A workplace literacy curriculum for entry-level hospital workers who sterilize medical equipment for doctors and nurses was developed, tested, and published in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. An assessment was conducted to identify the needs of the hospital's management and the literacy skills needed by its central services prep department, and…

This article provides a field-based account of how to develop and implement an adult workplace literacy program for English as a Second Language (ESL) students based upon the principles of a social practices definition of literacy. The purpose of the program is to provide basic literacy instruction for the growing population of Spanish-speaking…

Comprehensive professional development is rarely offered to graduate students, yet would assist students to obtain employment and prosper in their careers. Our objective was to design a course framework to provide professional development training to graduate students that is comprehensive, minimizes faculty workload, and provides enculturation…

This report provides information on a workplace education program in which Emily Griffith Opportunity School, Denver, partnered with Columbia HealthONE, Dobbs International Services, Imperial Headwear, Inc., Marriott Hotels, Provenant Health Partners, University of Colorado Health Science Center, and Westin Hotel. Section A of Part I, a program…

Numeracy training was provided for employees of two Lehigh Valley (Pennsylvania) manufacturers. The curriculum was designed with a heavy emphasis on basic operation. Ten students began the course; seven completed it successfully. Unit tests evaluated each student's understanding of the material. Three students passed Qualifying Tests successfully;…

A JTPA/FEL (Job Training Partnership Act/Family English Literacy) demonstration project is reported that involves a partnership between the Lao Family Community (LFC) of Minnesota, the City of St. Paul, and St. Paul Public Schools/Adult Basic Education. The goal is to provide workplace literacy instruction to refugees with limited English…

A description is provided of the Lower Merrimack Valley Workplace Education Project (WEP), an educational project that offers English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and job-specific education classes to hourly employees in the Semiconductor Division of Alpha Industries. The challenge of the project was to create a WEP that could accommodate the…

The Kodak Skills Enhancement program was a workplace literacy project funded through the U.S. Department of Education's National Workplace Literacy Program. The project goals were as follows: (1) establish a positive climate within the Kodak corporate environment to ensure program effectiveness by garnering support at all levels; (2) determine the…

A workplace literacy project was conducted at the Nabisco Richmond Facility for the following purposes: to determine what academic skills are necessary to perform 10 selected jobs, to develop a validated assessment to evaluate an employee's literacy skills, to develop a job-specific curriculum to improve skill deficits, and to provide an…

In an expansion of an earlier National Workplace Literacy Program project, this document reports on a workplace literacy model operated by the Arlington Education and Employment Program (REEP) that includes the Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia Public Schools, the chambers of commerce of both cities, and 14 local hotels. The project provided…

This document explains the curriculum development process used by the Workforce 2000 Partnership, a network of industries and educational institutions that provide training in communication, computation, and creative thinking to employees in the textile, apparel, and carpet industries in 15 plants in Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. First, a…

A workplace literacy project was conducted cooperatively through the Minnesota Teamsters Service Bureau and Northeast Metro Technical College. Project objectives, which were met, included the following: (1) establishing a project steering committee; (2) developing workplace literacy curriculum materials and resources specific to commercial vehicle…

An evaluation of an 18-month workplace education program at 2 health care sites in Cambridge, Massachusetts, showed that the curriculum designed could be adapted for other workplace education programs. The workplace education program was designed to help improve the language skills of employees at Neville Manor and at the Cambridge Hospital. Of 35…

Originally designed to serve 400 employees, the Mott Community College (MCC) Workplace Literacy Project provided instruction in basic workplace skills to 566 employees from 20 companies. The cost was 2 percent lower than projected. All participants were assessed and counseled on the basis of the assessment tests. Individualized training plans were…

A project demonstrated that a workplace literacy model can be replicated in large and small businesses with significant learner outcomes and used to improve worker productivity. It served 938 employees of 4 partners at 12 sites, including 2 large and 1 small manufacturing plants, major health care system, and multiple small businesses. Diverse,…