Colleagues,
I can't help but mention that we are having an absolutely gorgeous
spring day in Knoxville!  I hope you are all enjoying whatever weather
you are having.

The resources this week cover a variety of topics, and I'm especially
pleased to have found a learner resource in the online newspaper for
adult learners on work-related topics.  (It's third up from the bottom,
"The Learning Edge.") I hope everyone finds at least one useful
resource.

Donna

Donna Brian
Moderator, LINCS Workplace Literacy Discussion List
Off-list contact djgbrian at utk.edu 

To post a message:
workplace at nifl.gov 

To subscribe/unsubscribe/change options/access archives:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/workplace 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


>From the Pew Charitable Trusts http://www.pewtrusts.org/ 


"Getting Ahead or Losing Ground: Economic Mobility in America"
	For more than two centuries, economic opportunity and upward
mobility formed the foundation of the American Dream and they remain at
the core of our nation's identity. However, recent studies suggest that
it may be harder for some individuals to move up the economic ladder
than people originally believed.  And, in sharp contrast to the view of
America as the land of opportunity, we may be a less mobile society than
many other nations.
http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Economic_
Mobility/Economic_Mobility_in_America_Full.pdf 

"How Much Does the Federal Government Spend to Promote Economic Mobility
and For Whom?"
	In an economically mobile market economy, individuals and
families are able to raise their private incomes, wealth, and ability
(sometimes referred to as human capital) over time and across
generations. In the United States, many associate economic mobility with
the pursuit of the American Dream. Education, work experience, and
saving enhance the opportunity for upward economic mobility. To this
end, many federal spending and tax expenditure or tax subsidy programs
aim to enhance economic mobility. But exactly how much does the federal
government encourage economic mobility? What form does this
encouragement take? And who benefits from these efforts?
http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Economic_
Mobility/EMP_Mobiilty_Budget.pdf 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


>From Jobs for the Future http://www.jff.org/ 


"Overcoming Obstacles, Optimizing Opportunities: State Policies to
Increase Postsecondary Attainment for Low-Skilled Adults"
	The sweeping economic changes of recent decades have left many
working families wondering how they will survive. The American
industrial economy of the early twentieth century, which relied on
unskilled labor, has given way to a knowledge economy that demands
higher levels of education and skills. For workers seeking to gain the
further education now required, the venue of choice increasingly is the
community college, with its capacity to provide both postsecondary
credentials and advanced skills training. In most cases, these students
are older than traditional college students, they have families, and
they must continue to work while they study. Frequently, they arrive on
campus unprepared to succeed in an academic setting.
http://www.jff.org/Documents/BTpolicyoverview.pdf 

"Getting Ahead: A Survey of Low-Wage Workers on Opportunities for
Advancement"
	According to a national survey of low-wage workers, commissioned
by Jobs for the Future, seven in ten workers who earn less than 200
percent of the federal poverty level want access to education and
training programs that can help them advance to well-paid positions.
Nearly one out of four low-wage workers have paid for instruction out of
their own pocket despite competing financial commitments and family
obligations, a strong indication of the importance they place on
advancing their education. Low-wage workers who have used
government-sponsored or other workforce development programs for job
placement, education, and career training have found them useful.
However, the survey results also suggest a gap in workers' awareness of
the public system and their use of its services, a gap that better
outreach and marketing might narrow. The study, a national survey of
1,002 adults with household incomes near the poverty line, was
commissioned by Jobs for the Future as part of the Workforce Innovation
Networks (WINs) initiative with funding from the U.S. Department of
Labor.
http://www.jff.org/Documents/gettingahead.pdf 

"High-Leverage Governance Strategies for Workforce Development Systems"
	For employer organizations seeking to influence local workforce
development systems, this report describes exemplary governance
strategies in the areas of: planning and development, policy, promotion,
performance measurement and continuous improvement, operational
leadership, and administering innovative services. This issue brief for
Workforce Innovation Networks-WINs-is part of series of resources for
engaging employers in workforce development for the dual purposes of
improving advancement opportunities for workers and meeting the
workforce needs of employers.
http://www.jff.org/Documents/winsgovern.pdf 

