You can use the Getting to Workplace Essential Skills slide ­presentation to increase literacy awareness, knowledge about literacy and ­essential skills and/or literacy programs for ­employers, as well as training workplace educators. Canadian Literacy and learning Network (CLLN) has developed this presentation to give an overview of workplace essential skills to practitioners, as well as a tool to make a case for workplace L/ES training by community literacy groups to employers. You can use it “as is” or select information or slides that you would like to share. If you use any part of this presentation, we ask you to please acknowledge CLLN and promote our role in advancing literacy and essential skills in Canada.

1. Getting to Workplace
Essential Skills
Current Issues and Future Directions
Developed by Chris Harwood
Canadian Literacy and Learning Network – www.literacy.ca

2. Look to tHe Future
Companies need to look ahead, not just at what is
happening day-to-day. Budgets need to reflect
growing a business. There will be new markets to
exploit and new business opportunities. Innovation
is important and so are the workers who deliver.
People management is important.
Jayson Myers, President Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters
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3. MobILIzatIoN oF workers
4 Should be part of every company’s
strategic plan
4 Workers need to be able to respond
to change
4 Many workers are not ready to do this
4 To respond quickly, workers need
Essential Skills – not just
technical skills
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4. wHat Do esseNtIaL skILLs
MeaN to eMpLoyers?
Anne Ramsey, Project Read Literacy
Network, reported at the Canadian
Manufacturers and Exporters Summit
2009 that most employers she met had
not heard of the HRSDC definition of
Essential Skills.
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5. tHe NINe esseNtIaL skILLs
4 Reading Text
4 Document Use
4 Numeracy
4 Writing
4 Oral Communication
4 Working with Others
4 Continuous Learning
4 Thinking Skills
4 Computer Use
For more on essential skills go to hrsdc.gc.ca/essentialskills
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6. esseNtIaL skILLs
Essential Skills are:
4 a structured way of thinking about literacy
4 the foundation for learning all other skills
4 adaptable to all situations
Essential Skills help people to be more productive
and to more easily learn new tasks
Jobs need different skills and have varying
complexity levels – essential skills recognize this
Literacy is the foundation of every Essential Skill
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7. IMportaNCe aND ratINg oF skILLs
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8. skILLs NeeDINg IMproveMeNt
Canadian Manufacturers and exporters 2007-2008 annual Management Issues survey
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9. a HIDDeN probLeM…
A few years ago, we introduced new
tools in a firm of 550 employees. The
union thought 30 or so employees
would need assistance. An inquiry
revealed that 178 employees experienced
difficulties, at different degrees.
Féderation des travailleurs et des travailleuses du Québec
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10. toDay’s CHaLLeNge
Workplaces are facing many challenges:
4 Need to compete in the global market
4 Need to increase productivity
4 In hard economic times it is difficult to find
money for training
4 It costs twice as much to train someone in a
small or medium sized enterprise
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11. skILLs IN CaNaDa
what the
figures tell us
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12. LIteraCy LeveLs For
CaNaDIaN aDuLts
Level 1
Level 4/5 14.6%
19.5%
Level 2
27.3%
Level 3
38.6%
Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL) 2005
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13. skILLs we NeeD / skILLs we Have
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14. aCCeptaNCe oF skILLs
Many adults with low
literacy skills believe they
have good or average
literacy skills.
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15. resuLts FroM Cars
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16. resuLts FroM Cars -speakINg
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17. resuLts FroM Cars - LIsteNINg
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18. resuLts FroM Cars -tHINkINg
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19. More FaCts …
The need to improve skills does not relate to one
sector. For example:
4 About 50% of workers in wholesale, retail,
hotel and restaurant industries score
below level 3
4 58% of machinists are at level 1 and 2
More training occurs in large businesses.
Small and medium sized enterprises find it
harder to deliver training.
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20. a Cost/beNeFIt aNaLysIs
4 Goal is to get everyone to Level 3 literacy –
roughly equivalent to a high school diploma
standard (some people gain high school
diplomas but don’t actually have skills at
that level)
4 A 1% increase in average literacy scores
results in a 1.5% permanent increase
in GDP per capita
4 A 1% literacy increase results in a 2.5%
increase in productivity
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21. eMpLoyers' INvestMeNt
IN traININg
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22. probLeMs IN tHe workpLaCe
If a business is experiencing these issues
4 high staff turnover,
4 high absenteeism,
4 low motivation and/or productivity,
4 employees who resist change,
4 on-the-job accidents and
4 difficulty meeting business goals,
then employees may need to further
develop their Essential Skills
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23. DIreCt beNeFIts - eMpLoyers
Essential Skills training results in:
4 higher productivity and reduced error rates
4 improved health and safety
4 enhanced communication and teamwork
4 improved morale and retention
4 enhanced corporate image
Everyone benefits from a learning culture
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24. DIreCt beNeFIts - eMpLoyees
Workers with good Essential Skills are:
4 better at their jobs
4 adaptable to new tasks
4 more likely to have skills for advancement
4 more self-confident
4 motivated to succeed
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25. tHe workForCe
Nothing is more important to a company’s
success than its people
4 They need Essential Skills training
4 Apprenticeship programs are often taught
by people with technical skills who are not
trained or equipped to focus on
Essential Skills
4 People who have taken training, e.g. to get a
licence, don’t always see the need to do more
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26. CoNCLusIoNs – so Far…
4 A skilled workforce – level 3 in order to respond to
change and innovation
4 Training focus has been on management
( it needs to shift to basic skills with a context, e.g.
