Champion: Rhonda Tone

Rhonda Tone, the Manager of Human Resource Development for the City of Winnipeg, knows full well the literacy demands of the 21st century workplace. 'We assume literacy at a very high level for our current jobs. For instance, we assume most employees will have basic computer literacy. It can be very intimidating. It's important to help people overcome their fears and/or concerns so they can work on their skills to enhance how they do their work. It's not easy." As co-chair of the City-CUPE Joint Education Fund, Rhonda has been working with the union co-chair to make it easier for city employees to access the learning they need.

Strong leadership from the beginning

Back in 2001, 10 per cent of the employees who answered a City- CUPE survey said they had concerns about reading and writing. Being an avid supporter and sponsor of learning, Rhonda was struck by the high numbers and had to ask why. The answers were not hard to find: new literacy demands from increased technology on the job, more written reports required of foremen, and a huge information increase that all staff had to respond to. Employees "understood that physical skills were not enough anymore."

The Joint Education Fund has provided many types of learning opportunities including Essential Skills, one of the core programs. In 2000, the collective agreement between the City of Winnipeg and CUPE Local 500 included $3 million for education and training. Since then, it has negotiated several letters of understanding to decide how and where to spend training dollars. The Essential Skills Program, with a current three- year budget of $132,500, is also supported by a City employee who is a member of CUPE Local 500. The program began with reading, writing, math, and GED preparation. It grew to include pilot programs such as English as a second language, basic computers, communication, study skills, accounting, and personal development (for example, Writing your life story and a book club).