A study sought to determine how and why small businesses invest or do not invest in basic skills instruction for their workers. Data were gathered through a national mail and telephone survey of a random sampling of 11,000 small (50 or fewer employees) and medium-sized (51-400 employees) firms, a targeted mail survey of 4,317 manufacturers, a…

Thirteen national leaders were interviewed about their concerns and hopes for adult literacy. Questions focused on research and public policy, literacy awareness, harmful notions and misconceptions in the field, and the role of the new National Institute for Literacy (NIL). Everyone interviewed stressed the need for research and public policy that…

There are more than 4 million small businesses across the country that provide more than half of private sector employment, generate 47 percent of the gross national product, and generate two out of every three new jobs in the United States. Because small businesses provide the majority of new workers with their first work experience, they are at…

This set of 36 newsletters deals with adult literacy programs and issues of interest to the business and literacy communities. Each issue contains either a message to corporate chief executive officers or a Business Council for Effective Literacy (BCEL) editorial, and most issues include brief reports on recent BCEL and corporate literacy actions…