Acknowledgements

On behalf of the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) and the Municipal Partnerships Project we want to express our gratitude to the municipal managers and workplace literacy/education program learners profiled here. Their insights, advice, and stories will help other municipalities develop and create learner-centred programs for employees. Each person profiled here is a role model for the next generation of municipal workplace literacy and essential skills programs.

We want to extend our appreciation to the Municipal Partnerships Project Steering Committee. Led by Patricia Nutter, the committee is composed of the following dedicated people: Michelle O'Brien (Chair), Sylvia Sioufi (CUPE), Ron Penney (CAMA), Wendy DesBrisay (Movement for Canadian Literacy), Pamela Crookall (City of Ottawa), Wil Kelly (City of Ottawa CUPE), and Viviane Antunes (HRSDC). Their encouragement was vital to this initiative.

We also wish to thank the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills, Human Resources and Social Development Canada for funding this project. Viviane Antunes and Stephanie LaFleur deserve special mention for their support and advice along the way.

Mary Ellen Belfiore deserves credit for doing such a great job with the research and writing of the profiles. She made the stories come alive by highlighting the progress and challenges of the learners and describing the managers' success in championing these five programs. Finally, we have to say thank you to Debra Huron for the final clear language editing and clear design of this booklet.

We hope this group of profiles will increase awareness of the literacy and essential skills challenges that many municipal workers face, and the role that workplace education programs can play in helping them participate more actively in the workplace, home, and community.

June 2008