Workplace Literacy Colleagues,

 

This week we have a feast of resources with no particular theme.  That
may mean that next week's pickings will be slim, but we'll just have to
wait and see.  I hope you will have time in this busy season to make use
of these.  

 

If you don't have time now, you can always go back to the archives when
you do have time.  You can go to the archives any time you want to find
messages that were previously posted on the discussion list.  You will
note the address below as the last link in my signature.  The archives
have a search feature too, so you can look for a topic or a word that
you remember from the past or one that you want to see if we have ever
discussed.  The search feature makes the archives a valuable tool for
your professional development in that you can look for a topic right
when you need it.

 

Donna

 

 

Donna Brian

Moderator, LINCS Workplace Literacy Discussion List

Off-list contact djgbrian at utk.edu 

 

To post a message:

workplace at nifl.gov  

 

To subscribe/unsubscribe/change options/access archives:

http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/workplace  

 

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Brought to our attention by NZ Literacy Portal
http://www.nzliteracyportal.org.nz/  

 


>From Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC)

http://www.mdrc.org/ 

"I did it for myself: Studying efforts to increase adult learner
persistence in library literacy programs" 

      This report describes the implementation and effectiveness of
strategies to increase student persistence in adult literacy programs in
five public libraries. It describes patterns in student persistence,
factors that inhibit persistence and the relationship between program
strategies and persistence.

http://www.mdrc.org/publications/106/full.pdf  

 


>From Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN) http://www.cprn.org/  


"Moving forward on workplace learning"

      This Canadian report from the Canadian Policy Research Networks
(14

pages) reports on the highlights of the Forum on Employer Investment in
Workplace Learning and the ideas for action that emerged from the
discussions.  The most fundamental issue was the insufficient amount of
employer investment in training.

http://www.cprn.org/documents/46861_en.pdf  

 

"Too Many Left Behind: Canada's Adult Education and Training System"

      This study from CPRN documents the availability of formal adult
learning opportunities in Canada and the factors influencing the
participation of less educated/less skilled workers. The authors
pinpoint gaps and suggest ways to overcome them.

http://www.cprn.org/documents/43977_en.pdf  

 

"Employer investment in workplace learning in Canada"

      This Canadian report (64 pages) from the Canadian Policy Research
Networks presents an overview of workplace learning in Canada.  It
examines key issues and outlines some of the ideas that have been put
forward to increase and improve employer investment in training and
developing the skills of their workforce.

http://www.cprn.org/documents/45354_en.pdf   

 

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>From the Chartered Institute for Professional Development (CIPD)

http://www/cipd.co.uk/ 

"The value of Learning: A new model of value and evaluation" by Valerie
Anderson, University of Portsmouth Business School

Reports on a study - carried out for the CIPD by the University of
Portsmouth Business School - which looked at the role of learning and
training in creating value in organisations and at how that role can be
analysed, measured and evaluated. It looks at: 

      --key challenges for value and evaluation 

      --the value and evaluation process 

      --alignment 

      --approaches to assessment and evaluation 

      --a model of value and evaluation.

http://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/94842E50-F775-4154-975F-8D4BE72846C7/
0/valoflearnnwmodvalca.pdf 

 

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>From Urban Habitat http://urbanhabitat.org/ 


 

"Just Jobs? Organizing for Economic Justice"

      This issue of "Race, Poverty, and the Environment" focuses on the
creation of jobs in the United States, real wages, tax subsidies
contribute to job creation, and employment growth in various job
sectors.

http://urbanhabitat.org/node/822  

 

"Educating for Equity"

      This issue of "Race, Poverty, and the Environment" focuses on the
many complex ways people are attempting to use education to bring
equality, not only to our schools, but across the board on social
justice issues, such as immigration, employment, and urban planning.

http://urbanhabitat.org/rpe/14-2  

 

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>From Public/Private Ventures http://www.ppv.org <http://www.ppv.org/>   


 

"Collaborating to Innovate: Achievements and Challenges in the New York
City Sectors Planning Phase" 

      In 2004, the New York City Department of Small Business Services
and representatives from the New York City Workforce Development Funders
Group joined together to form the Workforce Innovation Fund (WIF) with
the goal of sharing expertise and learning and providing an avenue to
merge resources to support common goals. WIF's first project was the New
York City Sectors Initiative (NYCSI), a project aimed at creating a new
model for workforce development in New York City-one that would be
responsive both to employers and job seekers.  After almost three years
of start-up and planning, funding for two sectoral programs was awarded
in March and October 2006. This report-the first of three P/PV reports
on the NYCSI-looks at the Initiative's initial start-up and planning
phases from WIF's formation in early 2004 through October 2006.
Collaborating to Innovate reflects on lessons learned around how to
build collaborative workforce projects aimed at meeting the needs of
employers and job seekers.

http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/223_publication.pdf  

 

"Investing in Low-Wage Workers: Lessons from Family Child Care in Rhode
Island"

