This guide, which is organized in a question-and-answer format, is designed to answer questions commonly asked by employers interested in establishing workplace literacy training programs. The questions and answers have been grouped in sections on the following topics: the extent of the employer commitment required to establish a workplace…

A collaborative, holistic, and integrated approach to workplace education is needed to deal with a complex workplace and world. Critical elements include financial and organizational commitment to education and training, comprehensive program evaluation, balanced emphasis on worker skills, a challenge to the deficit model, and alternatives to the…

The following major provisions of the National Literacy Act of 1991 are described: increase authorization for literacy programs; establish a National Institute for Literacy; authorize state literacy resource centers; create national work force demonstrations; amend basic state grants; revise the Even Start Family Literacy Programs; and authorize…

Steps in developing a workplace literacy partnership include (1) creating community awareness; (2) developing organizational readiness; (3) analyzing organizational needs, climate, and resources; (4) negotiating program content, structure, participation, and schedule; (5) setting goals and objectives and planning instruction; and (6) implementing…

This blueprint is intended to give employers and organized labor an overview of the issues involved in workplace literacy. The guide is divided into six sections. Section 1 defines and introduces workplace literacy. Section 2 highlights some of the issues employers and organized labor are facing as a result of low literacy levels in the workplace.…

Intended for trainers of literacy providers and practitioners in the field, this manual explains how to develop a workplace literacy program and market it to employers. Chapter 1 provides an overview and history of workplace literacy and recommends improvements in literacy services. Chapter 2 examines approaches to developing workplace programs,…

Core principles of successful workplace literacy programs are relevance, integration of literacy and job skills, flexibility, continuity, and shared ownership and accountability. Success often involves complex negotiations to balance needs of employers, employees, and educators. (SK)

Reports on research probing job-related literacy demands and on programs promoting job literacy. (JT)

Findings of a three-year co-worker literacy tutoring program in Canada include the following: (1) management and unions must be informed of program intent and purpose; (2) nonreaders' fear of exposure is a major barrier to participation; and (3) workplace literacy coordinators for each industry are essential. (SK)

This publication is an update of an earlier Ohio Literacy Resource Center workplace literacy bibliography and contains 20 resources from 1993 to the present. Items have been selected based on a number of criteria: they had to be of high quality, have practical use, and be readily available to a wide audience of workplace literacy practitioners.…

This guide, based on the Model Workplace Literacy Training Program for Indiana State Employees established at the Indiana Women's Prison in 1991, provides practical advice on developing workplace literacy programs. The guide is organized in six chapters, following an introduction that describes the origins of the Indiana program and outlines the…

This booklet provides guidelines for setting up workplace programs to strengthen employee basic skills. It is intended to help employers who are contemplating the establishment of basic skills training programs and those with programs already in place who seek to improve their current designs. Part I addresses the basic skills problem in the…

This handbook is designed for individuals responsible for planning employee education, technical training, and other human resource development services in a workplace setting, especially in small business. It provides information on integrating basic education activities with technical training and organizational change activities to enable all…

Changes in the workplace have raised the level of literacy needed by workers to full twelfth grade at least and outstripped manufacturers' ability to retrain workers. Even workers with high school diplomas may not be able to read. Although defined as literate, 40 percent of workers cannot meet the demands of the new technology. In order to achieve…

Presented in case study format, this report looks at different types of workplace literacy programs across Canada. It describes in some detail 10 particular work environments and the unique characteristics that have enabled each to offer quality worker education programs. Each case study provides information in these categories: profile (an…