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…

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…

Canada's National Literacy Secretariat (NLS) develops innovative partnerships to involve voluntary and national organizations, governments, business, and labor in a national effort to make Canada a more literate society. The two main objectives of the NLS are to promote a variety of opportunities for people to improve their reading and writing…

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…

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 document profiles six successful literacy partnerships between Canadian community colleges and public/private agencies. The following partnerships are examined: an adult basic education program provided through a partnership between New Brunswick Community College and the Correctional Service of Canada; a workplace literacy program offered…

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…

Interviews with managers and other staff were used to assess the communication and language development needs of limited-English-proficient (LEP) workers at Lattice Works of Oregon (LWO) Corporation. Task analysis was used by Portland Community College (Portland) to develop a curriculum for twice-weekly classes held before or after shift changes.…

A workplace basic skills program was designed to complement technical training for mixing personnel at the Portland Bakery of Nabisco, Inc. Management, the union, and Portland Community College (Oregon) collaborated in the program. The company released workers on company time to attend classes prior to, during, and after the technical training…

Because of the changing nature of work in society, higher levels of basic skills in reading, writing, and computation are needed in all occupational areas, whether or not they are related to high technology. Although research on the relationship between job performance and basic skills is not definitive, it is clear that it is more important for…