Summer Institute 2009: Workplace Literacy and Essential Skills
June 25-27, 2009

• What Works? And Why?
• Key Questions
• Partners
• Bio of John Benseman
• Bio of Frances Graham
• Institutes page

 This year's Summer Institute  is fast approaching maximum capacity.  We have in fact increased the numbers to accommodate the enormous interest in this year's theme.

What Works? And Why?

Workplace literacy and essential skills is a focus of governments in industrialized
countries around the world. The terms they use vary: "literacy", "essential skills", "basic skills", "literacy/language/numeracy", among others, but these all refer to the need to raise the skills of those at the low-skilled end of the workforce. Recognition of this need generally occurs when there is workplace change, new technologies and work systems, demand for enhanced quality, and concern about productivity and global competition.

After almost twenty years of workplace literacy initiatives in many countries, some carried out through government strategies, others more localized, policy-makers and providers are examining what we know about what does and does not work, and how we can use the knowledge to design better interventions and achieve better outcomes.

The literature on workplace literacy is significant and reasonably consistent. It sees an important role for government through a range of policy instruments, from subsidies to tax incentives, and a need for partnership models that involve all stakeholders. It recognizes the complexity of the challenge – differences in context from large to small businesses, across various sectors, within organizations, all of which can be barriers or enablers. It highlights the need for specialized provider training and professional development to assure quality service. Finally, it notes the difficulties of measuring the outcomes and impacts of these programs.

Evaluation of most workplace literacy and essential skills interventions and programs is generally program-based, and ends when the program ends. There is almost no measurement of performance after programs have ended, and few studies that track impacts over time on the organization or the individual. While studies have looked at productivity and skills, very little exists on the connection between literacy programs and productivity. Given the many variable factors, measurement may not be the most reasonable way to capture the link.

The 2009 Summer Institute will bring together policy-makers, providers, and researchers who are at the forefront of this field. We are honoured to have the Department of Labour, Government of New Zealand, involved as a partner. New Zealand has undertaken a comprehensive three-year review and study of its workplace literacy, language and numeracy interventions, and produced a comprehensive literature review, action research at multiple sites in selected industries, and an evaluation framework. The project's Principal Researcher, Dr. John Benseman, who led this study, will be at the Institute.  Among the other invited presenters is Frances Graham, Head of Skills, Investors in People UK, and former CE of Workbase Training UK..

Other government partners include Manitoba Industry Workforce Development and Nova Scotia Labour and Workforce Development, both of whom have long invested in workplace literacy. They have each developed strong collaborative models to reach thousands of workers each year.

From the non-governmental side, we are excited to have ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation, the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD), and Workbase NZ as partners. 

Please join us and bring your questions and experience to the table. As always, the Institute program is not designed until you have registered.

What are the roles of governments? business? unions? providers? learners?

Do specific types of policy lead to the same outcomes in different contexts?

How do workplace literacy/essential skills programs need to be framed to meet the needs of business, government and learner stakeholders?

How can the multiple stakeholders shape the focus and outcomes of provision? 

Can the range of outcomes valued by government, literacy providers and business be integrated in a common framework?

What type(s) of evaluation have been able to capture the impacts of a program in relation to its stated expectation of outcome?

Are we too confined by traditional ways of evaluating workplace literacy outcomes?

How can non-traditional ways of communicating outcomes be used effectively in some contexts – e.g. storytelling, anecdotal evidence?

How can long-term benefits be measured and communicated, given the variables?