Profiles of six workplace literacy programs in Canada identified a number of factors contributing to program success: funding resources, marketing/recruitment strategies, innovative organizational structures, support services, organizational philosophy, and commitment to the new training culture. (SK)

Manitoba, Canada, workplace stakeholder groups were interviewed to determine the issues they faced and their awareness of, and ability to deal with, workplace basic skills issues. Interviews collected the opinions of 78 employer representatives, 121 employees, and 5 union representatives in the 6 emerging economic sectors of health care products,…

From 1995-1998, 12 of the 79 organizations funded by Canada's National Literacy Secretariat (NLS) conducted approximately 40 workplace literacy pilot projects across Canada. Those projects were reviewed to determine their effectiveness in increasing the number and quality of Canadian workplace literacy programs. Information for the review was…

A project explored and addressed the communication barriers to union participation of stewards and members of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU). A questionnaire was developed and distributed to over 300 ACTWU members; 153 responded. Other commitments and communication skills were identified as key barriers to greater…

Workplace literacy and basic skills may be defined as skills needed by employees at work: reading, writing, math, and problem solving. Workplace literacy and skill requirements are based on the needs of each workplace and its workers. These skills are important because the work force needs to be highly skilled and adaptable to compete in a global…

In 1992, United Grain Growers (UGG) and Manitoba Pool (MP) formed a partnership to examine the literacy and numeracy needs of their rural grain elevator operators and the potential of delivering a communications enhancement program in the rural areas. During part 1, the committee held a series of initial planning meetings. Both companies held…

This conference summary contains 36 presentations. Participants' comments, taken from response cards, are quoted throughout. Presentations from the Opening Plenary include a keynote address--"What Is Literacy?: Critical Issues for the Next Decade" (John Ryan) and four "Panelist Presentations" (Francis Kazemek, Lorraine Fox,…

This book is a practitioner's guide to developing literacy training programs for workers. Titles of the 28 chapters and epilogue are as follows: "Understanding the History and Definitions of Workplace Literacy" (Askov, Aderman); "Understanding Literacy in the Canadian Business Context: Conference Board of Canada Study" (Hart);…

The policies and practices of Canadian labor unions in the area of workplace literacy were examined through a comprehensive literature review and site visits to an unspecified number of labor-initiated workplace literacy programs representing different geographic areas, industries and types of occupations, levels of participation of equity groups,…

Eight work force literacy initiatives were conducted in British Columbia (BC), Canada. The primary objectives and key activities of the initiatives were as follows: (1) alliance development (developing partnerships and linkages promoting and supporting work force literacy); (2) public awareness (conducting presentations and media relations and…

This document contains 123 papers from an international conference on vocational education and training (VET) for lifelong learning in the information era. The papers focus on the following themes: (1) societal and ethical issues; (2) human resource development and personnel training; (3) international issues; (4) information technology in VET;…