A Discussion Guide for

Adult Literacy in Newfoundland and Labrador

March 2018

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Table of Contents

Message from the Minister ..................................................................................... 2

Introduction ................................................................................................................ 3

Defining Literacy ........................................................................................................ 3

Literacy and Essential Skills: Skills for work, learning, and life ........................ 4

The Importance of Literacy ..................................................................................... 5

The Future of Adult Literacy in Newfoundland and Labrador ........................ 7

Themes for Consultation .......................................................................................... 8

Section 1: Providing More Responsive Programming............................ 8

Section 2: Achieving Better Outcomes ...................................................12

Section 3: Working Together .....................................................................18

Providing Your Input ...............................................................................................22

References .................................................................................................................23

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The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador understands the challenges posed to individuals, families, and the province by low adult literacy skills.

Strong literacy skills are the cornerstone of social and economic growth. Improving adult literacy skills expands the province’s workforce while helping Newfoundlanders and Labradorians increase their education and improve employability, well-being, and quality of life.

To inform the development of the province’s Adult Literacy Action Plan, the Department of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour is

seeking input from individuals and organizations throughout the province using a multi-pronged approach.

• Regional meetings will take place in St. John’s, Grand Falls-Windsor, Corner Brook, and Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

• Input is being sought from community-based organizations, post-secondary institutions, business and labour groups, and advocacy groups.

• Individuals can also attend consultation sessions in their area or provide input by mail, email, phone, or online.

Your experience and expertise will be key to the success of the province’s Adult Literacy Action Plan.

This discussion document is designed to guide our consultation process and to help collect your ideas on how we should proceed collectively with a renewed approach to enhance adult literacy. It is an opportunity for you to provide your input and for us to work collaboratively in the development of this important plan.

Honourable Al HawkinsMinister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour

Message from the Minister

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Introduction

The role of the Department of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour includes helping individuals to obtain the educational, employment, financial and social supports needed to achieve the greatest benefit from current and future economic opportunities in the province. To this end, the Premier’s mandate letter instructs the Minister to lead the development of an Adult Literacy Action Plan.

Public consultations will inform the development of this plan. By participating in this process, your expertise and insight will ensure the Adult Literacy Action Plan is ambitious, comprehensive, collaborative, and helps meet the current and future needs of adult learners throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

This discussion paper provides information on the benefits of strong literacy skills, the province’s current needs, and opportunities to improve adult literacy programming. The document includes questions designed to encourage discussion and are not intended to limit debate. All input is welcome and critical to the success of the Adult Literacy Action Plan.

Following the public consultations, we will summarize suggestions and comments received by the Department. The input received will help guide the development of the Adult Literacy Action Plan, our next step in equipping the province with an even more empowered, skills, and ready workforce for out increasingly knowledge-based economy.

Defining LiteracyLiteracy refers to the basic skill set that enables individuals to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, and compute, using written materials. Literacy enables individuals to achieve their goals, develop their knowledge and potential, and participate fully in their community and wider society (CMEC, 2012; UNESCO, 2008; CLLN, 2012).

Literacy is more than reading and writing. Literacy impacts every aspect of life, including the health, finances, and employability of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. As society increasingly engages with technology, skills like digital literacy become increasingly important. Currently, the majority of adult literacy offerings in the province focus on basic literacy or high school equivalency. Other provinces have expanded adult literacy offerings beyond academic upgrading, and incorporated personal learning programs, digital literacy training, workplace Essential Skills programs, financial literacy, and other forms of training and skills development.

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Literacy and Essential Skills: Skills for work, learning, and lifeLiteracy encompasses all of the skills needed for work, learning, and life. The Government of Canada, along with other national and international agencies, has identified and validated key literacy and essential skills that are used in nearly every job and throughout daily life in different ways and at varying levels of complexity. They also help individuals evolve with their jobs and allow for change in the workplace. The nine essential skills that have been identified are as follows:

1. Reading reading different types of material such as letters, manuals, books, and

directions;

2. Document Use reading tables, graphs, lists, blueprints, drawings, signs, labels;

3. Numeracy calculating and estimating; handling cash, budgeting, and measuring;

4. Writing filling in forms, writing text and using computers to write;

5. Oral Communication using verbal skills to exchange ideas and information with others;

6. Working with Others doing tasks with partners or in a team;

7. Continuous Learning the ongoing process of acquiring skills and knowledge;

8. Thinking problem-solving, decision making, planning and organize tasks; and

9. Computer Use working with computers, from data entry to analyzing systems.

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The Importance of Literacy

Literacy is the foundation for economic and social progress. All Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will need strong skillsets that foster innovation, build capacity, and encourage new growth now and in the future.

