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Literacy and Employment Services

Literacy and Employment Services. Partnerships to Facilitate Client Pathways to Success Employment Ontario Manager’s Forum March 2, 2011. Introductions. Presenters: Joanne Kaattari Co-Executive Director Community Literacy of Ontario Kathy Mills

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Literacy and Employment Services

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  1. Literacy and Employment Services Partnerships to Facilitate Client Pathways to Success Employment Ontario Manager’s Forum March 2, 2011

  2. Introductions Presenters: Joanne Kaattari • Co-Executive Director Community Literacy of Ontario Kathy Mills • CAO, The Centre For Skills Development & Training Panellists: Lorna Hart • Manager of Corporate Services, The Centre for Skills Development & Training Adam Jensen • LBS Co-ordinator, Conestoga College Barbara McFater • Executive Director, PTP Adult Learning and Employment Programs Christine Prieur • LBS Coordinator, The Centre for Skills Development & Training Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  3. Literacy in Ontario Now… Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  4. A View of Literacy Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  5. Another View of Literacy Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  6. Why? • Dropped out • Job • School environment • Other obligations • Family situation • Learning disability • Education not free/universal in all countries Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  7. Why You May Not Know… • Intelligence, other gifts • Incredible coping skills! • Range of skills • Developed other skills • Hiding/avoidance • Use it or lose it • Not needed until… • Fear "There's no way that the National Hockey League would have given me a chance if they’d known." Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  8. Literacy and Employment • 61% with low literacy levels were employed versus 82% with the highest levels. • Twice as likely to be unemployed for six months or more. Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  9. Literacy and Poverty and Income • 50% of adults with the lowest levels of literacy live in low income households, compared with 8% of those with high levels. • Lower incomes • More likely to receive social assistance Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  10. Literacy and Health • Low literacy skills = poorer health • Increased health and safety risks • Reduced ability to make informed choices • Seniors and literacy • Aging population Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  11. Literacy and Families and Youth • The higher the level of a parent’s education, the higher the likelihood the child will succeed in school. • 25% of young people still drop out of high school. • 16% of students failed the grade 10 literacy test in 2009-2010. Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  12. Literacy and New Canadians • New Canadians make critical contributions to our society, culture and economy. • However, 60% of immigrants in our province have low levels of literacy in English or French. Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  13. Literacy and the Economy • A 1% increase in literacy skills would lead to an increase of $18.5 billion per year in Canada’s GDP. (OECD) • Lower skilled workers have been amongst the hardest hit by the recession. Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  14. Literacy & Access to Training & the Labour Market of the Future • 21% of people with the lowest levels of literacy accessed some form of adult education and training, compared to 65% with the highest levels. • By 2031, Ontario will need 77% of its workforce to have post-secondary credentials. Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  15. The LBS and Academic Upgrading Program • Part of Employment Ontario • Under “Training Services” • Adult literacy and numeracy • LBS = < Grade 9 • Academic Upgrading = Grade 9 - 12 • 60,000 adult learners • Over 300 program sites • Free Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  16. LBS Program • Three goal paths • Three delivery sectors • Four cultural streams Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  17. Instruction • Classroom, small group, one-to-one • E-Channel/ACE Online • Ontario Adult Literacy Curriculum Framework Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  18. www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/training/literacy/ontliteracy/ont_lit.htmlwww.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/training/literacy/ontliteracy/ont_lit.html Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  19. Program Support • Websites of the Provincial and Sectoral Networks: www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/training/literacy/ontliteracy/ont_lit.html • Websites of the Regional Networks: www.on.literacy.ca/find_a_program Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  20. Finding a Literacy Program • Ask a Regional Literacy Network • EO Hotline: 1-800-387-5656 • MTCU’s “Find a Service”: www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/search.html • ABC Life Literacy Canada: • Look under “Learn” in the Yellow Pages • Or online http://abclifeliteracy.ca/en/lookunderlearn Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  21. Showcasing Successful LBS/AU & Employment Services Partnerships Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  22. The Centre for Skills Development & Training • Co-located • Trades/ES/LINC-ESL/LBS • Integration Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 22

  23. The Centre’s unique model • LBS staff attends all ES meetings and professional development opportunities • LBS staff in the ERC • ES staff in LBS classroom Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 23

  24. How LBS partnered with ES at The Centre • ES staff offered Personality Dimensions workshop to LBS students • LBS provides computer skills to ES clients • OLC workshop re LBS/ES partnerships Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 24

  25. The Centre’s partnerships with local literacy network • Essential Skills project • Client Service Investigations (CSI) • Clear Language Initiative • Essential Skills Learning for Young Adults (“Summer in Smallywood”) Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 25

  26. Conestoga College • Academic Upgrading & Employment Services Connections • Locations: Waterloo, Guelph, Cambridge, Stratford, Arthur and Listowel • Student goals: to gain admission to/prepare for post-secondary programs; prepare for GED; improve Essential Skills; or further education or employment as goals Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 26

