THE FUNDER SUPPORTS LEARNING LITERACY NOT LEARNING WORK

While the program's funder supports adults in developing the literacy skills needed for employment, they do not see themselves directly involved in employment training. Herein lies a key disparity between the funder's approach to literacy development and the idea that literacy and learning is integrally tied to social practices. Their role, as evident in a recent series of presentations to literacy practitioners, is to help students become more employable but not to help them become employed; to focus on training readiness, but not engage in job training; and to teach transferable skills, but not the skills particular to one job (Learning Works: Establishing the Foundation, 2004). If literacy development takes place within specific settings, then is it possible to develop literacy separate from the way in which it is used? The funder obviously thinks this to be the case—which was not the experience of the employment preparation program.

The funder's skills– and task–based approach to literacy for employment is also reflected in the way funds are allocated to programs. Funds are dispersed based on the number of attendance hours generated by the students in programs. In order to count attendance, a student must be in contact with an instructor or tutor. The funding formula impacts the employment preparation program in two ways: the hours students spend on a job placement could not be counted on attendance records, and therefore could not contribute to the amount of funding received; and the time an instructor spends supporting students at a job could not be covered. It seemed that the closer a student got to actual employment, the less the funder was willing to provide support. This is their stance despite the fact that programs are mandated to serve the employment goals of students. In fact, employment has become the funder's priority, and 60% of students leaving a program must exit into employment or further education that will eventually lead to employment. Although the employment preparation program continued to function within the parameters set by the funder, they are under pressure to find other ways to fund the job placements and instructor's job support. If the field is to move towards a literacy–as–practices approach, then the funder will need to begin to look at literacy development beyond the scope of transferable skills and tasks.