Literacy is a cornerstone for success in education and training.• As stated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (2013), formal

education is one of the main mechanisms through which proficiency in literacy is developed and maintained.

• The 2012 Programme for the International Assessment for Adult Competencies (PIAAC) shows a strong correlation between education levels and literacy/numeracy skills. PIAAC demonstrates that individuals with higher levels of education have higher levels of skill proficiency. Conversely, individuals with less than high school achievement have lower average literacy and numeracy scores than individuals at all other levels of education (Statistics Canada, 2013).

• In addition, higher levels of literacy and numeracy facilitate further learning. PIAAC demonstrates that people with greater literacy skills are more likely to participate in formal and informal adult learning programs to help them to maintain their skills (OECD, 2013).

Literacy is essential for employers and the economy• Higher literacy boosts productivity. It has been reported that differences in the average use of

reading skills explain 30 per cent of the variation in labour productivity across countries (OECD, 2013) and that a one per cent increase in literacy, relative to other countries, produces a 2.5 per cent increase in labour productivity and a 1.5 per cent increase in the per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (C.D. Howe Institute, 2005). On a national scale, Canadian firms rate employee literacy skills as one of the top factors needed for innovation success (Conference Board of Canada, 2014).

• Over the past decade, research has consistently demonstrated that individuals with higher literacy skills earn more income, work in higher skilled occupations, are less likely to be unemployed, experience shorter periods of unemployment, are more likely to find full-time work, and are more likely to receive further training (OECD, 2005; Statistics Canada, 2005; Conference Board of Canada, 2007; Social Research and Demonstration Corporation, 2014).

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• Increased literacy and essential skills are key to ongoing skills development for those already in the workplace. UPSKILL, an intervention of over 100 firms and nearly 1,500 workers in the Accommodations sector of the Tourism industry in eight provinces, including Newfoundland and Labrador, demonstrated a 25 per cent average return on investment for literacy and essential skills training programs (SRDC, 2014).

• Increased literacy and essential skills also help those who are unemployed become more employable. The Foundations Workplace Skills Project (FWSP), a literacy and essential skills intervention targeted to the needs of unemployed job seekers and delivered by three public colleges across Canada, including College of the North Atlantic, produced immediate positive effects on the ability of individuals to engage in effective career planning, job searches and career decision making, as well as longer term positive impacts such as increased employability, increased hourly rates, and increased job satisfaction (SRDC, 2016).

Literacy has an impact on the personal well-being of individuals• The Public Health Agency of Canada identifies education and literacy as a determinant of

health, and highlights the relationship between low literacy levels and unemployment and poverty (2013). Additional health and social outcomes include fewer illnesses, decreased treatment costs for illnesses, shorter recovery times, less poverty, less participation in crime, increased civic engagement, and increased voting.

• PIAAC shows that individuals with lower proficiency in literacy are more likely than those with better literacy skills to report poor health, and believe that they have little impact on political processes. They are also less likely to report trusting others and to participate in associative or volunteer activities (OECD, 2013).

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The Future of Adult Literacy in Newfoundland and Labrador

Taking the lead from the Provincial Government’s The Way Forward: A Vision for Sustainability and Growth in Newfoundland and Labrador, it is envisioned that the Adult Literacy Action Plan will contain concrete actions designed to lead to more flexible and accessible services and supports, be fiscally responsible, and encourage economic growth through an increased supply of individuals ready for work.

To do this, we must address current challenges and embrace new opportunities together.

In the most recent assessment of provincial literacy and numeracy levels (PIAAC, 2012), Newfoundland and Labrador’s scores for 16 to 65 year olds across all areas (literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments) remained below the national average, and third lowest among all provinces and territories. However, this does not give a complete picture.

PIAAC also identified areas where this province has had success, particularly among the younger and educated population, where those in the 25-44 age bracket and those individuals with post-secondary education performed at or above the national average in literacy and numeracy (PIAAC, 2012). We need a plan that can build on these successes.

Through public consultation, we will look for ways to be innovative and provide greater opportunities to access literacy supports for all residents of the province so that together we can build our literacy levels in an effort to achieve better labour market outcomes.

For example, there is a portion of our workforce that has low literacy skills but maintain employment, having developed coping skills to manage everyday literacy demands. For this group, learning new job skills would present a challenge, and progressing in their career may be impossible. We are looking for innovative solutions to assist these individuals and break this cycle. In Canada, this group accounts for one-quarter of all workers in the Canadian labour force (Conference Board of Canada, 2017).

