The Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills Project is a two-year national pilot project developed by Literacy Victoria to help Canadians with lower literacy levels prepare for, get, and keep a job. The project provides nine months of pre-employment training, job search support, and mentoring to help trainees successfully transition to employment. The training focuses on essential skills like reading, writing, and problem solving needed for work as well as soft skills and sector-specific knowledge. The goal is to develop a replicable model that businesses and community organizations can use to address workforce literacy challenges.
What is the ultimate measure of our effectiveness as educators? Perhaps it is enrollment growth at our institution. Maybe it is retention rates of students. Could it be graduation rates of cohorts? Possibly it is average scores on major field tests. While all of those are worthwhile metrics to measure, consider employer satisfaction with our graduates as a key performance indicator of our effectiveness.
Internal metrics are absolutely important to utilize as we continually improve our programs. But ultimately graduating students is not the goal, it is merely a means to an end. The ultimate goal is to develop students who possess the attributes, knowledge and skills to be a professional in their chosen field.
Is your institution/program measuring employer satisfaction with your graduates? Is there dialogue taking place between persons serving on curriculum development committees and employers about the competencies needed in the workforce?
Dr. Mac Adkins has an uncommon perspective as both an educator and employer. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Auburn University, has served as a Dean at a state institution and a private, for-profit institution, and has taught on-campus and online for the past twenty years at Troy University, Capella University, Amridge University and the International Distance Education Certification Center. In addition to that academic background for fourteen years he has served as the CEO and Founder of SmarterServices which provides assessment services to over 500 colleges and universities. He has served on curriculum development committees at the program level as well as the state level as he was one of the authors of the Alabama Course of Study in Technology Education.
In this presentation Dr. Adkins will share his combined perspective from higher education and corporation leadership. SmarterServices employs persons in positions that require degrees in business, marketing, and computer science. He will reflect on lessons learned as an employer in seeking candidates who have been thoroughly prepared in their collegiate experience. Recommendations will be made on how schools can enhance the dialogue between employers and program developers to ensure that our graduates are competent and capable.
The Illinois Essential Employability Skills Framework is designed to define and clarify the essential employability skills and provide a standard for the state. Essential employability skills are those general skills that are required to be successful in all sectors of the labor market and are separate from the technical skills attained in career pathways or academic skills such as math and reading. The framework was developed through the collaboration of the Illinois Community College Board; the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; representatives of Illinois businesses; local chambers of commerce; secondary, postsecondary and adult educators and professionals; and other important stakeholders.
Embedding Employability Survey - Staff
This instrument was developed from our Focus Group Consultation. It is a new survey tool, with important differences observed between stakeholders (employer, DkIT Staff, DkIT Students, DkIT Graduates). Please review each and you are welcome to modify and use for your own surveys at your own institution.
What is the ultimate measure of our effectiveness as educators? Perhaps it is enrollment growth at our institution. Maybe it is retention rates of students. Could it be graduation rates of cohorts? Possibly it is average scores on major field tests. While all of those are worthwhile metrics to measure, consider employer satisfaction with our graduates as a key performance indicator of our effectiveness.
Internal metrics are absolutely important to utilize as we continually improve our programs. But ultimately graduating students is not the goal, it is merely a means to an end. The ultimate goal is to develop students who possess the attributes, knowledge and skills to be a professional in their chosen field.
Is your institution/program measuring employer satisfaction with your graduates? Is there dialogue taking place between persons serving on curriculum development committees and employers about the competencies needed in the workforce?
Dr. Mac Adkins has an uncommon perspective as both an educator and employer. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Auburn University, has served as a Dean at a state institution and a private, for-profit institution, and has taught on-campus and online for the past twenty years at Troy University, Capella University, Amridge University and the International Distance Education Certification Center. In addition to that academic background for fourteen years he has served as the CEO and Founder of SmarterServices which provides assessment services to over 500 colleges and universities. He has served on curriculum development committees at the program level as well as the state level as he was one of the authors of the Alabama Course of Study in Technology Education.
