Canadian Literacy and Learning Network: Federal government quietly collapses literacy and essential skills network

Tara Furlong ♦ May 27, 2014 ♦ Leave a comment

Canadian Literacy and Learning Network: Federal government quietly collapses literacy and essential skills network

Oh woe! Oh no! How colleagues in Canada are doing:

“Without an announcement or any consultation, it appears that the federal government has decided to quietly collapse Canada’s national literacy and essential skills network…

The results of the recent OECD international study of adult skills show Canada languishing in the middle of the pack. The OECD’s key points for policy development include a broad range of observations on the importance of flexible labour market arrangements, incentives for employers, and accessible lifelong learning opportunities.

The European Union is making significant investments in adult education – across jurisdictional and linguistic barriers more complex than Canada’s – with a focus on accessible lifelong learning, improving professional networks, and sharing effective best pratices. These are similar to some of the program directions CLLN proposed to pursue.

In Canada, the focus now seems to have narrowed to “closing the skills gap” by training workers for high-demand jobs, rather than “elevating the skills level” of Canadians, so there will be a larger pool of talent ready to take advanced training…

But it has become clear that there will be no national strategy on adult education, no inter-jurisdictional council on adult education and training, no national network of non-profits working in literacy and essential skills, and, apparently, not much research. It’s not just the literacy and essential skills sector that the federal government is abandoning – it’s also the most vulnerable low-skilled Canadians.”

References and more detail following the link above.