Our current adult literacy offerings help some people in obtaining basic literacy skills and high school equivalency, but there is an opportunity to move beyond, towards innovative literacy programming that helps more Newfoundlanders and Labradorians achieve their goals.

Through a new Adult Literacy Action Plan, together we will help shape the vision of adult literacy for our province to ensure that we are achieving better outcomes, providing responsive programming, working together, and enabling people to achieve their full potential.

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Themes for ConsultationThe following themes will guide our conversation, giving space to discuss issues and ideas, and provide feedback on current initiatives. Each theme presents a variety of questions to consider.

1. Providing more responsive programming

2. Achieving better outcomes

3. Working together

Section 1: Providing More Responsive Programming

Newfoundland and Labrador has a population of 519,720 people with approximately 39.6 per cent of the population living in the Northeast Avalon region. Recent Census data reports that provincially, of those aged 25-64, 15.7 per cent do not have high school certification, higher than the national average (11.5 per cent) and higher than other provinces. Among those ages 25-34, eight per cent have not obtained high school certification (similar to the national average of 8.7 per cent), but this number increases to 17.2 per cent for those aged 45 to 54, and 23.7 per cent for those aged 55 to 64.

The content of literacy programming must change as the world changes. Digital literacy and internet safety are essential as technology now plays a pivotal role in our daily lives. Electronic devices such as computers, tablets and smartphones have become commonplace and are generally integrated into work, school, and other aspects of daily living such as paying bills, shopping and catching up on the news. Provincial Government services are also moving in this direction, with many common services such as driver’s license renewal, vehicle registration, vital statistics requests and property deeds now online.

We know that there are those who could benefit from literacy programming but may experience barriers to participation. To build on our successes, we must improve people’s access to programs. Further, we must ensure that literacy programs are responding to the needs of our diverse population.

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Literacy training is not a “one size fits all” solution. Different people have different needs. We must consider the needs and goals of all individuals, including low-income individuals, single parents, newcomers, Indigenous people, those who experience chronic physical and mental illness and disabilities, and others.

What literacy-related skills do you think are necessary for an individual’s meaningful participation in work and community life here in Newfoundland and Labrador?

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Other Questions for You to Consider1. What does literacy mean to you?

2. Why are adult literacy services needed in your community or region?

3. Beyond high school equivalency, what other adult literacy needs exist in the province?

4. What would you like to see improved to increase awareness of and access to current adult literacy programs and supports?

5. How can adult literacy programs better support individuals less than 19 years of age who have left the school system before graduating but do not meet current entrance criteria (i.e., minimum of 18 years of age, with extenuating circumstance)?

6. Considering our demographics, changing labour market, economic conditions, and provincial fiscal realities, how can we better meet the literacy needs of:

a. Indigenous Peoples?

b. Individuals with disabilities?

c. Seniors?

d. Newcomers, including refugees?

e. Individuals with low literacy skills entering or returning to the labour market?

f. Currently employed individuals with low literacy skills?

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Section 2: Achieving Better Outcomes

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is responsible for a number of programs enabling adults to gain literacy skills and high school equivalency so they can participate in post-secondary education activities and the labour force.

Current provincial adult literacy programming consists of the following:

• Adult Basic Education

• General Educational Development (GED) and GED Preparation

• One-to-One Literacy Tutoring

Adult Basic Education (ABE) The ABE program is a high school equivalency program for adult learners, comprising three levels of provincially-developed curriculum: Level I (basic literacy and numeracy); Level II (similar to grades 7-9); and, Level III (equivalent to grades 10-12). Completion of ABE Level III is equivalent to high school graduation.

Availability: ABE is offered in 35 locations across the province and is currently delivered by community-based organizations and private institutions. The majority of ABE offerings are delivered in daytime in a traditional classroom setting, with one Level II/III part-time evening program, and an eLearning Level I program. Level I classes allow 12 students per instructor; Levels II and III allow 15 students per instructor.

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To be eligible for admission to ABE, an individual must be 19 years of age or older. A special admission/exemption request may be considered by the Department if a student is 18 years of age and has not attended school for at least 12 months.

Newfoundland and Labrador has been providing ABE Level I in an eLearning format by one community-based organization, with seats limited to residents on the Northern peninsula. Currently, ABE Levels II and III are not available online in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Participation: There are approximately 2,000 students enrolled in ABE annually, province-wide, and approximately 400 students graduate Level III annually. The ABE program is individualized and allows continuous intake of a diverse client group.

General Educational Development (GED) and GED PreparationThe GED measures proficiency in science, mathematics, social studies, reading, and writing, and allows individuals to earn a high school equivalency credential.