In this presentation Dr. Adkins will share his combined perspective from higher education and corporation leadership. SmarterServices employs persons in positions that require degrees in business, marketing, and computer science. He will reflect on lessons learned as an employer in seeking candidates who have been thoroughly prepared in their collegiate experience. Recommendations will be made on how schools can enhance the dialogue between employers and program developers to ensure that our graduates are competent and capable.
The Illinois Essential Employability Skills Framework is designed to define and clarify the essential employability skills and provide a standard for the state. Essential employability skills are those general skills that are required to be successful in all sectors of the labor market and are separate from the technical skills attained in career pathways or academic skills such as math and reading. The framework was developed through the collaboration of the Illinois Community College Board; the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; representatives of Illinois businesses; local chambers of commerce; secondary, postsecondary and adult educators and professionals; and other important stakeholders.
Embedding Employability Survey - Staff
This instrument was developed from our Focus Group Consultation. It is a new survey tool, with important differences observed between stakeholders (employer, DkIT Staff, DkIT Students, DkIT Graduates). Please review each and you are welcome to modify and use for your own surveys at your own institution.
WBL IN ACTION Event Slides Feb. 17, 2015innovatetk
Educators, work-based learning partners, superintendents, and those involved in Linked Learning get together to adopt and celebrate common definitions and effective practices along the College & Career Continuum for Tulare and King Counties. www.innovatetk.com/wbl-in-action
Participate in a discussion regarding job readiness program components designed for your community as well as an introduction to a proven Job Readiness curriculum.
NCET Biz Cafe | Mary Alber, Closing Soft Skills Gap | July 2019Archersan
As the world of employment turns toward automation and robotics, here’s something artificial intelligence will never master: soft skills.
At this Biz Café, you’ll learn a whole lot about soft skills based on Mary Alber’s doctoral research on personal development systems. You’ll leave this Biz Café with:
• The latest data on the competencies that are in most demand by employers in Northern Nevada;
• An understanding of why today’s school system isn’t developing soft skills;
• Action plans for parents and employers to integrate soft skills into your home and places of work.
Ryerson's Career Checkpoint: Embedding Student Development into On-Campus Job...Ryerson Student Affairs
Ryerson's Career Checkpoint: Embedding Student Development into On-Campus Jobs
by Paulina Nozka & Kaitlyn Taylor-Asquini
As part of its commitment to preparing students for life after graduation, Ryerson University is embedding learning outcomes and implementing a professional development program into its 1,000+ on-campus student jobs. Informed by leading theories in student and career development, Career Checkpoint is composed of five key components, including supervisor toolkits and a student employee development program. The pilot year includes test and control groups involving multiple University departments, to demonstrate the benefit of embedding co-curricular learning in the workplace.
Key Takeaway:
Colleges today face specific and unique challenges as they help their students out of the classroom and into the workforce. This session offers practical and strategic tools to help bridge the “Skills Gap” that students coming out of college face today as well as tools which help engage everyone’s participation in improving employment outcomes for your Graduates.
Description (paragraph form)
With an increased pressure on Institutions of Higher Learning to substantiate their course offerings with respect to employability; now more than ever, programs designed to specifically address soft-skills are the only viable way to prepare the student and close the “skills gap” that exists in the job market today.
More and more recent college graduates struggle to gain entry into their field due to what employers claim is a lack of hands on experience, professionalism and business acumen in students coming directly out of college.
Join highly-rated speaker Ann Cross for this interactive and engaging presentation about the benefits of incorporating soft-skills training through experiential learning into the student experience. For those who already have soft-skills training as part of your course offerings, this workshop will share some of the best practices from around the country.
The Sparrow Group has visited dozens of campuses in the last five years, and has seen what works, as well as the common mistakes and missed opportunities. This is not a theoretical workshop, but rather a workshop that focuses on practical, tactical programs that you can implement immediately. You’ll hear stories of success, see data that supports outcomes, and leave with tools that you can take back to the campus and use to improve employment outcomes.
WBL IN ACTION Event Slides Feb. 17, 2015innovatetk
Educators, work-based learning partners, superintendents, and those involved in Linked Learning get together to adopt and celebrate common definitions and effective practices along the College & Career Continuum for Tulare and King Counties. www.innovatetk.com/wbl-in-action
Participate in a discussion regarding job readiness program components designed for your community as well as an introduction to a proven Job Readiness curriculum.
