Presenters:
Susan Devins (BHP Billiton)
Bob Marshall (Aboriginal Pipeline Group)
Kerry Robinson (Aurora College)
In this session delegates heard of some of the issues, aside from essential skills proficiency, that must be taken into consideration in developing effective workforce preparation and training programs. Susan Devins, Adult Educator at BHP Billiton, spoke from the perspective of a workplace based adult educator; Bob Marshall, Technical Director, Aboriginal Pipeline Group, as a professional engineer whose national and international experience has given him insight into a wide variety of training approaches and Kerry Robinson, Manager of Program Development at Aurora College, provided a college viewpoint.
The BHP-Biliton Ekati diamond mine is 300 km northeast of Yellowknife. It employs 900 workers of which 15% are females. Employees work two weeks on and two weeks off each month.
Ekati has now eliminated a minimum literacy requirement for employment; instead it accepts workers at all levels of proficiency, including pre-literate workers. The latter are offered paid release time to pursue essential skills enhancement. The Ekati learning centre operates on an open door policy that respects learner confidentiality. However, the bi-weekly rotations and twelve hour shifts can pose access issues for many learners. In addition, many workers with low reading and numeracy skills have no experience with formal learning cultures, which can also be a deterrent. Ekati attempts to overcome these challenges by incorporating essential skills into safety training, technical training and production planning. The learning centre also responds to identified needs by listening to workers and ensuring lessons target actual work assignments. For example, a worker may develop better symbol recognition skills while learning how to read the Vital Information Management Systems onboard trucks. They may learn how to organize tasks by planning their own work days and schedules. They may improve their numeracy proficiency by analysing pay stubs and salary grids. In fact, the employees and their supervisors drive the content of the Essential Skills program, to the extent that learning center sessions have become a documented part of all daily shift assignments. Other essential skills initiatives have included the creation of pocket-sized glossaries to assist with log book and form completion.
The Ekati learning centre operates according to the PRICE
principle – Patience
(paced
learning and continuous enrolment), Respect (awareness of learner
backgrounds and
readiness to learn), Interest (actively engaging in the coaching
process), Confidence
(instilling self-assurance and pride), and Encouragement (counselling
and mentoring for
success). In the words of Susan Devins, “for my learners,
goals are dreams with a timeline.”