This document discusses the development of an essential skills ePortfolio program in Manitoba, Canada. The program aims to help Manitoba residents develop and demonstrate their essential skills through an online portfolio. It will use the Mahara open-source platform to allow users to collect, reflect on, and share their work and life experiences. A pilot program will test the online portfolio curriculum with learners before a full rollout. The goal is for the portfolio to help users with career development, employability, and skills recognition throughout their lives and across different contexts like work, education and community. Partnerships between government and nonprofit groups will be important for implementing and growing the program.

1. Career Portfolio ManitobaEssential Skills ePortfolio for Employability Don Presant Linda Maxwell ePortfolio Community of Practice, Australia October 29, 2010

2. Manitoba,CanadaSmall province in a small country Challenging geography 650,000 sq km (UKx2) Diverse demographics 1.18 m (712K in Winnipeg) Labour force 624K (2007) Aboriginals, EAL speakers (>270K) Diverse economy Federal political structure “Canada’s social science laboratory”

3. Canada’s Essential SkillsContextualized by workplace occupation… Reading text Document use Writing Numeracy Computer skills Oral communication Thinking skills Problem Solving, Decision Making, Critical Thinking, Job Task Planning and Organizing, Significant Use of Memory, Finding Information Working with others Continuous learning

4. Stakeholders:WEM & WPLARWorkplace Education Manitoba, Workplace PLAR Nonprofit partnerships of Government, Business and Labour WEM: workplace education in Essential Skills WPLAR: workplace Recognition of Prior Learning wem.mb.ca wplar.ca

5. The Essential Skills Portfolio Origins and character First immigrants, now “general” Career changers (younger, older..) Reflection on life-wide learning of Essential Skills for employability Build confidence, improve “skills dialogue” Make resumes & cover letters clearer, more credible Preparation tool for interviews More than ES: attitudes, specialized skills Product: ring binder, from electronic templates 18 hours class time + c. 18 hours of homework

7. Lists: skills, examples & outcomes statements

8. Evidence-demonstrations, documentation

9. Resumes and cover letters

11. Vision for Career Portfolio ManitobaCareer development for life All Manitobans Learner owned Lifelong Lifewide: home, community, school, work... Based on (not restricted to) Essential Skills Built through partnerships of stakeholders, with WEM and WPLAR as “anchor tenants” Globally aware, locally relevant

13. Exposition

14. Assess for comprehension

15. Build knowledgeINSTRUCTOR LED Export artefacts (learning products) “Single Sign On” Other artefacts Submit for recognition Links to artefacts & views; assignments, evidence for outcomes USER DRIVEN Mahara tools: Blog, forum, views Human capital Employability Skills transfer KSA asset building Collect, Select, Reflect… Artefacts, commentary, dialogue Networks Peers, mentors Other Web 2.0 tools:

16. Choosing the supplierThe Development Manager (TDM)

17. Essential Skills ePortfolioProgram overview Adapt the paper curriculum Leverage the “e” factor Embed authentic ICT skills Use relevant software applications Use accessible multimedia hardware Provide ongoing learning support Gap training / PD for SMART goals using Moodle

18. ImplementationOnline tour

19. ImplementationWorksheets

20. ImplementationJob match summary

21. Next steps Pilot Train the trainer Iterate, adapt Audiences, delivery formats Complete the business plan Build partnerships Grow

22. Other government departments Other non-profits Sector Councils Individual employers Post secondary institutions Potential partners

23. Community of communities“Small pieces, loosely joined” Government Information Portals Student Records Employer HR Management Systems eGovernment Single Window Service Online Credential Verification Mahoodle Hub Localized Labour Market Information Online Mentoring Services Job Boards, Recruitment Sites Web 2.0 YouTube LinkedIn Twitter… Personal Networks, Communities

24. Useful links Career Portfolio Manitoba http://careerportfolio.mb.ca Workplace Education Manitoba http://wem.mb.ca WPLAR http://wplar.ca Contact emails: Don Presant, Learning Agents Inc. don@learningagents.ca (Twitter: donpresant) Linda Maxwell, Keystone Adult Education Services Inc. adulted@mts.net Phyllis Mann, Workplace Education Manitoba PMann@wem.mb.ca