The first theme that emerged from the data sources describes the accomplishments of the Program. It outlines the beliefs and strategies used by the NLS staff to help develop and sustain partnerships with business, labour, education, and other government sectors. It also highlights many of the specific projects, activities, and events that were viewed as major accomplishments over its inception.
At the root of these accomplishments was a strategic position held by the NLS premised on a set of core beliefs about the need for capacity building and community development. From this position, key business and labour needs were identified first and the workplace was viewed as an innovative venue for advancing literacy. An early strategy for capacity building was the recognition that to be considered a legitimate adult learning enterprise, training of workplace instructors was required.
On another front, prominent people from government, business, and labour were recruited to lend credibility to this workplace issue. This resulted in consciousness raising that permeated to decision makers, and to some extent, the general public. A by-product of this strategy was that it helped lay the foundation for provincial and territorial government involvement. During these early years, time was spent strengthening federal, provincial, and territorial ties and encouraging the development of regional strategies for workplace literacy.
As the Program moved into the development and demonstration years, it enabled and supported new ideas that sprung up from the field and the stakeholders. Attention was provided in shaping and determining the viability of these potential project ideas, and to avoid a “siloed approach” to development and demonstration, partners in the field were given the opportunity to understand the “bigger picture”. Bringing these people together from the diverse corners of the workplace milieu created a Canadian forum for open discussion. During these same years, another core belief held by the NLS was related to the idea that new knowledge could be created from the accumulation of field practices. Strategies were then created to jump-start the showcasing of innovative workplace literacy models and projects, and later, a search for best practices was initiated.
“There was a dedicated resource to coordinate and manage all the projects.”
BUSINESS AND EDUCATION EXPERT