Another area of impact is the ability of WEMSC to leverage additional dollars as a result of the original partnership. In the first decade of WEMSC, this included leveraging dollars from Labour Market Language Training through Human Resources Development Canada, and later from the provincial government for program delivery. Within the last five years, the money that WEMSC has been able to leverage has increased ten-fold from both sources across the provincial government as well as the federal government. In-kind contributions from business and labour have been enormous through, for example, program development time, time off for worker training, and contributions of space and materials.
Source: A Case Study on the WEMSC and its Work: 1991-2006. Summary Report, p.8.
A deeper understanding of how to integrate literacy into apprenticeship and Sector Council training needs also developed. This approach was well received and brought together people who had never collaborated on projects before. Many of these experiences are documented in the publication Changing Landscape of Workplace Education.
Toward the end of this period, and in the early years of the following period, additional impacts occurred. In some provinces, such as Nova Scotia, workplace instructors sought to professionalize their practices through the creation of the Association of Workplace Educators of Nova Scotia (AWENS). The now widely used TOWES also increased educational credibility. In addition, national organizations, such as ABC Canada, investigated patterns of literacy participation, and based on the results, revised its national LEARN campaign to better address the gaps in reaching out to adult literacy learners.