skilled labour shortage onone end of the labour spectrum, and alabour surplus at the other. is skilledlabour “mismatch” is described as a big–and growing–problem.Big enough to “limit the growth potential of the labour marketand the economy as a whole.”e methodology used in the CIBC report measures wages andunemployment rates. Occupations experiencing both risingwages and falling unemployment are the “have” occupations;those experiencing the inverse, stagnant or falling wages andhigh and/or rising unemployment, are the “have nots”.

In summary, the occupations showingsigns of labour surplus are traditional crafts(e.g. butcher, baker, tailor), clerical andsales jobs, public school teachers, tourismand recreation jobs, personal and foodservice workers, and labourers inmanufacturing. e occupations showingsigns of skilled labour shortage are diversehealth care roles (both traditional andspecialized) and occupations in mining,engineering and science.Proposing solutions to the skills gap isn’tthe purpose of this article. (Immigration

and apprenticeship initiatives are mentioned—and found likelytoo small to do much toward closing the gap.) It is left toothers, including those of us in the L/ES field, to work onbuilding the solutions to address the mismatch.Childhood learning and adult learning are both essential forthe well-being of Canadians and a prosperous Canada.Building strong Literacy and Essential Skills creates thefoundation for lifelong learning.

Canada’s Labour Market Mismatch

e Canadian Chamber of Commerce has been focusing on“Barriers to Canadian Competitiveness” as one of its top policyinitiatives. Why? Because the Chamber has identifiedcompetitiveness as the over-riding concern of the businesscommunity in Canada.e Chamber has a Top 10 list of the barriers to competitiveness,and the issue at the top of the list is “Canada’s human resourceschallenge”. is challenge was the subject of Perrin Beatty’s addressto the 2012 AGM of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce onSeptember 12, 2012.Mr. Beatty, the President and CEO of the Chamber, used terms suchas “mismatch”, “crisis” and “deep structural problem” to describe thehuman resources challenge, and referred to 2012 a “tipping point”for many Canadian businesses.e evidence is clear: the baby boomers have started to retire, thereare not enough workers to replace them, and there is a growingshortage of skilled workers. is trend is predicted to continue overthe next 20 years and will impact critical sectors of the Canadianeconomy.Mr. Beatty titled his talk Canada’s Skills Crisis: What We Heard, andhe spent some time reporting on the results of the Chamber’s seriesof cross-country series of roundtables on the skills issue. Canadian

businesses are acutely aware of theneed for skills upgrading and thelack of essential skills amongCanadian workers, what Mr.Beatty called the “survival skills”needed to cope in the 21st centuryworkforce. Also mentioned by many roundtable participants was the need toimprove Aboriginal education in order to realize the potential of theyoungest and fastest-growing segment of Canada’s population.Upskilling and Aboriginal education were joined by educator-employer connections and immigration policy to become the fourpriorities emerging from the roundtable exercise.What the Chamber heard from Canadian businesses aligns quiteclosely with the findings of the State of the Field, which can be aresource for the Chamber as they move forward with determining awork plan on the skills issue. Mr. Beatty has challenged the chambernetwork to take action, especially in filling the gaps in the educator-employer model. Building partnerships to find solutions will be key.You can view Mr. Beatty’s entire speech at:www.chamber.ca/images/uploads/Events/AGM/2012/CCCAGM2012_Beatty.pdf

Perrin Beatty on Canada’s Skills Crisis

e CIBC piece raises an alarmabout the prospect or rising long-term unemployment among the“have nots”, but it doesn’t digdeeper to examine the L/ESdifferences between the people inthe have and have not occupationsor look at other barriers to mobilitybetween the two categories.

LiteracyExpressWinter 2013

12w w w . l i t e r a c y . c a

SUCCeSS StoryF U N d y p r o S

FundyPros Specialty Construction is the largestspecialty construction firm in New Brunswick,with over 250 employees. Founder andpresident Mario Allain has been the drivingforce behind the creation of an innovative andcomprehensive essential skills training programfor his company.FundyPros’ operations span the province, soMr. Allain began with town hall meetings withhis employees, asking them what could be donedifferently to make the company more productive and sustainable.e feedback showed him that there was a shortage of qualifiedworkers, and that many workers didn’t have enough training orexperience, and lacked essential skills.Realizing that on-the-job training was what the company needed,Mr. Allain set out to develop a program that would yield resultsfor his business. Being a builder, Mr. Allain started from theground up and built his own training facility. With the assistanceof a newly hired training instructor and the participation ofFundyPros supervisors, a custom program was developed for thecompany.One of the first steps was using the Organizational NeedsAssessment from HRSDC’s Office of Literacy and EssentialSkills to identify the company’s strengths and Essential Skillstraining needs. is helped them to realize that there wereproblems with the practice of promoting the best tradespeople tosupervisory positions: possessing technical skills and talentsdoesn’t necessarily mean having the skills needed to be a goodmanager.e FundyPros’ training program is called the “school ofexcellence”—its focus is enhancing the Essential Skills of thecompany’s 30 supervisors across the province. With the bestinterests of his company at heart, and by listening to the workersand seeking out professional assistance and proven tools,Mr. Allain has been able to realize the goal of building theleadership capacity of his supervisors.

Here are some of the highlights of the school of excellence:e training team avoids using the term “literacy” anddistinguishes the on-the-job training from the type of learningdone in school (e.g. there is no grading or pass/fail), to avoidpossible negative associations the participants may have.Instead, the training is positioned as an exercise to raise thecompany’s standards, helping it to grow and be sustainable.

e training is mandatory, with each module consisting of sixhalf-day sessions, scheduled as-needed. ese sessions take

place during working hours with employeesreceiving their regular wage, making thetraining part of the job, not an add-on.

e Construction Sector Council’scompetency matrix chart is used as aroadmap for the program. e chart helpsto identify the Essential Skills thesupervisors need, and map them to specificworkplace tasks. e participants work withdocuments that they actually use in theworkplace so they can see how the trainingis relevant to their job.

While the introduction of the school of excellence was threateningto some employees, and not everyone was willing to participate,over time a cultural change has begun to take hold at FundyPros.Mr. Allain has worked to foster a positive learning environment,where developing skills is a worthwhile goal for everyone.e results of the school of excellence have been positive for bothparticipants and the company:

Participants’ self-esteem and confidence on the job hasincreased, creating a positive attitude and atmosphere at work.

ere are fewer human resources issues, more respect betweenworkers, more integrity in the company, and fewer work-related issues on the job.

A noteworthy success was the computer use training course.Now that supervisors have a laptop with them on site,communications are considerablyimproved and software enablesefficient, accurate andstandardized job estimates andcosting.

FundyPros is always trying toevolve, to connect the dots, byintegrating Literacy andEssential Skills into a culture ofcontinuous learning.

Constructing the Right Solution

3 Key Ingredients to success:

1. Organizational needs

assessment

2. Customized training program

that meets identified needs

3. Owner that champions

continuous learning

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