Availability: A person may choose to write the test immediately, or they may seek a preparatory program. Preparatory programs are offered in the St. John’s region through partnerships with Thrive Community Youth Network and the Murphy Centre.

Participation: Of the population without a high school diploma, less than one per cent choose to write this test. According to the most recent GED statistics from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (September 2015-August 2016), 105 individuals wrote the test and 51 passed, yielding a 49% success rate.

One-to-One Literacy Tutoring This program provides opportunities for individuals to improve their literacy skills through one-to-one tutoring sessions delivered by trained volunteer tutors.

Availability: Teachers on Wheels (non-profit, serves the St. John’s metro area) and the provincial Laubach Literacy Council (non-profit, active locations in Burin, Corner Brook, Gander, and Lewisporte) are the two primary organizations offering one-to-one tutoring services. These organizations receive funding from the Provincial Government to assist with operations.

Participation: Approximately 100 learners avail of these one-to-one tutoring services, annually.

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Other Literacy and Essential Skills ProvidersThere are several organizations throughout the province that offer support to individuals seeking to enhance their literacy and essential skills. These programs tend to focus on the workplace and employment readiness.

• We have collaborated with community-based organizations to address employment readiness and essential skills, including literacy, as well as new pilot programs such as Transitions to Work, offered by Community Education Network in Stephenville, the Smallwood Community Centre in Marystown, and others.

• College of the North Atlantic has partnered with the Salvation Army in St. John’s to offer pre-employment programs, including Building Service Worker (janitorial, maintenance, custodial) and Retail Skills (customer service, retail). These programs contain literacy and essential skills training.

• The Government of Canada provides funding directly to non-governmental organizations throughout the provinces and territories for employment programs that help Canadians develop their skills, to enhance employment opportunities.

• As a part of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy (YES), the Skills Link program has funded organizations to help youth (up to age 30) overcome barriers to employment by developing a broad range of skills, including literacy and essential skills. The Murphy Centre and Easter Seals are two organizations in this province that currently offer a Skills Link program.

• The Canada Job Grant helps employers train new or existing employees for jobs that need to be filled. This program is designed to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes, in all industries and regions, and it can be used to access literacy and essential skills training.

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What do you think are the best ways to raise current literacy levels among all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, especially those with the greatest literacy needs?

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Other Questions for You to Consider1. How can we strengthen current adult literacy programming in the province?

2. What is working well? What should be modified or discontinued?

3. How could current programs be improved to achieve better outcomes, increase learner success, be more efficient, and increase usage?

4. Are there new delivery options for adult literacy programming that should be explored? Flexible scheduling? Workplace training? Online? Innovative uses of technology?

5. How can adult literacy programs better incorporate technology to ensure flexibility and relevancy for learners?

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Section 3: Working TogetherThe ability to meet the literacy needs of the people of this province is dependent upon the commitment and collaboration of many partners, including learners, post-secondary institutions, educators, communities, volunteers, employers, unions, and government.

The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada continues to invest in research opportunities such as PIAAC and subsequent analysis and are committed to promoting literacy and numeracy skills as vital to personal success. Recent consultations from the Forum of Labour Market Ministers related to the redesign of the Labour Market Transfer Agreements confirm that literacy and numeracy, as well as soft skills such as reliability and initiative, are critical for integrating new hires into the workplace and that low literacy skills prevent employees from meeting the full expectations of their employers, as well as future job advancement opportunities.

Historically, we have partnered with our community organizations and our post-secondary institutions to deliver adult literacy programming to adult learners. We also rely on employers to identify their needs and the needs of current employees, particularly as it relates to training. In Canada, workplace essential skills programs are generally delivered in conjunction with job-specific training, indicating a need for partnership. Small businesses must also be supported in their efforts to offer competitive, effective training, including literacy training for people in the workplace.

The Premier’s Task Force on Improving Educational Outcomes recommended that the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development partner with the Department of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour to develop and implement educational options for those learners, specifically newcomers, who exit the K–12 system before they acquire sufficient credentials to access post-secondary or adult literacy programs.

Many organizations throughout the province have a role to play. Strong partnerships are needed to integrate adult literacy solutions with other key services including employment readiness, job search programs, services and supports which serve to facilitate the settlement and integration of newcomers to the province (including, but not limited to, language acquisition, labour market attachment, skills development and cultural competency training), and others.

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What do you think should be the key goals for our province’s adult learning action plan? How will we know if our plan is working?

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Other Questions for You to Consider1. How can employers be better supported to ensure current and future employees are able to

succeed in the workplace and have opportunities for advancement?

