Workplace Literacy and Essential Skills in Manitoba 20 years in 20 minutes

1
Workplace Literacy and Essential Skills in
Manitoba20 years in 20 minutes
[phone]
Sandi Howell
2
High Level View? what have we learned? what are
the gaps
3
We are all here together because we are dedicated
to one purpose

• .increasing the skills of Canadians because we
  think its the right thing to do
• and we are deeply dedicated to this task and
  passionate about it
• ..and the way we do this is as individual as the
  number of people in this room
• ..and this could be said to be typically
  Canadian
• .and we are and will continue to increase skills

4
Context..about Manitoba

• Four departments responsible for adult training
• Adult Education and Literacy
• Adult Learning Centres Gr 12 Equivalency
• Adult Literacy programs
• ?Literacy Strategy
• Competitiveness Training and Trade
• ?Labour Market Development Strategy
• Industry Workforce Development (branch)
• ?Essential Skills Framework
• ? Workplace Education Manitoba
• Labour and Immigration
• ? EAL
• Family Services and Housing

5
(No Transcript)
6
ES Framework 2004

• Needs
• coordinated and integrated training system
• specific learner needs along a continuum,
  including a
• specific Northern strategy
• Vision
• Manitobans will value and acquire Essential
  Skills as a critical means to achieve learning,
  employment and economic goals.
• Mission
• Increase our capacity to assess Essential Skills
  and deliver appropriate Essential Skills
  training.

7
ES Framework 2004 contd

• ..The nine Essential Skills are a well-defined
  list of workplace skills and are not to be
  confused with a generic use of the term. The
  Essential Skills (ES) are
• reading text
• working with others
• thinking skills
• continuous learning
• writing
• oral communications
• document use
• numeracy (math)
• computer use..

8
ES Framework 2007 contd
These skills were initially described by Human
Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC)
through the Essential Skills Research project.
Profiles of Essential Skills by occupation can be
found at http//srv108.services.gc.ca/english/ge
neral/home_e.shtml. Essential Skills are the
skills needed to be successful at work. They are
the foundation on which a skilled and adaptable
labour force sits. They bring a work-related
focus to more general literacy skills and are a
key part of lifelong career self-management
skills. They are a key priority in any labour
force development strategy.
9
ES Framework - Principles

• Integrated Response to a Continuum of Need
• Centralized Coordination
• Autonomous Activity
• Increased Capacity
• Creating Awareness
• Utilizing Partnerships

10
Objectives 2007

• Objective 1 Increase the understanding of
  individuals and organizations about the value of
  ES in achieving learning and employment goals.
• Objective 2 Create appropriate ES assessments
  which yield the information necessary to plan
  effective training/education solutions and career
  goals.
• Objective 3 Increase ES training opportunities.

11
2007-2008 Strategic Direction

• There are a number of cross cutting issues
  related to the capacity to train (Objective 3)
  and assess (Objective 2) which form the basis of
  the 07-08 strategic direction, including
• Establishment of an ES Training Centre.
• Increase to employer supports through the Flex
  Fund.
• Creation of ES training response and teacher
  resources for Apprenticeship.
• Development of ES resources for Career
  Development Framework activities.

12
2007-2008 Strategic Dir. contd

• Continuation of Igniting the Power Within for
  Aboriginal
• communities.
• Strengthen the joint planning mechanism between
  CTT and
• MAEL.
• Continued focus on Aboriginal partners under the
  HNTI
• initiative.
• Development of culturally relevant ES resources
  under the
• interdepartmental (CTT, AEL, LIM) Labour
  Market Strategy
• for Immigrants (LMSI), including building the
  capacity to
• include ES in adult language training and
  industry activities.
• Each branch currently includes ES within their
  existing labour
• force development priorities.

13
(No Transcript)
14
Workplace Education Manitoba

• 2 business, 2 labour representatives govt.
  coordinator
• Apply for project funding from federal and
  provincial govt.
• Increase the Essential Skill Levels of Manitobans

15
Lines of business

• Workplace Literacy and ES for two key workforce
  development supports

• 1. ES Training for
• Existing workers by
• - Workplace process
• Occupation, including skilled trades
• Skill e.g. Working with Others
• Sector wide needs
• Job Seekers
• Occupation
• Skill
• Under-represented group

• 2. Human Resource Supports
• Recruitment
• Internal improvement
• Performance improvement
• Process definition
• Job descriptions
• Training plans

16
WEM Process

• Explain, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat,
  repeat
• Needs Assessment 1 high level needs
  identification
• Triage 1 assign person/team to research
• Needs Assessment 2 in-depth id of needs,
  systems, success indicators, risks, partners,
  time lines, costs
• Triage 2 needs analysis, funding allocation,
  project lead and team assignment and pre-emptive
  evaluation (how will we know it works?)
• Develop/pilot solution
• Implement formative evaluation, accountability
  and reporting
• Summative evaluation against success indicators
• Inform

17
How do you know it works?
Drivers ? relevant content, skilled consultants,
stable and adequate funding, right partners,
targeted communication, appropriate assessment
tools
18
(No Transcript)
19
(No Transcript)
20
Where do you start?

• Start small, be focused, create a solid success
  and then build that out
• Pick a goal, clarify it and identify the action
  steps needed to achieve the goal
• Get people with the right skills even if you have
  to train and mentor them
• Create a conceptual model and pick definitions
  and start to act

21
How? - what we have learned

• Always respectfully partner and bring them in
  early
• Respond to need listen and act
• Link to other systems literacy, mature student
  diploma advocate for recognition
• Polices and frameworks are a unifier and they
  work in your absence
• Customize everything communication and
  responses
• Move forward with clear vision but continuously
  improve
• Build on peoples assets recognize prior
  learning
• Use RPL as a way to document ES and include ES in
  RPL
• Try to do projects in phases with business so
  that if there is radical change, you can
  implement a change response
• WEM retains funding and pays consultants

22
Instructional Strategies Linking and Transfer

• Workplace ? normalize to everyday
• Everyday ? link it to the workplace
• Teach people to transfer learning to novel
  situations

23
Where would we like to go?

• Greater synergies with those outside Manitoba
• Stabilized funding ? allows marketing plans and
  longitudinal evaluation
• Legitimization of qualitative evaluation methods
  related to ethnographic methodologies
• Better dissemination of information/resources
  both from us and to us

24
..final thought..

• In the creative process, ignorance is bliss,
  especially in the early stages. People who dont
  know how things are supposed to be arent
  blinded by existing beliefs. They can see things
  that others have failed to notice, and imagine
  new ideas and perspectives that would never occur
  to people who develop deep, but narrow, expertise
  in an area. Ignorant people dont know what they
  are supposed to see or ignore, so they see old
  things in new ways that so-called experts have
  rejected or never thought about.
• Robert I. Sutton
  Weird Ideas that Work

25
Dialogue