Tools and Applications

Manitoba Steering Committee for Workplace Essential Skills Inc.
Workplace Essential Skills: Skills for Manufacturing
The objectives of this project are to: increase the Essential Skills of production workers at New Flyer Industries and; to develop a contextualized Essential Skills instruction model that can be used by other manufacturers in Canada. Increased Essential Skills levels have been shown to increase productivity, and have a positive influence on the 'bottom line'. This project started in February of 2004.

The Centre for Education and Work
Integrating Literacy and Computers
This project will develop a Practitioner Training Package that may be used in adult literacy classes held in the community, the workplace or in Adult Learning Centre Programs. The package will include a workshop and a facilitator guide that demonstrates strategies and techniques in using computers as a teaching and learning tool. It will show how computers can be used by teachers and instructors to manage student learning, to assist in lesson preparation and activity development.

The Centre for Education and Work
Integrating Essential Skills Products into Adult Literacy Community-based Programming

This project will assist community-based practitioners working in the field of adult literacy to integrate Essential Skills profiles and workplace documents into their programming. The project will develop a Facilitator's Guide containing material on Essential Skills for use in adult literacy programs in Manitoba that employ the "Manitoba Stages" certification system. It will also produce a DVD in French and English that can be used to augment the Facilitator Guide. A Web site has been developed for the project www.facilitatorguide.ca. All materials will be available on the Web site after May, 2004.

The Centre for Education and Work
Portfolio for Youth Employment Kit

This project will create an Essential Skills Portfolio Kit as a means to help marginalized youths identify the skills and knowledge required in the workplace. The Essential Skills curricula will address what is expected from young workers, and what skills and qualities are desirable. The project will support small and medium-sized business owners and managers providing on-the-job training for individuals who are new to the workplace, with special reference to at-risk youth. The curricula can also be used as a screening tool to help human resources personnel when identifying potential new hires who are submitting portfolios as evidence of competence for entry-level jobs in the Tourism Sector.

Construction Sector Council
Construction Sector Essential Skills Workshop

The Construction Sector Council (CSC) has developed an Essential Skills Strategy based on information obtained from the construction industry at the CSC Essential Skills Workshop held in November 2003. The strategy responds to needs identified by the industry that fit within the context of the mandate of the CSC. The CSC's future work in the area of Essential Skills will be guided by this strategy. The strategy has five points or elements: Research, Awareness, Clearinghouse, Coordination, and Standards & Training. The Essential Skills Strategy can be downloaded from the CSC's Web site www.csc-ca.org or can be requested in hard copy from the CSC at info@csc-ca.org or by calling (613) 569-5552.

Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks
Professional Development of Online Tools and Resources for ESL/FSL Professionals

This project is developing a comparative framework for the Canadian Language Benchmarks and the Essential Skills competency levels. This will allow ESL/FSL practitioners to enhance employment related learning for newcomers through access to Essential Skills tools and resources that correspond to a learner's language abilities.

Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks
Language Profiling of Tourism Sector Occupations Based on National Occupational Profiles

Language benchmark profiles will be developed for priority occupations identified in the Tourism Sector, based on existing Essential Skills profiles. A guidebook will also be developed to document the process used to develop language benchmarks for specific occupations as a model for other sectors/employers to follow. This model will demonstrate a clear framework for identifying, describing and measuring the key language tasks required for immigrants and newcomers to competently perform work duties.

Storyteller's Foundation
A Critical Analysis of the HRSDC Essential Skills Project from an Aboriginal Human Capital Perspective.

This project examines the epistemological foundations of the Essential Skills Research Project and will assess its congruence with aboriginal knowledge systems. The strengths and weaknesses of Essential Skills resources and tools will be assessed vis-à-vis their ability to support the inclusion, increased participation and advancement of aboriginal persons in the labour market. Opportunities for the Essential Skills and Workplace Literacy Initiative to contribute to the social and cultural capital development needs of First Nations communities will be explored.

Canadian Council on Social Development
Literacy Programs in the Workplace: How to increase employer involvement.

This three year research study will examine what incentives currently work to encourage employers to invest in workplace Essential Skills and literacy programs, and which programs seem most effective in this area in Canada and internationally. The final report will include policy recommendations.

