• provide specialized assistance to enable those facing particular barriers to training, employment and re-employment, such as new immigrants, long term unemployed, Aboriginal peoples and older workers, to receive the assistance they need;
• expand services to help employers find the people and skills they need and to encourage them to increase their own investments in skills development;
• utilize a single, effective system for managing performance of the third party agencies delivering training and employment programs across Ontario.

The literacy field’s difficulty using the matrix in conjunction with these new directions and initiatives now provide LBS with the exciting opportunity to redefine itself with respect to where it is situated in the broader training delivery system in Ontario.

Traditionally LBS has been focused on the learner. The One-Stop program dictates a more holistic view of the learner and the need for LBS to develop linkages with other agencies serving Ontario adults. It is time for LBS to become more dynamic and responsive by developing meaningful exit points that not only reflect the needs of the learner but also fit the needs of the other key players in the training delivery system. The current LBS system does not encourage these relationships or referrals.

Other Models

A number of skill assessment models external to LBS are also emerging as important paradigms among literacy practitioners in Ontario. The federal government has invested significant resources into the development of Essential Skills and the provincial government has developed the Ontario Skills Passport. Key literacy stakeholders are becoming more familiar with the aforementioned models and their language, and are integrating them into their work. LBS needs to seriously consider examining the relationships and/or articulating the outcome matrix more formally with Essential Skills, the Ontario Skills Passport and IALS.

These models describe skill attainment in terms of what a learner needs to be able to do for a particular job. To facilitate the linkage, LBS should also consider describing learner outcomes in terms of what a learner will be able to do or where a learner will be able to go at the completion of their training.

The Paradigm Shift

This is a distinct and exciting paradigm shift ^{Footnote 1} offering the following advantages:

• It would clarify the language used to describe learner success in LBS in a way that is meaningful to all key stakeholders;
• It would better describe LBS’s role in skill attainment in relation to the broader “training” system (Apprenticeship, Job Connect, Adjustment Advisory, Ontario Works, Ministry of Education) and would more clearly link LBS to the other models in use. It is time to bring the key players together to clarify the linkages and develop a common language.
• It would also renew and enhance the relevance of LBS as a key player in skills training in Ontario.

Skip footnote section