What's in a name?

Literacy and basic skills training go by many different names. It does not really matter what names you use as long as you and the employer are clear about what they mean. You should define them in the collective agreement to make sure that there is no dispute about the essential meaning.

• Workplace education: includes a wide range of foundational skills, including literacy.
• Basic skills: includes literacy and numeracy.
• Foundation skills: used to show that these skills are the essential foundation to further education and training.
• Communications skills: include literacy, public speaking, etc.
• Literacy: means reading and writing.
• Numeracy: basic mathematics.

However, it is important to recognize that the term literacy still carries with it a stigma. People don't want to be thought of as illiterate. Signing up for a course needs to be viewed as a positive step. That's why unions have chosen terms like basic skills, foundation skills and essential skills to capture the new and broader definition of literacy. Whatever the name, we are talking about programs that build on members' literacy abilities and that also build on our members' lives.