Workforce Literacy & Essential Skills Program Model
Please Note: The WLES program has ended (September 2011) due to funding.
The WLES Resource Manual and related documents can be found in the Resource section at the bottom of this page.
The Workforce Literacy & Essential Skills (WLES) Program Model is the result of a two year pilot project (2009-2011), developed by Literacy Victoria and funded by the federal Office of Literacy and Essential Skills (OLES), Ottawa. Its purpose was to create a nationally-transferable model to support individuals with lower level literacy skills prepare for employment, and successfully integrate into the workplace. It took place in a community-based adult literacy organization, had corporate, knowledge and community partners, and was offered free of charge to participants.
Lower level literacy skills can negatively impact workplace safety, productivity, employee turnover rates and training costs. Approximat
ely 40% of working aged adults in B.C., or approximately one million people, face challenges in today’s job market because of their level of literacy. The International Adult Literacy Skills Survey (IALSS) 2003, states that at Level 1, individuals 'have difficulty reading and have few basic skills or strategies for decoding and working with text'; at Level 2 individuals 'do not read well' and 'can deal only with material that is simple and clearly laid out'. The IALSS found similar statistics in other regions of the country: in Canada as a whole, 42% of adults scored below Level 3.
With funding from the federal Office of Literacy and Essential Skills (OLES) at Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), Literacy Victoria developed a curriculum model that can be replicated by organizations and communities across Canada. Support for developing learning pathways and curricula, was provided by SkillPlan, ASPECT, FutureWorx and other workforce knowledge experts.
Phases of Programming
The WLES Program Model identifies four phases of programming:
Initiation, Preparation, Transition and Integration.
The WLES curriculum has been developed to meet the needs of learners at International Adult Literacy Skills Survey (IALSS) Levels 1 and 2. It incorporates participants’ personal goals into the program and allows individuals to select specific learning activities that will target skill areas identified as priorities.