It is recommended that SkillPlan further research areas of commonality in function or processes across the trades in order to use this information in designing complementary basic skills training.

It is recommended that SkillPlan look at how the network of some 100 instructors can be used to promote the acquisition and enhancement of basic skills within the context of trades training. It is further recommended that attention be given to how SkillPlan can reinforce the basic skills training efforts for those unions which have a very low allocation of human resources devoted to training.

It is recommended that, after consultation with training coordinators and selected workers of selected trades, SkillPlan conduct a Literacy Task Analysis of a number of jobs within the trade area so that worker basic skills training may be targeted to real needs. Literacy Task Analysis is a process which examines the tasks within jobs with special emphasis on the reading, writing and numeracy components within those jobs. Unions chosen will be those which have indicated a wide choice of specialty areas for workers. The purpose of this initiative is to give workers more confidence in accessing new opportunities within their trade.

It is recommended that SkillPlan obtain or prepare an inventory of facilities where ESL training is available throughout B.C. The inventory should be distributed to all training plan coordinators for dissemination to their members.

Further, SkillPlan could consider a specific ESL initiative for one or more of the unions exhibiting the highest number of ethnic members.

It is recommended that SkillPlan in conjunction with the B.C. Construction Industry Health and Safety Council, facilitate both English language learning for immigrant members and acquisition of WHMIS information by preparing a multilingual approach to WHMIS documents (juxtaposition of English and other languages) so that the material may be used as an ESL bridging tool.

(a) design and provide a short course for apprenticeship candidates on exam taking strategies

(b) encourage a review of the competency based exams presently being given either through training programs or institutions to assess the degree to which these exams offer an appropriate level of Clear Language and suitable format and content.

(c) prepare an inventory of all training done by employers and suppliers so that SkillPlan can liaise with them, as with the union training plans, on matters relating to Clear Language and other basic skills issues (e.g. - Hilti Gun courses, WHMIS, Bricklayers refractory and corrosion courses, Boilermakers courses.)

(d) liaise with trades training coordinators to establish whether there is a cross trade need for a course on powertools. Such a course would be particularly useful for cement masons. The conceptualization and design of such a new course would give SkillPlan the opportunity to work with trades trainers on the basic skills elements of such a new course. This could provide a pilot for integration of literacy into technical content.

It is recommended that SkillPlan use the information of concentrations of target groups and average education and age levels of memberships in order to plan specific initiatives for target groups, such as:

- advising training plans of curriculum planning directions which would serve the needs of their membership (e.g. - a course where a large number of cement masons would be participating would have a high ESL approach, while a course with many Ironworkers would concentrate on visual and symbolic content to meld with native patterns of learning.)

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