health and safety)
4 Employers need to know what Essential Skills are
4 Employers need to know the benefits of increased
ES –Training is twice as expensive for SMEs
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27. QuestIoNs – so Far
4 Are literacy programs working/ready to work with
employees or potential employees on ES?
4 Should literacy programs be better able to deal
with approaches from employers?
4 Should literacy programs be more proactive in
working with industry to set up programs?
4 Can literacy programs do anything to offset costs
for SMEs?
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28. esseNtIaL skILLs websIte
4 You can order hard copies of resources
4 URL is:
http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/LES/index.shtml
4 Check out the resources.
4 Give feedback
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29. seeINg tHe LIgHt - exaMpLes
Investment in essential
skills training
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30. CaNaDIaN truCkINg / CppI
4 Looked at records over 7 years
4 Discovered a strong correlation between safety
and lack of reading, document use and numeracy
4 58% of safety issues were caused by people who
did not meet level 3 skills in reading
4 49% of safety issues were caused by people who
did not meet level 3 skills in document use
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31. Cars
CARS work with employees who look after cars once
they have been sold.
They needed to find solutions that work to overcome
the idea that a “licence” is all that is needed
CARS-On-Demand
4 library of online courses for the after market
CARSability
4 question bank containing several hundred
questions to help employees work through
workplace tasks
22,286 user accounts in 2008
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32. robINsoN paperboarD paCkagINg
Discovered employees were asking co-workers for help
when it was all in the manual:
4 Hired an ESL teacher – matched hours
4 Used health and safety procedures as basis for
curriculum
Result:
4 Time lost due to accidents dropped by 70%
4 Product quality up by 92%
4 Absenteeism down by 54%
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33. Metro toroNto
CoNveNtIoN CeNtre
Staff diverse – ethnically and age – not much formal
education (700 – 800 events per year)
CEO recognizes value of training for whole person:
4 lowers health and safety risks, better able to follow
directions and read contracts, better customer service
4 employees are generally happier
4 saves management time – less performance related
issues to be addressed
4 50% own time, 50% employer, TDSB pays
instructors
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34. CoNFereNCe boarD oF
CaNaDa, 2008
4 Employers can reduce accidents, injuries
and downtime, as well as minimize
insurance premiums, claims and fines
associated with workers’ compensation
boards.
4 There is an inverse relationship between
investment in literacy skills and industries
requiring a high level of health and safety.
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35. HeaLtH aND saFety – a brIDge
From what we have
seen so far, Health and
Safety seems a good
place to start
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36. perForMaNCe Issues
Some possible examples:
4Common mistakes
4Unfinished tasks
4Safety incidents
4Poor customer service
4Not being on time or absenteeism
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37. CHaraCterIstICs oF aN
eFFeCtIve prograM
4 Knowledge of workplace cultures and functions
4 Ability to work with all levels in the workplace
4 Understanding of business processes
4 Good listening and problem-solving skills
4 Ability to take action based on information
4 Knowledge of adult learning principles
4 Flexibility to make changes
4 An evaluation process
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38. IDeNtIFy traININg objeCtIves
4 improve productivity 4 improve teamwork
4 reduce errors 4 improve safety
4 improve customer 4 reduce absenteeism
service 4 improve ability to
4 empower employees implement change
4 improve 4 reduce turnover
communication 4 other…
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39. exIstINg traININg - saFety
Warning Signs:
4 What does this poster mean to you?
Procedures / Tasks:
4 Provide scenarios of situations that
employees might encounter
4 Have them use problem solving steps
4 Have them role play scenarios
4 Have them write instructions in their
own words
4 Have them summarize what they
have learned
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40. QuestIoNs
4 How do we explain ES to employers?
4 Should we explain ES to learners? If so, how?
4 How can we break down negative attitudes to upgrading
literacy and essential skills?
4 How do we get people to improve their ES when they think
they are doing all right now?
4 How can we sell literacy and essential skills as crucial to
recovery from the recession?
4 How can literacy providers deliver training – are they
already doing it?
4 Are there other courses or curricula that literacy providers
should be delivering? How would they be marketed?
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41. QuestIoNs
Your Questions?
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42. Thank You.
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