NCET Biz Cafe | Mary Alber, Closing Soft Skills Gap | July 2019Archersan
As the world of employment turns toward automation and robotics, here’s something artificial intelligence will never master: soft skills.
At this Biz Café, you’ll learn a whole lot about soft skills based on Mary Alber’s doctoral research on personal development systems. You’ll leave this Biz Café with:
• The latest data on the competencies that are in most demand by employers in Northern Nevada;
• An understanding of why today’s school system isn’t developing soft skills;
• Action plans for parents and employers to integrate soft skills into your home and places of work.
Ryerson's Career Checkpoint: Embedding Student Development into On-Campus Job...Ryerson Student Affairs
Ryerson's Career Checkpoint: Embedding Student Development into On-Campus Jobs
by Paulina Nozka & Kaitlyn Taylor-Asquini
As part of its commitment to preparing students for life after graduation, Ryerson University is embedding learning outcomes and implementing a professional development program into its 1,000+ on-campus student jobs. Informed by leading theories in student and career development, Career Checkpoint is composed of five key components, including supervisor toolkits and a student employee development program. The pilot year includes test and control groups involving multiple University departments, to demonstrate the benefit of embedding co-curricular learning in the workplace.
Key Takeaway:
Colleges today face specific and unique challenges as they help their students out of the classroom and into the workforce. This session offers practical and strategic tools to help bridge the “Skills Gap” that students coming out of college face today as well as tools which help engage everyone’s participation in improving employment outcomes for your Graduates.
Description (paragraph form)
With an increased pressure on Institutions of Higher Learning to substantiate their course offerings with respect to employability; now more than ever, programs designed to specifically address soft-skills are the only viable way to prepare the student and close the “skills gap” that exists in the job market today.
More and more recent college graduates struggle to gain entry into their field due to what employers claim is a lack of hands on experience, professionalism and business acumen in students coming directly out of college.
Join highly-rated speaker Ann Cross for this interactive and engaging presentation about the benefits of incorporating soft-skills training through experiential learning into the student experience. For those who already have soft-skills training as part of your course offerings, this workshop will share some of the best practices from around the country.
The Sparrow Group has visited dozens of campuses in the last five years, and has seen what works, as well as the common mistakes and missed opportunities. This is not a theoretical workshop, but rather a workshop that focuses on practical, tactical programs that you can implement immediately. You’ll hear stories of success, see data that supports outcomes, and leave with tools that you can take back to the campus and use to improve employment outcomes.
2. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
The Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills Project
Developed by Literacy Victoria, with private sector employers and
community partners
A national, two-year pilot project
Goal: To develop a replicable model that will help Canadians with lower
literacy levels successfully prepare for a job, get a job and keep a job.
4. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
Essential Skills—The HRSDC Framework
“Essential Skills are the skills needed for work, learning and
life. They provide the foundation for learning all other
skills and enable people to evolve with their jobs and adapt
to workplace change.”
Office of Literacy and Essential Skills, Human Resource and Skills Development Canada
5. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
Essential Skills needed for all occupations
1. Reading Text
2. Document Use
3. Writing
4. Numeracy
5. Oral Communication
6. Thinking Skills (includes problem solving)
7. Working with Others
8. Computer Use
9. Continuous Learning
6. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
Literacy
“The ability to understand and employ printed information in
daily activities, at home, at work and in the community—to
achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and
potential.”
The Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey, Statistics Canada
7. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
Literacy Levels
Level 1-- Poor reading, writing, numeracy skills. Difficulty with
printed materials.
Level 2--Limited skills. Can find familiar words in simple text.
Level 3-- Minimum level needed to cope with today’s
knowledge-based, electronic world. Can read material that is
simple and clearly laid out.
Levels 4/5--Higher-order information processing skills.
8. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
In British Columbia
40% of working-age adults (16-65) are below level 3.
This includes 1 million Canadian-born adults and 300,000
immigrants.
9. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
A Hidden Issue
Most workers can read and write, but still may struggle to
complete forms and documents, understand memos, count
cash, use computers, communicate well, problem solve
Workers may not realize their skills are too low
Workers and employers usually adapt and work around it
10. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
Why should business be
involved in literacy?
Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
Low literacy costs Canadian
businesses $2.5 billion
annually in lost productivity.
Literacy Alberta, 2007
11. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
The Canadian economy is shifting from manufacturing and
natural resources to a knowledge-based economy.
Rapid changes in technology and global competition require
continuous learning and adaptation for all workers.
All of us struggle to keep up with the rapid pace of change,
but workers with low literacy struggle even more.
12. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
Potential Benefits for Business
Improved safety
Improved productivity
Reduced wastage and errors
Training “sticks”
Ability to recruit, retain and promote the most promising
employees
13. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
Stages of Corporate Readiness
Stage 1: Unaware and unready
Stage 2: Unaware and favourable
Stage 3: Aware of the need
Stage 4: Implementing solutions
14. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
Trainees are supported for nine months
Phase One: Pre-employment training
Phase Two: Transition to employment—job search support
Phase Three: Mentoring while adjusting to a new job
15. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
Program Delivery Model
Individual Training Plan
Weekly meeting with a tutor
40-60 hours of pre-employment
workshops
Monthly Training circle
16. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
1. Learners
Network Intake
•Application
•Interview
•Matched with a
tutor
•Benchmarking
•Goal Setting
workbook
2. Employment
Goal Identified
•Screen for WLES
eligibility
•If not yet eligible,
continue in LN or
refer to external
agencies
•If eligible, LN
coordinator makes
referral to WLES
3. WLES Intake
•Interview
•Skills assessment
•Accepted or
declined
•If declined, make
referrals out, or
continue in LN
4. Trainee Accepted
•Individual Learning
Plan created,
based on their goals
5. Required
Employment
Readiness Modules
•Qualities and Attitudes
for Success
•Essential Skills
•Career Exploration and
sectoral knowledge
•Specific Employment
goals
6. Search for
Employment
•Search skills
•Application letters
•Resume
•Interview Skills
7. Adjust to
Employment &
Engage Employer
•WLES contacts
employer, with
permission of trainee
•WLES staff engage
employer
WLES
Trainee
Flow
(Draft Pilot #2)
17. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
Curricula
Self-paced learning modules
Based on National Occupation Standards
Adaptation of emerit’s Tourism Essentials
Includes:
Positive attitudes
Essential (transferable) Skills
Sector Knowledge
19. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
The Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills Program is
funded by HRSDC, Office of Literacy and Essential Skills.
20. Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
Contact
Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills
Project Coordinator
info@literacyvictoria.ca
www.literacyvictoria.ca
Questions?
Editor's Notes
Many Literacy Victoria learners are highly motivated to work, but need to improve their literacy and essential skills in order to successfully keep jobs.
Corporate= Fairmont Empress (hospitality), Thrifty Foods (retail grocery), Victoria Shipyards (marine repair), Dockside Green (construction).
Community=Disability Resource Centre, Coast Salish Employment Training Society, (CSETS)
Knowledge=SkillPlan, ASPECT
Literacy and essential skills are measured on a continuum.
Most employees can read and write, but they may struggle to complete forms, comprehend written instructions, accurately calculate numbers or use computers.
Level 1--Find it difficult to manage tasks of daily living, such as reading instructions for taking medicine.
Level 3 is roughly the level required for successful secondary school completion. It requires the ability to integrate several sources of information and solve more complex problems.
Low literacy limits ability to adapt to change, to learn new skills as new technology is introduced, to re-train and advance.
See “How Basic skills Training Benefits Business”.
Schick, R. (2005). Employer investment in workplace literacy programmes, Auckland, New Zealand: Workbase, The New Zealand Centre for Workforce Literacy Development, Retrieved March 2008 from http://www.workbase.org.nz/Resource.aspx?ID=218
Stage 1: Employers are not convinced that literacy is a business issue and don’t consider it their problem to address
Stage 2: Companies have conditions that indicate a need to address literacy issues and invest in training.
Stage 3: Companies recognize that some of their HR needs can be addressed by focusing on literacy and essential skills. They are exploring solutions.
Stage 4: Companies are actively engaged in taking action to address skill gaps.