4. Design appropriate training to meet individual and organizational Essential Skills targets

• Training materials are most effective when they are based on workplace tasks.
• Employees need to enhance their Essential Skills in the context of the way they are expected to use them in their jobs.
• Once key organizational targets are met, individual Essential Skills gaps can be addressed using materials or examples specific to the individual. For example, practice in reading a safety manual could be complemented by practice in reading a child’s school report.

5. Schedule training

• Organizations need to build time into work schedules to accommodate necessary Essential Skills training.
• A key decision is the time commitment required from the organization (paid release time) and from the employee (personal time).
• When Essential Skills training time is properly integrated into the work schedule, production can continue while individuals are enhancing their Essential Skills.

6. Track individual performance

• Individuals improve their Essential Skills gradually, but often need to know how far they have progressed and how far they have to go to achieve their target.
• Recognition for skill gains is a crucial part of a successful training plan.
• Individuals need to be able to deliberately target their learning efforts to ensure effective use of training resources.