More than 70% of new jobs in Nova Scotia require some form of post secondary education yet 24% of adults in the population at large and 44% of persons with disabilities do not have a high school diploma. It is well understood that Nova Scotia is experiencing a severe skills shortage and this will continue well into the future unless addressed quickly.

An example of a private / public sector partnership developed to address the skills shortage in the construction industry resulted in the creation of the Dexter Institute, a partnership between the Nova Scotia Community College and Dexter Construction. This two–year program is designed to develop students for the construction industry as heavy equipment operators.

A tri–partite partnership between business, government, and the not–for–profit sector (disability and literacy organizations) should be struck. The mandate of the partnership would be to explore and develop programs to assist literacy students with disabilities make the transition to a work environment and to address issues of workplace literacy.

Linkages with other similar projects and programs could provide a jump start to this partnership.

• TEAM Work is currently engaged in developing a Business Leadership Network to encourage business leaders to employ persons with disabilities. Participants in the partnership could be drawn from the Business Leadership Network.
• The HRM Literacy Association is a grassroots organization dedicated to increasing public awareness of literacy issues. It is committed to bringing the private sector to its table to address issues of literacy in the workplace.
• NovaKnowledge, a not–for–profit organization whose membership consists of representatives from industry, education and government is focused on developing a flourishing, sustainable knowledge economy in Nova Scotia. The Call to Action, a large scale province–wide project currently underway is addressing the issue of Lifelong Learning in the Workplace as one of its priorities.

Projects the partnership should initiate include –

• Identifying and implementing some 'quick hits' which would remove some of the systemic barriers to employment for literacy students with disabilities;
• Designing incentives for employers (including not–for–profit organizations) to provide work opportunities for literacy students with disabilities with a commitment to support continuation of the learning process;