      While child care is one of the fastest growing occupations in the
country, most employment in this field is precarious and low-wage.
Investing in Low-Wage Workers profiles the Day Care Justice Co-op, a
group of largely Latina and African American women living and working in
some of Rhode Island's poorest communities. Determined to improve family
child care, the group sought better wages and benefits for family child
care workers across the state and developed important resources for its
members. During the study period, P/PV found a dramatic reduction in
poverty among Co-op members-from 44 to 15 percent. The Co-op was
supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation's Sectoral Employment
Initiative. Launched in 1998, the Initiative attempted to improve
opportunities in selected workplace sectors for low-wage workers to
achieve financial security.

http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/206_publication.pdf  

 

"Investing in Child Care Brings Gains for Providers and Children" 

      This brief incorporates findings from the P/PV report Investing in
Low-Wage Workers: Lessons from Family Child Care in Rhode Island; it
also relies on interviews with advocates and providers in Rhode Island,
as well as experts around the country. The brief argues that investments
in family child care providers reaped big rewards in Rhode Island-for
providers and, by extension, the children they serve. Increases in
reimbursement rates boosted the availability of subsidized child care,
raised average incomes in the field and lifted many workers out of
poverty. Other states may benefit from an examination of the Rhode
Island experience, as they consider strategies to improve family day
care (and other employment sectors).

http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/207_publication.pdf  

 

"Getting Connected: Strategies for Expanding the Employment Networks of
Low-Income People" 

      We've all heard the familiar phrase, "It's not what you know, but
who you know that matters." Not surprisingly, studies have found that
most people find jobs through informal networks. This is no less true
for low-income job seekers, who may be at a distinct disadvantage when
it comes to connections to people who can help them get good jobs.
Getting Connected looks at eight programs from across the country that
focus explicitly on increasing the size and quality of low-income
people's networks as part of their broader strategy. Though there is
variation in how networking is incorporated into these programs, all aim
to provide participants with the ability to form connections that will
help them negotiate job change throughout their working lives.

http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/194_publication.pdf  

 

"Promoting Opportunity: Findings from the State Workforce Policy
Initiative on Employment Retention and Advancement" 

      Promoting Opportunity is the final report on the State Workforce
Policy Initiative, which was based on the premise that low-income
individuals with limited work experience and skills may be able to
obtain jobs, but they also need support to minimize barriers to steady
employment and to advance to better positions in order to achieve
long-term economic stability. During the four-year initiative, P/PV
documented the efforts of five states to incorporate retention and
advancement strategies into local workforce development programs and to
strengthen state workforce policies to support these strategies. This
report describes the results of their efforts, including an analysis of
the outcomes of 477 individuals who participated in the local programs.
The evidence suggests that retention and advancement strategies have the
potential to benefit low-income workers, and the authors highlight
promising program practices and implications for state policy.

http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/188_publication.pdf  

 

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>From ASTD's Learning Circuits


 

"Reshaping the Learning Function to Bridge Talent Gap"

      A new kind of learning department is evolving-one that focuses on
organizational capabilities driven by competencies, not performance.

http://www.bersinassociates.com/fr3/J_Bersin_TD_Article.pdf    

 

"America's Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs: Education and Training
Requirements in the Next Decade and Beyond"

      A strong public consensus now supports enhancing the skills of
America's workers, especially through more and higher-quality education
and training. But what kinds of skills, education, and training are most
appropriate, in light of changes in the U.S. economy? Is the
"information economy" resulting in rising demands only for workers with
college and post-graduate education? Various economists have argued that
future demands for workers will be strong in highly-educated
professional jobs and low-paid service jobs, while much more modest at
skill levels in between these sectors. The misconception that
middle-skill jobs have largely disappeared from the American labor
market has shaped America's education and training policies.  America's
Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs reveals that middle-skill jobs make up
nearly half of the jobs in today's labor market.

http://www.skills2compete.org/atf/cf/%7B8E9806BF-4669-4217-AF74-26F62108
EA68%7D/ForgottenJobsReport%20Final.pdf    

 

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>From Jobs For the Future http://www.jff.org/  


"Making Good on a Promise: What Policymakers Can Do to support the
Educational Persistence of Dropouts"

      This study challenges the beliefs that dropping out of school is
confined to a small and unmotivated group of primarily disaffected black
and Hispanic central-city youth who have rejected mainstream values and
that there is little anyone can do to get more young people who leave
school back on track. It paints a new, more accurate picture of the
dropout problem facing the nation today, with a detailed look at who
dropped out and how much education they had completed by their early
adulthood. It analyzes data from the first major national study to
follow a representative group of young people over time: the National
Educational Longitudinal Study, which tracked the educational progress
of approximately 25,000 eighth-graders in 1988 over 12 years, to 2000.

http://www.jff.org/Documents/MkingGoodProm.pdf  

 

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