Sometimes educators may see potential in an organization but realize it will not agree to or pay for an ONA at that time. They might propose a small-scale snapshot of the company or a program needs assessment to gather information from different levels of the organization about an education program. Preparing workers for a certification exam would be an example. The scope of inquiry and the number of people interviewed is reduced but the educator can gather some basic information about the company and the workforce, goals and expectations. Where does this certification fit into the company’s goals and long-term plans? What does the job entail? What materials and test preparation resources are available? An ONA or some scaled-down, focused version of a needs assessment is one way we as educators can protect ourselves, understand the company and the workforce, understand what they want and need, and know what we can offer.

Customized Curriculum

Workplace education programs are usually set up to meet the particular needs of the workforce, the employer and the union. Most good practice statements say the “needs of the workers and the workplace are not mutually exclusive” (McLeod, 1995, p. 17). Materials and “lessons include but are not limited to workplace” topics (Massachusetts Department of Education, 2001, p. 9). Worker-centred learning, as described by the CLC, “enriches the lives of the learners and expands their potential not only as workers but also as individuals, unions members, family members and citizens” (CLC, 2000, p. 24).

Together, the ONA and the individual assessments lay out the interests, needs and goals of participants and the organization. Educators, working with the participants and the workplace committee, develop a curriculum with clearly stated educational goals, realistic learning objectives and program outcomes that become the basis for evaluation. Where workplace education is one component of an accredited training system, good practice also links the objectives and outcomes to the requirements of the larger system (Holland et. al, 2001, p. 72). Many good practice statements refer to the importance of transferability of language and literacy skills achieved through teaching both content and a learning process. This notion of transferability enables educators to say that there can be a wide application of skills across different contexts; for instance, personal learning helps workplace learning and vice versa. Taking a different perspective, Taylor (1997) sees transfer of learning in the workplace as the application of language and literacy learning on the job.