“Literacy is the bedrock of a thriving society and a robust economy. In Ontario, 49% of our adult population scores below high-school literacy levels, with 17% at the lowest level,” states LNO Spokesperson Summer Burton. “This isn’t just an individual struggle; it’s a provincial challenge that impacts our workforce, our economy, our health, and our civic engagement. The time for urgent, decisive action is now.”

The Economic Imperative: Investing in adult literacy programs delivers exceptional economic returns for Ontario. Research indicates that a one percent increase in average adult literacy skills can lead to a three percent increase in GDP. For Canada, this could mean an annual GDP increase of up to $95 billion, or approximately $2,300 more in the pockets of each Canadian. Applied provincially, Ontario could see proportional gains of approximately $25-30 billion annually from systematic literacy improvements.

Moreover, improved literacy directly enhances workforce productivity. A one percent gain in literacy can boost productivity by up to five percent. Currently, over 40% of Canada’s workforce lacks the Level 3 literacy skills required for 96% of modern jobs, contributing to an estimated $32 billion in annual productivity losses for Canada. The return on investment is clear: every dollar invested in adult literacy programs returns $7.41 to society, with workplace literacy training generating a 23% return on investment in the first year alone for employers.

A More Resilient Workforce and Healthier Communities: Beyond economic gains, higher literacy fosters a more resilient and adaptable workforce, leading to higher earning potential and greater job stability. It also correlates with improved health outcomes, civic engagement, and reduced social costs. Adults with higher literacy are better equipped to follow medication instructions, comply with medical direction, and observe health and safety measures in the workplace. Low literacy disproportionately affects newcomer, Indigenous, and low-income populations, making literacy investment a critical step towards a more equitable and inclusive Ontario.

Addressing the Funding Gap: Despite these profound benefits, Ontario’s adult literacy and basic skills (LBS) programs have faced flat funding, representing a significant missed economic opportunity. Short-term, project-based funding cycles create administrative burdens, organizational instability, staff turnover, and ultimately deliver less value for money. QUILL urges the provincial government to transition to multi-year, inflation-indexed core funding for LBS programs to ensure stability, maximize impact, and foster innovation.

Call to Action for All Ontarians: The evidence is unequivocal: Ontario cannot afford not to invest in adult literacy. On this International Literacy Day, we call on all residents of Ontario to:

• Visit quillnetwork.com to learn more about the vital work of literacy programs and how you can support them.
• Visit LNO’s “Funding Impact Dashboard” to learn more about the Economic Returns of investment into the LBS system (learningnetworks.ca/impact-dashboard)
• Contact your Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) and urge them to prioritize and increase sustained, inflation-indexed funding for adult literacy programs as a crucial investment in Ontario’s future.

About Literacy Networks of Ontario (LNO): LNO is a coalition of organizations dedicated to promoting and supporting adult literacy and basic skills development across the province. LNO believes that literacy is a fundamental right and a powerful catalyst for individual empowerment, economic prosperity, and social cohesion.

Are you wondering whether upgrading your skills would help you find, keep or advance in your job? This includes apprenticeships as well.

Our Skills Review tool is an easy place to start. It is free, it is confidential, and it is self-serve. Only you will know the results (unless you decide to share them). It’s not a formal test, but a way to understand your current skills. It will help you decide if upgrading will help you reach your goals.

The Skills Review includes all nine skills employers say they are looking for when hiring. These nine skills are called Skills for Success. They include:

• Communication
• Reading
• Writing
• Math
• Digital Skills (computers and technology)
• Adaptability
• Collaboration
• Problem Solving
• Creativity and Innovation

 Are you thinking about school or training?

Are you thinking about finishing high school, taking a training program or going to college?
If yes, a Skills Review will highlight areas you may want to refresh before you jump into training.

Are you a counsellor with clients who might need skills upgrading?

If you are helping someone to make career or training decisions, including Better Jobs Ontario, you may want to suggest a Skills Review first. This will highlight any area they may want to refresh before taking their next steps.

What do you do with the results of a Skills Review?

A Skills Review shows both strengths and areas you may want to develop.

You can use the results to:

• Think about whether upgrading is needed to reach your goals.
• Focus only on the skills that matter to the job or training you are considering.
• Start a conversation with a trainer or employment counsellor about the upgrading programs available in your community.

 Let’s Get Started:

• Visit the Skills Reviewpage
• Select one of the skills to review
• Answer the questions
• Print or save your results
• Complete any of the other skills to review – you can do them all
• Discuss your results with an employment counsellor, caseworker or contact one of our training organizationsto talk about your options

Remember: All programs listed on the QUILL website are free. You can start with them anytime. They will customize what you learn to your specific goals and needs.

Find a program in your area or contact us for more information.

As part of a Skills for Success initiative between October 2022 and March 2024, QUILL Learning Network conducted Organizational Needs Assessments (ONA) with local businesses to determine workplace training needs. One of the challenges identified by employers was researching and connecting with the most relevant training opportunities. In response to this feedback, QUILL has created an inventory of training programs and providers – both locally and online – that are applicable to the top workplace training needs businesses identified through the ONA process.

Why has QUILL created an inventory of workplace training options?

Looking for relevant training courses, programs, and providers can be time-consuming, particularly for the small businesses that populate QUILL region. This new inventory provides one point of access that will be regularly updated and shared throughout the region. This will benefit both employers and training providers by offering a searchable database that can be used to facilitate connections and share information.

What is the value to employers?

While many businesses may not be looking for training at this time, creating one list of workplace training options will help them connect with relevant resources when needed. This will save time and will provide businesses with one place they can go to find contact information and details about training that can meet their workplace needs.

