Northern Essential Skills and Learning for Work Program

What is the overall impact of the initiative and how is this measured?

Enrollment – 20 students were accepted to the program.

Projected goals:

The purpose of the Northern Essential Skills and Learning for Work Program is to prepare and equip lower level adult literacy learners with the knowledge and skills needed to participate in the larger social, community, and economic environment. Individuals who assess at a Level 1 or 2 literacy level will be engaged in an adult learning environment that is strength based and responsive to the needs identified by and with individual participants. The program will build essential skills and knowledge of the transferability of those skills to future employment experiences and career choices. Participants will be engaged within a philosophy of continuous learning – the ability to develop and improve upon skills – through a variety of strategies including self-assessment, goal setting, career pathing, and individualized learning plans.

Education outcomes:

See Saskatchewan Literacy Network’s Circle of Learning Benchmarks for Level 1 and 2 Program in Numeracy, Digital Literacy, Working with Others and Continuous Learning, and Communication.

What challenges have you faced and how were these overcome?

Students are confronted with a number of situational (transportation, childcare, housing, access to opportunities) and dispositional (lack of confidence, habits) barriers that always have to be considered in any of our Adult Basic Education programs. With lower literacy levels comes a number of other challenges related to health, justice, education, and poverty.

The program provides a number of features to counter existing barriers including,
– Needs assessment to inform program planning and delivery
– Provincial Training Allowance for accepted students
– Right facilitator for the program
– Community involvement and investment
– Breakfast program
– Access to laptops and notebooks to facilitate digital literacy development

What are 3 key lessons you learned from developing or delivering your initiative? What advice from those lessons would you share with others?

Community investment – plan the program in collaboration with the community (existing infrastructure, potential employers and opportunities for community service projects). Establish a community contact that can assist with the program planning during all phases of the project. Be open and prepared to share the results with the community.

Decide on your program goals and objectives. A well-defined and designed adult literacy project will ensure that all stages of planning, assessment and delivery align with good adult literacy practice. Provide the outcomes, training, and resources to prepare an incoming facilitator and establish the proper foundation.

Conduct an intake assessment to recruit a good mix of higher level and lower level adult literacy learners.

Which Essential Skills are covered by the initiative? Reading Text Numeracy Writing Oral Communications Working with Others Thinking Skills Computer Use

How are the Essential Skills integrated into your initiative?

Incorporate the Saskatchewan Literacy Network’s Circle of Learning Level 1 and 2 Benchmarks with a focus on numeracy, communications – reading, writing, oral communication, observing and reflecting, Working with Others – Interpersonal and personal development, and digital literacy. The CoL is a holistic document that includes outcomes and learning activities for all.

Use the National Occupational Codes to learn more about the Essential Skills and how each fit into each career profile.

Refer to the Decoda Literacy Community Adult Literacy Benchmarks for learners requiring focused literacy development.

The program makes use of resources developed by external sources including:

The Circle of Learning Saskatchewan Adult Literacy Benchmarks Levels 1 & 2 (The CoL) has been prepared for regional colleges, public institutions, and community-based organizations that offer low-level adult literacy programs in formal and informal settings. In response to social and economic change in the 21st century, the CoL identifies foundational skills that adult literacy learners need in order to participate fully at home, at work, and in the community.

It’s More Than Words It’s More Than Words is a literacy book, but it’s about more than just reading and writing. Topics in the book range from reading, writing, speaking and listening, to observing, idioms and grammar, to how to study for tests and how to use dictionaries and computers.

It’s More Than Numbers It’s More Than Numbers is a numeracy book, but its tagline is “Welcome to the Math You Actually Use!”. The book spans from the very basics of what numbers are and how to write them, through operations, fractions and decimals, all the way to geometry, algebra, problem solving and information management.

How do you assess participant Essential Skills?

Variety of formative assessment tools – Level 1 and 2 Benchmarks, self-assessment tools in the initial, ongoing and exit stages of the program, learners maintain their own assessment portfolio to track growth and achievements.

What are the components of the initiative? Work-integrated learning (i.e., internships, co-ops, work placements, etc.) Life skills Career and/or educational planning Job search services Other

How do you support participant success in the program? Job placements Other

How was Indigenous culture integrated into the program content or delivery?

The facilitator’s intimate knowledge of the community’s culture, common understandings around terms and concepts are used in place of the existing text. Relationship building is a key focus throughout the project. The facilitator builds a classroom community and maintains regular communication with SIIT staff.

What do you think are the most important competencies and attributes for staff involved in this initiative to have?

• Resourceful – locating and procurement of resources
• Partnership development – locate and initiate
• Foundation in education – literacy, adult education, K-12 – outcomes based planning and delivery, formative assessment

Who are your partners, and what is their involvement in the initiative?

• Stanley Mission First Nation Administration Departments – Post Secondary Counsellor, Maintenance, Security, Social Development, etc.
• Local businesses – Daycare, Radio Station, Carpenters, Elder’s Haven, Chester Fried Chicken, etc.