Literacy and Essential Skills Solutions

1. Closing the Skills Gap BC Chamber of Commerce AGM, May 24, 2013 Literacy and Essential Skills Solutions Decoda Literacy Solutions

2. “In 2012 and again in 2013, the skills crisis heads the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s list of Top Ten Barriers to Competitiveness.” The Hon. Perrin Beatty, President and CEO The Canadian Chamber of Commerce Report of the Symposium on Skills and Small Business held on November 14, 2012 in Toronto The Canadian Chamber of Commerce Decoda Literacy Solutions

3. “Helping to improve workforce literacy and essential skill helps build conditions for economic growth.” The Honourable Don McRae Minister of Education Addressing the Skills Gap Forum March 25, 2013 Decoda Literacy Solutions Decoda Literacy Solutions

4. Overview What is Literacy and Essential Skills? What is the challenge or skills gap? Why should Chambers and businesses care? What is Decoda doing? What can Chambers do?

5. What are Literacy and Essential Skills? • The ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute – how we make sense of the modern world • Enables individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society. (PIACC) • Provide the foundation for learning all other skills • Enable people to evolve with their jobs and adapt to workplace change Decoda Literacy Solutions

6. A Framework for Thinking About Skills Home Environment The Community Firm & Job Specific Skills and bodies of knowledge …depend upon • Analytic Problem Solving • decision making • job task planning and organizing • significant use of memory • Workplace • Inter-Personal • teamwork • leadership • practical intelligence Use of tools associated with pervasive technologies of production e.g. ICT’s …depend upon • Intra-personal • Ability to Learn • motivation • metacognition • Written Communication • reading - text • reading - documents • writing • Oral Communication • speaking • listening Motor Skills Numeracy The World of Work

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8. Let’s figure this out … How many tablets in 24 hours can you give your 10 year old child who only weighs 60 pounds? Decoda Literacy Solutions

9. 40% of British Columbians aged 16 to 65 have Level 1 and 2 reading skills 44% have level 1 and 2 numeracy skills Statistics Canada Decoda Literacy Solutions

10. Level 3 literacy is the equivalent of the chainsaw in the knowledge economy

11. 17 23 37 23 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Levels4 & 5 Literacy in BC ▲% BC populationaged 16 and over literacy proficiency ► Statistics Canada (2003): International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey Decoda Literacy Solutions www.decoda.ca

12. Demand for Literacy Skill is Projected to Grow Rapidly Supply Flat Projected proportions by prose proficiency level Where are the required skills going to come from?

13. Jobs in BC • Retail salespersons and cashiers • Clerical and office skills • Cleaners • Motor vehicle and transit drivers • Childcare and home support workers • Food and beverage service • Helpers and attendants • Trades helpers and labourers • Primary production labourers WorkBC, 2013 Decoda Literacy Solutions

14. But in BC……… • Over 150,000 working-age (25 -54) adults do not have a high school diploma • 20% of young people do not finish school in the expected time or at all Decoda Literacy Solutions

15. Effects on Small Business • Communication technologies increases productivity but amplifies skill-based inequalities • The labour shortage in Canada forces employers to hire more low skilled workers • Poor state of government finances precludes large public investments Decoda Literacy Solutions

16. Cost of Skill Upgrading In BC: $2.897 billion To bring all adults 16+ to reading level 3 DataAngel Policy Research Decoda Literacy Solutions

17. Direct economic benefits for BC: $ 8.967 Billion or $2,607/worker/year in additional earnings DataAngel Policy Research Decoda Literacy Solutions

18. In BC Regular employment insurance benefit payments could drop by $35 million DataAngelPolicy Research Decoda Literacy Solutions

19. In BC Social assistance benefit payments could drop by $223 million DataAngel Policy Research Decoda Literacy Solutions

20. In BC Workers compensation benefit payments could drop by $52 million DataAngelPolicy Research Decoda Literacy Solutions

21. 5 year rate of return on investment In BC 1501% DataAngelPolicy Research Decoda Literacy Solutions

22. 5 year rate of return on investment • For companies with less than 20 employees • 2078% • Report of the Symposium on Skills and Small Business held on • November 14, 2012 in Toronto • The Canadian Chamber of Commerce Decoda Literacy Solutions

23. Direct Economic Benefits for Business The Value Proposition: • Increased productivity • Increased product quality • Better customer service • Increased safety • Increased employee motivation and retention • Increased SME capacity for workforce development Decoda Literacy Solutions

24. What Is Decoda Doing? • Supporting organizations in communities to work more closely together • 102 community literacy task groups throughout BC • More than 2000 people engaged in discussions • 86 of these are from business or Chambers of Commerce • 1,673 organizations collaborate to deliver literacy services Decoda Literacy Solutions

25. “The key to making further progress on skills-related challenges is to bring together business, educational and training institutions, workers and policy people, both inside and outside of government.” Associate Deputy Minister Ron Parker Human Resources and Skills Development Canada Report of the Symposium on Skills and Small Business held on November 14, 2012 in Toronto The Canadian Chamber of Commerce Decoda Literacy Solutions

26. Creating a Provincial Strategy • Creating a Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills Strategy • Sounding Board – Chamber of Commerce, BCBC, CME • With many partners, stakeholders, communities • Linking employer interests to skills training • – demand to supply Decoda Literacy Solutions

27. What Can Chambers do? • Participate in developing and implementing a provincial comprehensive literacy/essential skills strategy • Supply information about business human resource requirements and potential solutions • Get to know your local literacy and essential skills services Decoda Literacy Solutions

28. And….. Partner with literacy/essential skills providers to help local businesses to: • Upgrade the literacy/essential skills of employees • Upgrade the literacy/essential skills of local   unemployed persons so they can move into jobs in  resource and other projects • Use literacy/essential skills assessment tools • Promote literacy and essential skills upgrading to employees Decoda Literacy Solutions

29. “People are the common denominator of progress. So... no improvement is possible with unimproved people, and advance is certain when people are liberated and educated. “ John Kenneth Galbraith, The Affluent Society (1958) US (Canadian-born) administrator & economist (1908 - 2006) Decoda Literacy Solutions

30. “No one owns the skills issue and likewise no one player—be it government or business or the education sector—can resolve it alone.” The Hon. Perrin Beatty, President and CEO The Canadian Chamber of Commerce Report of the Symposium on Skills and Small Business held on November 14, 2012 in Toronto The Canadian Chamber of Commerce Decoda Literacy Solutions