A growing intention to integrate literacy with work-related skills is evident in both policy and programming. Reports continue to appear, including a major recent study by the Hudson Institute.⁵⁹ Many meetings on workplace literacy have been held, including a large seminar in Vancouver and a particularly large conference in St. John's, organized by the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council. Business and labour often participate in literacy planning bodies. The Canadian Business Task Force on Literacy of the late 1980s has been succeeded by ABC Canada, a foundation that promotes literacy in the private sector; its board includes highly-placed figures from business, labour, education and government. Labour federations are now promoting discussion of literacy, and sometimes literacy programming, among their affiliates. Governments fund research, feasibility studies and pilot programs for workplace literacy. There are pilot programs in several provinces. In Ontario, a Workplace Literacy Strategy has sponsored five regional meetings, and offered incentive grants for the development of materials and program models. Interest in the economics of literacy means that the development of programming practices and of supportive policy arrangements will be continuing issues through the 1990s.

Some general programming tendencies can be observed. Workplace programs generally involve negotiated arrangements between an employer and a trade union. Employers often provide space for classes or tutoring sessions; time for the sessions is usually half provided by the employer and half the worker's own. Some of the programs involve worker-tutors. In other cases, teachers are employed by a local educational institution. Scheduling of workplace programs is sometimes extremely flexible, allowing workers, even shift workers, to study at the beginning or end of their working day. Programs are most common in manufacturing industries and in the food and accommodation sector. An inventory of workplace programs and development projects identified over 100.⁶⁰ There are literacy programs in a number of individual companies, usually in co-operation with local school boards or community colleges. Both Frontier College and Laubach Literacy of Canada operate literacy training projects in several businesses, also using peer tutors, trained on the usual tutor-training models. Nova Scotia has supported a range of innovative and community-specific workplace programs. In Ontario, two-thirds of provincial workplace program funding has gone to provincial and metropolitan labour organizations.⁶¹ The largest effort — operating in over 100 sites — is provided by trade unions in Ontario, through the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), and the Labour Councils of Metropolitan Toronto and Hamilton, with funding from Ontario Basic Skills in the Workplace. The OFL programs, identified as "basic employment skills training" rather than "literacy," operate with worker tutors, in a model that originated with health and safety training programs. Tutors are given about three weeks' training before returning to their workplaces to recruit and teach their peers. This programming model is being used by the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, and considered by labour bodies elsewhere.