2. How can adult learners and participants be better supported by service providers, as they work to meet their goals?

3. What other groups could we be working with to deliver innovative adult literacy programming?

4. How can we work together to facilitate and strengthen networking, collaboration, and information sharing among stakeholders, particularly service providers, employers, community organizations, and government officials?

5. What do you think adult literacy programming should look like in this province in five years from now? What roles should different stakeholders play in achieving that vision?

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Providing Your Input

Members of the public and other interested parties are invited to submit feedback on or before April 20, 2018. You can submit your feedback in several ways:

1. Attend a regional consultation meeting in St. John’s, Grand Falls-Windsor, Corner Brook, or Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

2. Provide your comments via telephone on our toll-free line at 1.833.653.7147.

3. Write a summary of your input and submit online, by email: Online: www.gov.nl.ca/aesl Email: adultliteracynl@gov.nl.ca

4. Write a summary of your input and submit by regular mail:

Mailing address: Literacy and Institutional Services Divisionc/o Mr. Lauren PowerAdvanced Education, Skills and LabourGovernment of Newfoundland and LabradorP.O. Box 8700St. John’s NL A1B 4J6

If you require this document in an alternative format, please forward your request to adultliteracynl@gov.nl.ca or call 1.833.653.7147.

Notes: This Discussion Guide refers to statistical data, noting economic, demographic, and other information. Data used was the most recent available at the time of publication.

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References

Canadian Literacy and Learning Network (2012). State of the literacy and essential skills field. Retrieved from http://en.copian.ca/library/research/clln/state_of_es/state_of_es.pdf

C.D. Howe Institute. (2005). Public investment in skills: Are Canadian Governments doing enough? Available from https://www.cdhowe.org/sites/default/files/attachments/research_papers/mixed/commentary_217.pdf

Conference Board of Canada. (2006). Literacy, Life and Employment: An Analysis of Canadian International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) Microdata. Retrieved from http://www.conferenceboard.ca/e-library/abstract.aspx?did=1519

Conference Board of Canada. (2007). The Economic Benefits of Improving Literacy Skills in the Workplace. Ottawa. Retrieved December 12, 2017, from http://www.conferenceboard.ca/temp/8796452e-d746-4f71-9310-4d9ef7d564c3/047-08%20Literacy%20Rpt.pdf

Conference Board of Canada. (2014). Skills for Business Innovation Success: It’s People Who Innovate. Ottawa. Retrieved November 30, 2017, from www.conferenceboard.ca/e-library/ abstract.aspx?did=6069

Conference Board of Canada. (2017a). Adult Literacy Rate-Low-Level Skills. Retrieved November 30, 2017, from http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/Details/education/adult-literacy-rate-low-skills.aspx

Conference Board of Canada (2017b). Provincial and Territorial Ranking: Adults with Inadequate Literacy Skills. Retrieved from http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/provincial/education/adlt-lowlit.aspx

Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (2012). Adult Learning and Education: Canada Progress Report for the UNESCO Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE) and the End of the United Nations Literacy Decade. Retrieved from https://www.collegesinstitutes.ca/file/adult-learning-and-education-canada-progress-report-for-the-unesco-global-report-on-adult-learning-and-education-grale-and-the-end-of-the-united-nations-literacy-decade/

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2005). Learning a living: First results of the adult literacy and life skills survey. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/edu/innovation-education/34867438.pdf

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Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2013). Skilled for Life? Key findings from the Survey of Adult Skills. Retreived from http://www.oecd.org/skills/piaac/SkillsOutlook_2013_ebook.pdf

Public Health Agency of Canada (2013). What makes Canadians healthy or unhealthy? Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/population-health/what-determines-health/what-makes-canadians-healthy-unhealthy.html

Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (2014). Upskill: A credible test of Workplace Literacy and Essential Skills Training. Retrieved from http://www.srdc.org/media/199774/upskill-technical-report-en.pdf

Social Research and Demonstration Corporation.(2016). Foundations: 12-month impacts of a literacy and essential skills intervention for job seekers. http://www.srdc.org/media/200033/foundations-12-month-report.pdf

Statistics Canada (2005). Learning a living: First results of the adult literacy and life skills survey. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-603-x/89-603-x2005001-eng.htm

Statistics Canada (2013). Skills in Canada: First results from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-555-x/89-555-x2013001-eng.htm

UNESCO (2008). The global literacy challenge. Retrieved from unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0016/001631/163170e.pdf

Literacy and Institutional Services Division Advanced Education, Skills and Labour

gov.nl.ca

If you require this document in an alternative format, please forward your request to adultliteracynl@gov.nl.ca or call 1.833.653.7147