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The SCALES Project: Increasing Awareness and Benefits of Essential Skills

The SCALES Project aims to increase awareness of the Essentials Skills and their benefits, provide scenarios to demonstrate their application, and raise awareness of the project itself. Test your Essential Skills knowledge and find out how these skills fit into other areas of work. Learn about Canada's skills deficit and the importance of Essential Skills in the workplace.

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The SCALES Project: Increasing Awareness and Benefits of Essential Skills

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  1. THE SCALES PROJECT

  2. Our Project Team

  3. Our Project Team

  4. Presentation Goals • Increase awareness of the Essentials Skills • Increase awareness of the benefits of Essentials Skills • Provide scenarios to demonstrate how Essential Skills can fit using the Career Development Model • Increase awareness of the SCALES project

  5. Test Your Essential Skills Knowledge!!!

  6. What Are Essential Skills? • “enabling” skills that help people perform tasks required by their jobs. • skills that provide workers with a foundation for learning other skills. • skills that enhance the ability to adapt to change.

  7. Essential Skills Background

  8. Essential Skills Deficit The research of the 90’s and early 2000’s found little improvement in 10 years. Key findings revealed: • Skills had not improved significantly • Literacy is firmly linked to economic success and productivity • Changing workplace requires higher levels of literacy • Respondents scoring <3 out of 5 lack the skills needed to transfer existing knowledge to new environments • Many Canadians adults have limited literacy skills

  9. The Nine Essential Skills Reading Text Document Use Numeracy Writing Oral Communication Working with Others Continuous Learning Thinking Skills Computer Use

  10. Where Essential Skills Fits With Other Skills ABC Plumbing Company Plumbers - In-School Apprenticeship Training Generic Employer Specific Skills Occupation Specific Skills Essential Skills

  11. Essential Skills Measuring TableFor Reading, Document Use and NumeracyMeasuring Complexity Using IALS 500Point Scale & HRSDC Five-Point Scale 0 -500 Level 2 226 - 275 Level 3 276 - 325 Level 4 326 - 475 Level 5 476 - 500 Level 1 0 - 225

  12. Canada’s Skills Deficit Performance of Canadians A significant portion of Canadians are at the two lowest levels in three important essential skills areas: reading text, document use, and numeracy. Source: Matching Canadians’ Literacy Attainment to Actual Occupational Requirements, May 2001.

  13. Canada’s Skills Deficit Workplace Demands for Essential Skills Jobs for which no post secondary education is necessary increasingly require a minimum of Level 3 in reading text, document use, and numeracy (e.g. cashier, security guard or labourer). Lowest Highest Source: Matching Canadians’ Literacy Attainment to Actual Occupational Requirements, May 2001.

  14. Essential Skills Profiles Essential Skills Profiles include: • A brief description of the occupation • A list of the most important Essential Skills • Example tasks that illustrate how each Essential Skill is applied • Complexity ratings that indicate the level of difficulty, from level 1(least complex) to levels 4/5 (most complex), of the example tasks • Standardized summaries of skill content • The physical aspects of performing the job and the attitudes that workers feel are needed to do the job well • Future trends affecting Essential Skills

  15. Group Work Essential Skills Profiles: • In groups, you will be asked to answer a series of questions using the provided Essential Skills profiles

  16. Group Work HRSDC Tools and Resources • In groups, you will be asked to play the role of either • Job Developer • Career Practitioner • Literacy Practitioner • HR Manager • Facilitator • In this role, you will be asked to select one (or more) of the HRSDC Tools and Resources that will benefit your client

  17. Benefits of Essential Skills

  18. The Benefits of Essential Skills

  19. The Benefits of Essential Skills The cost of moving 48% of Canada`s adult population to level 3 reading offers remarkable benefits Source: Murray, McCracken, Willms, Jones, Shillington & Strucker (2009), Addressing Canada’s Literacy Challenge: A Cost/Benefit Analysis

  20. The Benefits of Essential Skills • Over 40% of Canadians have skill deficits and are not aware they do not meet the recognized minimum level for the workplace • Over 80% of individuals at a Level 2 believe their skills are excellent • Unemployed Canadians are 3 times more likely than employed Canadians to have skill deficits • Unemployed persons at a Level 1 & 2 take up to 38 weeks to re-enter employment compared to 9 weeks for those with higher skills levels • Growth industries require high levels of Essentials Skills; jobs that require lower levels are declining

  21. LES Is MORE The SCALES Project Supporting the Canadian Advancement of Literacy and Essential Skills

  22. Our Mission • Integrate a LES approach (a method that considers both the Literacy and Essential Skill levels of their clients when assisting them in making life/work decisions) into existing active employment measures, retraining options or active job searches • Increase the capacity of service providers and employment counsellors to provide assessment and referral services • Build the confidence of adults in transition in relation to LES in order to assess their skill levels to develop action plans for re-entry into the workforce or re-training options

  23. The research sought to answer the following, as they pertain to the provinces of Ontario, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia: • What LES tools and models are currently being used by Career Practitioners or other professionals who assist unemployed and low-skilled workers in achieving their career goals? • What LES tools, resources and models are needed and desired in order to assist practitioners to incorporate a LES approach into their work? Phase 1: Research

  24. Phase 1: Research – Key Findings

  25. Phase 1: Research – Key Findings

  26. Next Steps • Focus groups will be held in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia in February and March 2011 • Tools and/or programs will be developed between March and August 2011 • Pilot sites and an evaluation strategy for the pilots will be identified by the end of September 2011

  27. Brainstorming Session How can we help you?

  28. Presentation Goals • Increase awareness of the Essentials Skills • Increase awareness of the benefits of Essentials Skills • Provide scenarios to demonstrate how Essential Skills can fit using the Career Development Model • Increase awareness of the SCALES project

  29. Debi Saul Project Manager saul@collegeconnect.on.ca www.collegeconnect.on.ca

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