BC Construction Industry Skills Improvement Council (SkillPlan)
Test of Workplace Essential Skills (TOWES) Research

The objective of this research project was to investigate the validity of the Test of Workplace Essential Skills as an assessment tool for workplace application to measure levels of Reading Text, Document Use and Numeracy. The research findings will be published in a number of academic journals and articles describing the research and the project results will also appear in the business press and on the TOWES Web site. To assist the layperson in understanding task difficulty levels as measured by TOWES, the Employers Guide to Understanding Levels will also be available in print format (English and French) and on the web.

Association of Canadian Community Colleges
Integrating Essential Employability Skills into the College Curriculum: Research and Sharing of Experiences

This project is stimulating a more rapid and effective integration of Essential Skills into the curricula of the Canadian community college and institute system in order to better prepare young people and the existing workforce for the skill demands of the workplace. The project is heightening awareness among college institutions and employers about Essential Skills and increasing access to resources that assist colleges to integrate Essential Skills into all technical programs. Seven case studies were produced featuring best practices and Essential Skills resources for different kinds of learners, such as aboriginals, immigrants, apprentices, applied degree learners, etc. These materials are available at http://www.accc.ca/ftp/pubs/studies/200311-EES.pdf. In the longer term, the project is intended to increase the number of skilled graduates who are well qualified to meet the full range of skill demands of a knowledge economy.
French link http://www.accc.ca/ftp/pubs/studies/200311-CPS.pdf.

BC Construction Industry Skills Improvement (SkillPlan)
Writing at Work

Writing at Work is a resource that comes from the world of work. It describes the writing used in many occupations. The descriptions and examples use the language of HRSDC's Essential Skills Research Project, which has become standard in addressing workplace writing in Canada. Each chapter examines the purpose, style, organization and use of such writing forms as memos, entry forms, logbooks, bulletins and regulations. Writing at Work provides a wealth of suggested activities for practice and over 50 workplace documents. This resource will be valuable to both adult and high school programs. It was developed with funding from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and is available in English and French, 2003. (www.skillplan.ca)

BC Construction Industry Skills Improvement (SkillPlan)
Numeracy at Work

This collection of workplace examples illustrates workplace applications of Numeracy: Money Math, Scheduling or Budgeting and Accounting Math, Measurement and Calculation Math and Data Analysis Math. Numeracy At Work incorporates stories from workers across Canada about how they use numeracy in their jobs, and provides activities and suggestions for further exploration. These applied work activities are intended as a resource for teachers and instructors to enrich what they do. The binder format encourages flexibility and all parts of the book may be photocopied for educational use. It was developed with funding from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and is available in English and French, 2002. (www.skillplan.ca).

Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council (CTHRC)
Implementation of the CTHRC's National Essential Skills Strategy

This project focuses on implementing a number of components from the Essential Skills Needs Assessment for the Trucking Industry. It will include developing new curriculum resources within an Essential Skills Toolkit; facilitating the use of new resources; building new partnerships with national, provincial, regional and Aboriginal stakeholders; and advancing the National Skills Strategy as a model for consideration by other sector councils.

Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council (CTHRC)
TOWES Pilots in the Trucking Industry

The objective of the pilots is to assess two Test of Workplace Essential Skills (TOWES) assessment tools for four occupations in the trucking sector: professional driver, dispatcher, transportation safety professional and professional driver trainer; and to test upgraded Essential Skills curricula. This project will provide trucking industry stakeholders with tested tools for assessing the skill levels of the current workforce and of potential recruits, and Essential Skills training to national standards. It is a complimentary piece to the National Essential Skills Strategy described above.

Canadian Operating Engineers Joint Apprenticeship Council
Canadian Operating Engineers Workplace Essential Skills Project
The objective of this project is to develop national learning/curriculum outcomes that will be used to develop national diagnostic tools and training programs to identify and improve Workplace Essential Skills to better facilitate the mobility of Operating Engineers and address regional skill shortages.

Bow Valley College
Building Workplace Essential Skills Online

This project will develop a flexible and accessible learning solution for Essential Skills by adapting Bow Valley College's Building Workplace Essential Skills (BWES) curriculum for online delivery. BWES Online will be a preparatory and remediation tool for the Test of Workplace Essential Skills. The project will measure the effectiveness of the program in improving the Essential Skills to a broad spectrum of learners across Canada.

BC Construction Industry Skills Improvement (SkillPlan)
Essential Skills Occupation Activities through Capacity Building

This project will develop Essential Skills occupation activities and build capacity by actively involving provincial/territorial participants in the development of resource materials that are related to their community employment needs. It will help build/supplement the individual competency base of workers and create a support network of partners amongst Adult Educators, Literacy Educators, College Instructors, and Career Education and Employment Counsellors across Canada.

