Resources: Need help starting, maintaining or evaluating a workplace-training program?

Here are some tools and contacts:

ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation

ABC CANADA, the national charity that promotes a literate Canada, publishes Canadian CEO and has a variety of resource materials on its website, including fact sheets on literacy, handy summaries of the latest figures on literacy from Statistics Canada, and a brochure, Look through the literacy lens, that compiles literacy statistics related to topics such as health, work, seniors, and Aboriginal people. www.abc-canada.org

Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA)

CAMA, a national, non-profit association for municipal managers, has employed innovative workplace literacy programs in collaboration with the Canadian Union of Public Employees. It champions workplace programs through its National Award of Excellence. www.camacam.ca

The Canadian Council on Learning (CCL)

CCL, a national, non-profit organization formed in 2004, supports research in learning, including workplace literacy development. www.ccl-cca.ca

Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)

CLC is a key champion of workplace literacy and essential-skills training. It conducts research and produces numerous reports, brochures and guides about training for the workplace and workforce and the adoption of clear-language practices. www.clc-ctc.ca

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)

Another key labour champion of workplace and essential-skills training, CUPE works with the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators to develop programs for municipalities. www.cupe.ca

The Conference Board of Canada (CBOC)

CBOC undertakes considerable research into workplace literacy programs, and champions best practices through its Awards for Excellence program (see box). Its website provides numerous free, downloadable studies and brochures on workplace literacy. www.conferenceboard.ca

Statistics Canada

Statistics Canada, along with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), released new statistics of Canada’s literacy rates in 2005. Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey compared Canada with other countries, and International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS) provided more details about Canada. There are numerous other literacy - and workplace - related reports on its site. www.statcan.ca

United Food and Commercial Workers Canada (UFCW)

UFCW has a large and diverse membership across numerous sectors, including food, service and retail, and pursues programs encompassing workplace literacy, essential skills and clear language. www.ufcw.ca

WORKPLACE LITERACY RESEARCH

Investment in workplace literacy

Employer Investment in Workplace Learning in Canada: How we are doing. Why it matters. What the key issues are. How we can do better. (Canadian Council on Learning, 2006) Compiles a variety of research findings through recent years and underscores the need for greater investment in workplace training. (For more on this paper, see “An Urgent Need for Cooperation” in Canadian CEO’s UpFront news section. .)

What’s Happening in Clear Language?: A Review of Canadian Initiatives and Resources (CAMA/CUPE, 2005) Provides examples from both the public and private sector, and includes a selective list of online and print resources.

Creating and evaluating programs

Literacy, Life and Employment: An Analysis of Canadian International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) Microdata (Conference Board of Canada, 2006) Based on a detailed analysis of Canadian data from the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey, this report provides concrete strategies for designing and implementing literacy initiatives.

Evaluation of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Literacy Program, Summary Report (CUPE, 2006) The first outside evaluation of a CUPE program assesses the impact of its six-year literacy program both inside and outside the union and makes 25 recommendations for future development.

Workplace Literacy: Funding Sources and Partnership Opportunities for Labour (Canadian Labour Congress, 2006) An investigation by the CLC’s Literacy Working Group.

Profiting from Literacy: Creating a Sustainable Workplace Literacy Program (CBOC, 2005) Information to help employers create, improve and evaluate programs. Geared to organizations of all sizes, government policy-makers, unions, communities and other learning partners.

Strength from Within: Overcoming the Barriers to Workplace Literacy Development (CBOC, 2003) Summarizes a two-year research project exploring literacy-program benefits, common barriers. Provides solutions and tools that prepare the reader for action.

Management-union collaboration

Success by Design: What Works in Workforce Development (CBOC, 2002) Identifies the benefits and key design elements of successful joint union-management workplace-education programs in the United States.

AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN WORKPLACE LITERACY

Do you have a winning workplace literacy program? Every year, The Conference Board of Canada presents its Awards for Excellence in Workplace Literacy to companies that actively promote employee reading, writing and numeracy skills through in-house training, core-competency evaluations and skills promotion.

Application deadlines are typically in the spring, and the awards are presented late in the year, typically within the first two weeks of December. For full details and nomination and entry froms, go to: www.conferenceboard.ca. Click on ‘Awards for Excellence’ on the left-hand side of the home page.