Workplace literacy is becoming a more frequent discussed topic in the field of education and work. Workplace literacy programs are of two major types: literacy IN the workplace and literacy FOR the workplace. Any kind of reading or writing program can be offered IN the workplace setting. These may be designed to give the participants needed reading or writing skills, or an opportunity to complete an ABE or GED certificate. While those programs are not aimed directly at improving one's work performance, the participants usually develop more positive self-concepts about themselves as people and as workers. A literacy program FOR the workplace is tailor-made for workers to improve their work performance.

St. John's Municipality Workplace Literacy Project

For the past two years employees of St. John's Municipality have been participants in a "writing in the workplace course". This course was developed based on a needs survey. Improving writing in the workplace and dealing with difficult people and stressful situations were two needs that were popularly expressed.

Writing in the Workplace: Writing Process with Workplace Content is unique in that it "kills two birds with one stone". It helps learners become better writers of many things, including writers of open-ended and form reports. It introduces information and scenarios about difficult people and stressful situations which also become the basis of writing activities and the application of writing skill.

The program is run for one day a week (two hours) over a period of 10 weeks. It is offered in the evening and participation is voluntary. The course is supported by a committee comprised of representatives from : City of St. John's, CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees), NAPE (Newfoundland Association of Public Employees), and IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters). The course was offered from April to June 1999, and from October to December, 1999. Course facilitators were William Fagan and Della Coish.

Feedback

Feedback was obtained throughout the course with a more formal evaluation at the end. The participants were asked to rate 14 goals on a 3-point scale in terms of the extent to which they felt they met these goals..The overall rating for all participants on all goals was 2.82 out of 3.00. The participants not only found the course useful for themselves as workers but also for their home life. Some of the responses from these two categories were as follows:

What did you learn in the course that you were able to use or may use on the job?

• How to deal with other people
• Improved report writing
• Better communication techniques
• Dealing with stress
• Being able to get ideas together and get them on paper to whomever concerned
• Developing a spelling strategy
• Completing report forms
• The writing process

What did you learn in the course that you were able to use or may use in your life outside the job?

• Understanding my learning style
• Be able to write to someone effectively
• Write to understand issues
• Better understanding of writing
• Spelling strategy

Insight into how to write a letter and the impact of audience

1. Getting along with people
2. Improved communication skills
3. Better understanding of dealing with the public
4. Better understanding of grammar

A common finding of workplace literacy courses is that participants feel confident in their ability and are prepared to enroll in other courses. This was especially true for the participants in this course. Many of the participants requested that additional personal development courses be made available to them.