BC Construction Industry Skills Improvement (SkillPlan)
Reading at Work

This two-part resource will enable instructors and tutors, from the fields of adult/workplace education, literacy, and employment counselling to facilitate the development of reading competency with workers, new Canadians, and.shtmliring workers. There are currently few resource materials available that use authentic workplace documents as the basis for learning activities and adult and workplace educators have requested a resource that presents the access and use of information that is more reflective of employment situations. The resource will help entry-level workers, as well as those who need to increase their competency in the area of Reading Text so that they may keep their current jobs.

Applications of Working and Learning (AWAL) Innovations

Applications of Working and Learning (AWAL) is a national program that works with Canadian educators and employers to make connections between the knowledge and skills acquired in classrooms, and how to apply them to succeed in the workplace. More than 1000 employers across the country have welcomed AWAL educators into their workplaces. Through AWAL, those workplaces have become a natural place for the employment and learning systems to connect.

Educators receive training and go AWAL for a day to local business or industry workplaces. They conduct structured interviews with employers and employees about their work activities and the skills needed to carry them out. They then build activities that show how the nine Essential Skills are used in the workplace and bring this knowledge back to the classroom. AWAL Regional innovations include Student AWAL Workshops where students and their teachers participate in the program.

Information about the interviews and the teaching activities developed are available on the AWAL Web site for anyone to download.
www.awal.ca

How Do Your Skills Measure Up?
Measure Up is a self-assessment tool available on the Test of Workplace Essential Skills (TOWES) Web site where individuals can assess skills in Reading Text, Document Use and Numeracy. Measure Up provides over 100 problem sets similar to the ones used in TOWES. Each problem is based on a document—a memo, catalogue, regulation, work order—associated with workplace contexts. Measure Up has three choices for learning opportunities:

• Test Your Skills: individuals can assess their level of ability in the three skill areas.
• Practice: individuals can build their competency levels by completing problem sets in specific skill areas, or prepare for writing a TOWES test.
• Explore Careers: individuals can experiment with typical workplace tasks in any one of 28 occupations.

Ontario Skills Passport

The Ontario Skills Passport (OSP) is a bilingual web-based resource that provides clear descriptions of the skills and work habits required for success in the workplace. The OSP is designed to help employers assess and record the skills and work habits students and job seekers demonstrate in the workplace. The OSP helps students and job seekers build their skills and work habits and show employers what they can do!

Click here to access the OSP website and related information, including a tutorial, brochure and order form. You can also access teacher/practitioner-developed OSP resources to support the use of the OSP in a variety of educational and training contexts.

ESPORT - Essential Skills Portfolio

ESPORT is an Essential Skills assessment and planning tool developed with funding from HRSDC's Office of Learning Technologies. ESPORT uses Essential Skills information to help learners assess their skills, analyze what skills they need to strengthen in order to perform particular kinds of jobs and develop resumes tailored to the skill requirements of those jobs. Users can record personal information such as their education and job history, identify occupations that interest them, compare their self-assessment results to the skills used in those occupations, prepare a record of their skills and experience and locate additional learning resources to aid in skills improvement. ESPORT was designed for use by learners in adult basic education literacy classes, but may also be used in K-12 classrooms. The ESPORT Project is a pan-Canadian demonstration.

Test of Workplace Essential Skills (TOWES)

The Test of Workplace Essential Skills, developed with funding from HRSDC's National Literacy Secretariat, is an assessment tool used to test the Essential Skills of Reading Text, Document Use and Numeracy. Test questions use authentic workplace materials and tasks in order to assess these skills in a way that reflects how they are used in the workplace. TOWES enables employers to assess the skills of their workforce. By comparing the overall test results to the skills required, employers can clarify their training needs. TOWES also allows them to address their concerns around the return on investment for training. Finally, TOWES enables employers to assess the skills of job applicants in terms of their employment readiness. The methodology and scales developed for the Essential Skills Research Project allow the skill content of jobs to be rated uniformly, thus enabling workplace practitioners to give employers useful information about how the skill set of their workforce fits with job requirements. TOWES test results are delivered in a framework that is IALS compatible, and are consistent from one practitioner to another. The test itself fits well with national standards and performance based assessments.