Employers will be able to search by location and training topic. There are also options to filter results to include free training, online training, and customizable training. These were three of the most important considerations identified by businesses that were consulted through the ONA process.

How can this help training providers?

With many small training organizations within Bruce, Grey, Huron, Perth, and South Georgian Bay, it can be difficult to widely share information. QUILL has created an opportunity that will help training providers market courses and programs that are relevant to local businesses. As this website is promoted throughout our region, training providers will expand their marketing reach to include QUILL’s network and connections. This will offer more exposure and opportunities for training providers to reach businesses that may be interested in their services.

How can this help LBS providers?

As part of its central mandate to support LBS programming, planning, and coordination across the region, QUILL is committed to promoting LBS training options to all community members and stakeholders including local businesses. One area of identified growth is the opportunity for LBS workplace training to be deliberately marketed to businesses. Connecting local businesses with LBS providers who offer workplace training is an important component of fulfilling QUILL’s mission to support LBS programs.

How can I learn more?

If you are aware of an organization offering training that may be applicable to local businesses, but is not yet listed here, please reach out to Peggy Hulley at execdir@quillnetwork.ca. The workplace training inventory is a working document that will be updated regularly and become more fulsome overtime. We welcome suggestions for additions and changes as we continue to improve this tool to meet the needs of businesses, training providers, and other community stakeholders.

Workplace Training Options

While a low unemployment rate is often seen as a positive sign of economic health and growth, it can have negative consequences for businesses. A low unemployment rate indicates that fewer people are currently looking for work. This means that the pool of available applicants is small, often resulting in challenges for businesses that need to fill open positions. The number of people available to work may be significantly smaller than the number of vacancies. Additionally, those looking for work may not have the appropriate skillset or be interested in the industries, geographic locations or type of work (such as hours of work or shift work requirements, indoor vs. outdoor work, part-time vs. full-time work, or seasonal work opportunities) of available jobs.

When there is a low unemployment rate, employees may also be more likely to leave jobs for various reasons, as workers are in high demand and most can easily find another position. This impacts retention which can have long-term consequences for productivity and business succession planning, for example. For employers, a chronically low unemployment rate can add to the existing challenges and investment required to advertise, interview, hire, and train new employees.

How does a low unemployment rate affect the workforce?

When the unemployment rate is low, businesses are competing for a limited number of available workers. In this climate, workers with in-demand skillsets often have many job opportunities and those who remain unemployed may have greater barriers to employment and might require additional training to achieve success in the workplace.

For employers, one consequence of low unemployment may be that they are now hiring employees who do not always have all the skills they need to do a job well. When low unemployment is prevalent and employers are working short-staffed, they are continuing to hire but are often finding new employees have greater or different training needs than in the past.

How might this impact local training needs?

When unemployment rates are low and employers are hiring people who may not have all the skills they need for workplace success, there may be an increased need for additional workplace training or for different types of workplace training. An increased need for soft skills training is frequently requested regardless of industry or size of the business. Employers may also be seeing different needs for training related to things like digital skills, numeracy, or English as a Second Language (ESL) training.

LBS practitioners and other local training providers can support these changing business needs by continuing to offer and advertise customizable workplace training throughout the QUILL region.

How can I find out more about training options for my business?

For more information about workplace training providers and available courses in your region, please contact execdir@quillnetwork.ca .

An ONA explores the training needs of a business. It is not an assessment of individual employees. Instead, this process focuses on current training processes, future training needs, and potential gaps that may be impacting overall efficiency or productivity. It is an opportunity to discuss what is working well and where there may be opportunities for additional training now or in the future.

ONAs are fluid, responsive processes that allow company leaders – including managers, supervisors, owners, human resources coordinators, and training officers – to discuss how they conduct training, how they measure the impact of training, and where they would like to see training improved or adjusted. The ONA process is conducted quickly and flexibly in consultation with each business in order to address their specific needs and expectations.

Why are ONAs being conducted in our area?

QUILL Learning Network is offering ONAs as part of the Skills for Success initiative that is funded by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD). The primary purpose is to help businesses identify training needs and, where possible, connect them with local providers who can offer relevant workplace training.

How is information from ONAs being used?

An ONA provides businesses with clear, comprehensive assessments of their training processes and training needs. The final report can help with strategic planning as well as future training design and delivery. An ONA can also provide valuable feedback for stakeholders such Boards of Directors who may not always be aware of current training challenges or future needs.

QUILL provides regular feedback to MLITSD concerning the unique training needs and ongoing challenges faced by rural businesses. Information gathered through ONAs is consolidated and anonymized into final reports. These reports will help inform the development of future workplace training programs in rural communities.

Here is a summary of work that was completed during the pilot phase of this project.

How does this relate to the labour market and our current staffing shortages?

The chronically low unemployment rate in our region has resulted in an ongoing shortage of qualified staff for many businesses. Understanding how targeted training can most effectively upskill staff can help ensure that all employees have the skills they need for success.

How does this relate to succession planning?

For some organizations, it can be helpful to catalogue anticipated training needs related to predicted vacancies. For example, if an organization is aware of upcoming retirements or business expansion opportunities, they may be identifying training needs for employees who could be promoted to leadership roles in the future.

Is this relevant to businesses in different industries? What about small businesses? What about non-profit organizations?

This tool can be used by anyone in any industry, regardless of business size. An ONA can be a first step towards identifying what training is needed to meet the unique demands of your business.

How can I participate?

A free assessment of training needs is available to any business in Bruce, Grey, Huron, Perth, or South Georgian Bay until March 2024. For more information, please contact projectmanager.quill@gmail.com or execdir@quillnetwork.ca.