Profound changes in the structure of the workplace and in the nature of jobs now make reading, writing, and other communications skills vital to the performance of even entry-level jobs. However, massive numbers of present and future workers have only minimal or marginal proficiency in the basic skills. The problem will get worse as the labor pool…

This document profiles Ohio's seven award-winning workplace literacy programs. The workplace literacy programs described are offered by a mix of urban and rural firms which employ between 85 and 2,323 individuals in a variety of sectors. The workplace literacy programs offered by the following firms are described: Cleveland Track Material; L.J.…

The Northeast Texas Workplace Partnership Program developed curriculum and training materials based on the literacy requirements of the workplace for two different industries in northeast Texas--Lone Star Steel Company and Pilgrim's Pride Industries. Three advisory committees were established to involve the community, education, and business and…

Oregon-Washington Carpenters/Employers Apprenticeship and Training Trust, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners Local 247, and Associated General Contractors cooperated with Mt. Hood Community College (Oregon) in a workplace literacy program. A drop-in learning center was operated at the Carpenter Training Center to provide support in…

In a pilot project, Vance-Granville Community College in North Carolina and a local roofing manufacturer jointly developed the SKILL (Skills and Knowledge in Lifelong Learning) training program. The 63 employees enrolled in the voluntary program thus far have received weekly instruction in functional, learning, and computer skills, as well as…

Essex Community College (ECC) implemented an onsite workplace literacy program for Martin Marietta (MM) employees with the cooperation of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 738. Assisted by the working committees with representatives from all phases of the project, ECC and MM staff cooperated to develop a recruitment video, brochures, and…

Mt. Hood Community College (Oregon), International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Union Local 162, Fred Meyer, Inc., and Oregon Trucking Association, Inc. offered training to improve study, test taking, and basic and critical reading skills and prepare drivers to pass the Commercial Driver's License test before April, 1992. Training was targeted for…

A workplace literacy partnership project was conducted to upgrade the basic skills and productivity of 287 hourly wage earners of Winamac Spring Company (WSC) in Indiana. WSC paid employee wages for up to 24 hours of training and provided a classroom facility. El-Tip-Wa Adult Learning Center instructional staff provided basic skills training using…

The Columbia-Willamette Skill Builders Consortium was formed in early 1988 in response to a growing awareness of the need for improved workplace literacy training and coordinated service delivery in Northwest Oregon. In June 1990, the consortium received a National Workplace Literacy Program grant to develop and demonstrate such training. The…

This publication consists of materials produced by Step Ahead, a National Workplace Literacy Demonstration Project--a partnership between New Mexico State University and Memorial Medical Center, Las Cruces, New Mexico. The project abstract is a one-page summary of facts, objectives, and procedures related to this project, which provided onsite…

These materials include a report, evaluation, and book written about a workplace literacy project involving education (Alpena Community College), business and industry (Besser Company and Alpena Power Company), and labor (Thunder Bay Labor Council). The report specifies objectives; accomplishments, including development of eight courses in math,…

This report documents how the Business/Training Institute of Northwest Iowa Community College and Coilcraft, Inc., of Hawarden, Iowa, worked as partners to establish a basic workplace skills program for Coilcraft's workers. The project goals were to develop and offer a workplace literacy program that would enroll 160 workers and prepare them to…

Anodizing, Inc., Teamsters Local 162, and Mt. Hood Community College (Oregon) developed a workplace literacy program for workers at Anodizing. These workers did not have the basic skill competencies to benefit from company training efforts in statistical process control and quality assurance and were not able to advance to lead and supervisory…

Workplace literacy projects were established at Warn Industries, a winch and hubcap maker, and Oregon Cutting Systems (OCS), a producer of cutting edges supplying the timber industry by Clackamas Community College (Oregon). At Warn, project staff developed functional context materials, delivered instruction to a math class, and implemented a basic…

Leupold & Stevens, Inc. and Portland Community College (Oregon) cooperated in offering special math instruction as part of a workplace literacy project. A needs assessment indicated a problem in basic math skills such as simple calculations on a calculator and decimals, which were used on blueprints. Operators, set-up workers, and lead workers…