Greetings Workplace Literacy List Members on this gorgeous fall day!
There a re a number of good resources here, and I have even more, but decided to hold some for next week.  Surely you will find something of interest to you here!  Happy reading!
Donna

Donna Brian
Moderator, LINCS Workplace Literacy Discussion List
Off-list contact djgbrian at utk.edu

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Brought to our attention by New Zealand Literacy Portal http://www.nzliteracyportal.org.nz /
 
"Financial literacy for vocational learners in further education"
	This is an evaluation of a project at York College which aimed to analyse gaps in provision and resources of financial literacy, investigate the literacy, numeracy and financial capability needs of the learners, develop innovative ways for learners to improve their literacy and numeracy through financial literacy, pilot these ways of learning and develop new materials.
http://www.basic-skills.co.uk/resources/resourcessearchresults/detail.php?ResourceID=809197920 
 
 "Understanding Money" (Aus) [note from Donna: Since this site is from Australia, the information about government help would not apply to U.S. learners. However, there is a lot of good information on this site that is helpful, and it is an attractive and easy site to navigate.]
	The Australian Government website contains a comprehensive listing of financial literacy programmes and resources.  It will help to inform the development of new programmes and resources by identifying gaps and overlaps, and facilitate collaboration between organisations that want to use or develop programmes and resources.
http://www.understandingmoney.gov.au 

"Incentives to train: Ensuring employer engagement" 
	This UK research report (40 pages) looks at findings from interviews and a roundtable discussion. Participants evaluated existing provision to incentivise training for employers, identifying the major areas of concern and proposing recommendations for change.
http://www.nationalskillsforum.org.uk/Incentives_to%20Train%20(2).pdf 

Steps to safety: Improving workplace basic education and health and safety  	This NALA (National Adult Literacy Agency, Ireland) resource (104 pages) has been developed to improve literacy and language needs through the theme of health and safety.  The areas covered are safety signs and symbols, managing information at work, health and hygiene, working safely and filling in an accident report form.
http://www.nala.ie/download/pdf/s2s_workbook_nov06.pdf 

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>From MDRC  http://www.mdrc.org/ 

"Why Focus on the 'Hard-to-Employ'"?
	For at least three decades, policymakers, researchers, and program operators have developed and studied strategies to help people who face serious obstacles to steady work. Despite the broad policy interest in serving the hard-to-employ, knowledge about effective program strategies is still relatively undeveloped.
http://www.mdrc.org/area_issue_25.html 

"From Getting By to Getting Ahead: Navigating Career Advancement for Low-Wage Workers" 
	From just getting by at the end of each month to getting ahead is a hard climb for many low-wage workers. This report, from MDRC's Work Advancement and Support Center (WASC) demonstration, explores how WASC career coaches help low-wage workers understand the complex interactions between earnings and eligibility for work support programs and guide them to make the best advancement decisions possible.
http://www.mdrc.org/publications/465/overview.html 

"Improving Labor Market Success for Low-Wage Workers: MDRC's Research on Job Retention and Advancement Programs, Education Interventions, and Transitional Jobs Programs." 
	A recorded version of this Webinar, hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration in September 2007, is now available for free download. The accompanying PowerPoint is also available separately. (Both require free registration.)
http://www.mdrc.org/announcement_hp_141.html 

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>From the Lumina Foundation http://www.luminafoundation.org 

"Campus connections--narrowing the gap and widening the college track"
	As the importance of a college-educated workforce grows, so does the gap between the fortunate student who understands what it takes to get to college and the underserved student who lacks information on the critical steps necessary for college. That gap is rooted in poverty and social inequity, but solutions are emerging to help low-income students gain access to and succeed in college.
http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/focus_archive/fall_2007/index.html 

"College access and success for the working poor: Overcoming Burdens to Succeed in Higher Education"
	Higher education is critical to improving the lives of the working poor, as jobs today increasingly require higher education. However, the working poor face obstacles that prevent college access and success. This paper examines the higher education experiences, financial challenges, attendance and completion rates of the working poor and makes recommendations for policies and practices that might raise their enrollment and completion rates.
http://www.ihep.org/Pubs/PDF/College_Access_for_the_Working_Poor_2007_Report.pdf 

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>From Literacy Works http://workbase.org.nz 


"Teaching drug calculation skills for nursing students" (UK)
	From the latest UK Numeracy Briefing, "No more 'chalk and talk', teaching drug calculation skills for the real world" (teaching and reinforcing numeracy learning for nursing students). This is an interesting article talking about dosage calculation problems and the difference between the way maths is taught in the traditional classroom and how it is used in the workplace.  Many of the problems are related to 'problem set-up' errors.  The article goes on to describe an interactive programme designed along constructivist principles that teaches students to visualise the elements of the dosage calculation problem and to map these elements onto the word based formulae and number based equations used to solve the problem.
http://www.saferhealthcare.org.uk/IHI/Topics/ManagingChange/SafetyStories/teaching+drug+calculation+skills+for+the+real+world.htm#dosage 

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The following resources all have to do with "Career Pathways"

"College and Career Transitions Initiative (CCTI) Toolkit" (Warford, L.J. Ed., 2006.) The purpose of this toolkit is  to share best-practice resources for institutions interested in implementing stronger high-school-to-college bridge programs. The toolkit offers exemplary models of college strategies; shared stories of planning, implementation, adjustments, and success; careeer pathways self-assessment; and benchmarks of refinement in smoothing students' paths from career pathways to viablecareers. Effectiveness was based on the following five
anticipated outcomes. These outcomes certainly support the tenets of the NoChild Left Behind Act and align with the anticipated new Perkins legislation.
1. Decreased need for remediation at the postsecondary level
2. Increased enrollment and persistence in postsecondary education
3. Increased academic and skill achievement at secondary and postsecondary
levels
4. Increased attainment of postsecondary degrees, certificates, or other
recognized credentials
5. Increased entry into employment or further education
http://www.league.org/league/projects/ccti/projects/ 

"The Career Pathways How-To Guide" (Jenkins and Spence, 2006)
This report provides step-by-step instructions for building career pathways on the regional level and discusses how state-level offices can support regional efforts.
http://www.workforcestrategy.org/publications/WSC_howto_10.16.06.pdf 

"Steps for Evaluating and Continuously Improving Career Pathways Programs" (Jenkins, 2006)
	This report recommends steps for evaluating and continuously improving career pathways programs.
http://www.workforcestrategy.org/publications/Evaluate_Career_Pathways.pdf

"Using Resources Effectively: An Overview of Funding Resources for Workforce Development Initiatives" (David Gruber 2004)
This brief introduces ways to effectively combine public resources in order to fund career pathways strategies.
http://www.workforcestrategy.org/publications/WSC_UsingResources.pdf  

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