This paper attempts to identify some tools to help practioners think about, debate and plan Workplace Literacy and Essential Skills (WLES) programs. Such tools are necessary so that discussions between practitioners aiming to clarify good practice and successful approaches can get beyond mere descriptions of what happened. In order to compare and…

Since the publication of the Moser Report in 1999, improving the basic skills of adults has been a major priority for all of the UK's governments. There has been a particular interest in building up workplace provision, because of the assumed relationship between the basic skills of the employed population and productivity. A longitudinal study…

This special topic issues focuses on workplace literacy. "Literacy Practices in Today's Workplace" (Larry Mikulecky) provides a picture of demands and practices in workplace literacy. "Workplace Literacy Skills: Making Reading Work for Work" (Esther Minskoff) advocates use of contextual instruction and offers guidelines for providing workplace…

Project WORKSMART was a Nashville, Tennessee-based workplace literacy project to provide an exemplary multidimensional workplace literacy program while simultaneously demonstrating products and practices that promote lifelong learning that can be customized and replicated in diverse work environments. The project was a partnership between…

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 2-year project was conducted to improve the productivity of the work force through improvement of literacy skills in the workplace by providing instruction to employees in the printing industry in the Baltimore (Maryland) metropolitan area; Carroll County and Charles County, Maryland; and York, Pennsylvania. The project was organized with input…

A 10-week course called "Communiclearsory" Training was developed to improve the written and oral communications skills of supervisors/foremen in the manufacturing trades. A total of 39 selected supervisors from 2 manufacturing industries in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, were assessed by using the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE)…

As states implement new strategies to help more families make the transition from welfare to work, they will be faced with the challenge of designing programs that address the needs of an extremely diverse population of families. Some families will be able to make the transition to work with limited assistance, especially in a strong economy.…

A general increase in the demand for workplace basic skills mirrors the general increase in societal basic skills demands. As a result, many adults are participating in second-chance basic skills education. Second-chance basic skills programs are offered by a wide variety of providers, but populations actually served by programs rarely amount to…

Project CARE, a workplace literacy partnership between Louisiana State University Medical Center and Louisiana State University-Shreveport, surpassed its goal to influence 485 employees and to enroll at least half that number. The project also provided training seminars for front-line supervisors and revised documents. All data and information…

The generic workplace curricula in this document were developed in a workplace education project conducted in Pima County, Arizona, which served 524 workers (58 percent from minority groups) at 14 worksites. Generic curriculum and competencies were developed for each subject area rather than each specific worksite. Of 374 workers who completed the…

This report describes the Productivity Training Project (PTP), a partnership between the University of Southern Colorado and Latino Chamber of Commerce (LCC) of Pueblo. The project provided "new economy skills" training to employees of LCC member businesses and basic skills training to the unemployed or underemployed. The report explains…

An evaluation of this Syracuse, New York workplace literacy skills improvement project had three purposes: to characterize changes in the baseline performance of adults' workplace literacy skills as a function of instructional treatment; to characterize changes in workers' and supervisors' perceptions of worker effectiveness as a function of…

Project TIP (Tyson Improvement Program) was undertaken in 1992 to provide basic and job-specific skills training to current employees of Tyson Foods. The workplace literacy program, which was jointly developed by staff from Wallace State College in Hanceville, Alabama, and Tyson Foods, was designed to be presented to Tyson employees at five…

The Basic Educational Skills Training (BEST) workplace literacy demonstration model was designed to provide adult basic education (ABE) services simultaneously for multiple employers in Maury County, Tennessee. The BEST model focused on job-related instruction. The goal of the program was to achieve increased safety, productivity, and employee…