  27. Common Client Base • Then: AU students attended class full time • Now: AU students are often employed, in need of part-time work, or searching for full-time work • Resources of both AU and ES are required Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 27

  28. Career Centres • A natural fit: on campus at 3 of 4 main AU locations • Students made aware of Career Centres during orientation • Services: • Second Career information/help • Career and academic advisement • Labour market information • Employment supports • Job search help Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 28

  29. Employment Services • ES locations with connections to Conestoga: Lutherwood, 2nd Chance, Anishnabeg Outreach, Cambridge Career Connections, and Partners in Employment (PIE) • Referrals go both ways • Conestoga provides assessment feedback, timelines, and letters for Second Career clients Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 29

  30. Targeted Initiative for Older Workers • At Career Centre (Guelph) and Lutherwood (Guelph and Cambridge) • Support for students/potential students who fit criteria • Refer to AU to prepare TIOW clients for GED or Essential Skills • Source of an administrative person for the Guelph upgrading program Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 30

  31. Other Programs • Re-Tooling for the Trades (Guelph and Waterloo campuses) • Internationally Trained Immigrant Advising • GED for OW Class • Trades/Apprenticeship Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 31

  32. Continuum of Service • LBS/AU and EO programs need not be offered independently of each other • Students can go back and forth between programs and access services from both areas • AU students are often in need of ES now or later, and EO clients are in need of training or upskilling • Referrals between programs mean best service for clients Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 32

  33. PTP Adult Learning and Employment Programs • Creating pathways and partnerships to ensure participants reach their goals Stock client picture here Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 33

  34. Brief History • Quick Overview of Core Programs • Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) • Academic Upgrading (AU) • Pre Employment Development (PED) • Employment Services (ES) Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 34

  35. Employment Services at PTP • What we delivered in the past and why • Specialized program model designed for adults with literacy as a barrier to employment Stock client picture here Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 35

  36. What We Deliver Now • Full suite of Employment Services • Includes itinerant services (PTP East, Daily Bread, TESS) • Continue to deliver specialized programming for clients with literacy as a barrier • Other ES providers in our network encouraged to refer literacy clients to PTP Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 36

  37. ES Community Partner Networks • Working together, sharing best practices, group marketing initiatives • Inviting literacy providers to present/or participate at ES meetings • ES providers asking for invitation to present/or participate at LLC meetings • Training – PTP staff training front-line workers on how to work with adults with literacy issues Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 37

  38. PTP Strategic Goals • To create stronger, clearer pathways for all clients to help them reach their goals • To establish partnerships with other agencies and organizations to improve access and options for our participants Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 38

  39. Internal partnerships and creating pathways at PTP • Always “what is best for the client?” • LBS, AU, PED staff draw on expertise of ES staff • ES staff draw on expertise of LBS staff • Cross referrals are important • Does the client need further education or training? • Does the client need job search support? Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 39

  40. Challenging our assumptions – why we need each other • Not all adults with literacy as a barrier want or need upgrading • Not all adults with higher skills and education want to go directly to work • Under EO model both LBS and ES are focused on customer service and developing action plans that support clients’ needs and goals • Who can best meet the needs of the client? Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 40

  41. Showcasing PTP and Daily Bread Food Bank Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  42. Showcasing PTP and Daily Bread Food Bank • Creates seamless pathways for clients who face barriers to employment • PTP LBS Program – Food Team – Contextualized learning • PTP LBS and George Brown – in partnership with FoodShare – pre-culinary arts/LBS program • Daily Bread Food Bank’s Full-time Culinary Training Program • PTP Itinerant Employment Services – Job Placement/Co-op, job search support Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 42

  43. Challenges • Working together doesn’t always come naturally even if we are under the same roof • Creating partnerships/linkages with others can be formal or informal, internal or external • All take time, effort, understanding and resources • Build relationships! We need to know each other really well Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011 43

  44. Open Mike Session • What kinds of partnerships are happening between literacy and employment services in your communities? • What are the barriers to such partnerships? • What needs to happen in your communities so that more literacy and employment services partnership can be developed? Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  45. In Conclusion… "The Centre has helped me to read and write...until now, I never thought I could." (An adult literacy student in Ontario)  Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  46. Websites – Your Presenters • Community Literacy of Ontario: www.nald.ca/clo • The Centre for Skills Development & Training: www.thecentre.on.ca • PTP Adult Learning and Employment Programs: www.ptp.ca • Conestoga College www.conestogac.on.ca Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

  47. More Helpful Websites • MTCU’s Adult Learning: www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/adultlearning/ • CLO’s “Literacy – A Great Investment” www.nald.ca/clo/a_great_investment.htm • OLC’s “Literacy 101” • http://www.on.literacy.ca/literacy101 • Ontario Adult Literacy Curriculum Framework: www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/eopg/publications/20101119_sdag_oalcf.pdf • E-Channel: www.learninghub.ca • Ace Online: www.acedistancedelivery.ca/ Partnerships: Literacy and Employment Services - EO Manager's Forum, 2011

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