"Making the Connections: The Role of Employer Associations in Workforce
Development"
	Making the Connections is designed to help employer associations
serve their members in workforce development needs. This guidebook
focuses on workforce development for entry-level positions. It describes
four types of activities employer organizations can undertake:
organizing and supporting employers, serving current and potential
workers, improving education and training services, and upgrading
workforce-development systems. Making the Connections was produced by
the Center for Workforce Success of the National Association of
Manufacturers for Workforce Innovation Networks (WINs.  
http://www.jff.org/Documents/MakingConnect.pdf

"Working Together on Worker Training"
	This issue brief for Workforce Innovation Networks (WINs)
addresses the advantages of inter-firm cooperation in meeting workforce
development needs. Particularly for smaller companies, inter-firm
cooperation can improve pre-employment skill development and recruiting,
reduce costs for incumbent worker training, lower turnover, and raise
productivity. This brief highlights innovative practices and suggests
how employer organizations and their partners in regional workforce
development systems can combine forces to build effective, multi-firm
collaborations.  
http://www.jff.org/Documents/WINsworktog.pdf 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brought to our attention by New Zealand Literacy Portal
http://www.nzliteracyportal.org.nz/ 

"Accessing and completing apprenticeship training in Canada: Perceptions
of barriers"
	This Canadian report (66 pages) from the Canadian Apprenticeship
Forum
looks at different perspectives concerning the barriers to accessing,
maintaining and completing apprenticeships (including essential skills).
It also looks at how to engage the apprenticeship community in a
consultative process to discuss the findings and examine the
recommendations.
http://www.nald.ca/library/research/CLBC/apprentice/04apr22.pdf 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


>From Red Orbit News Service http://redorbit.com/news/  


"Colleges Push to Improve Literacy, but Face Opposition to Change"
	Complaints about student writing are not new, but they are
growing louder. College professors are surprised at the lack of writing
ability that students display. At the same time, employers are screaming
for workers who are better trained in problem solving, collaboration and
communication.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/education/1290275/colleges_push_to_improve_
literacy_but_face_opposition_to_change/   

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please see the U.S. Department of Labor Grants and Contracts update at
http://www.doleta.gov/sga/sga.cfm    
Titles of current grant solicitations are:

High-Growth Job Training Initiative Grants for the Energy Industry and
Construction and Skilled Trades in the Energy Industry (SGA/DFA PY
07-07).

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Opportunities
in the Workforce System Initiative (SGA/DFA PY 07-03).

Indian and Native American Employment and Training Programs;
Solicitation for Grant Applications and Announcement of Competition
Waivers for Program Years 2008 and 2009 (SGA/DFA PY 07-04).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


>From the Wellington County Learning Center, Ontario Canada

http://www.thewclc.ca/index.php?id=1  

"The Learning Edge"
	This is an on-line newspaper for adult learners. Issues 5 - 8
highlight workforce or workplace-related topics. All issues are
available from the following link.  Issue 8 is the current issue.
http://www.thewclc.ca/edge/  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


>From The Aberdeen Group http://www.skillsoft.com  

[Note: you must register with the SkillSoft site to access their
publications. Registration is free.]

	SkillSoft announces this study that indicates that eight out of
10 employees would have higher job satisfaction levels if they received
more on-the-job training. But, the survey also found, nearly three of
those same 10 workers don't have this opportunity because they don't
have access to any ongoing training in their workplace.
http://www.skillsoft.com/infocenter/whitepapers/documents/AberdeenGroup_
Report.PDF  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


>From MDRC http://www.mdrc.org / 


"A Good Start: Two-Year Effects of a Freshmen Learning Community Program
at Kingsborough Community College" 
	Freshmen in a "learning community" at Kingsborough Community
College in Brooklyn, NY, moved more quickly through developmental
English requirements, took and passed more courses, and earned more
credits in their first semester than students in a control group. Two
years later, they were also somewhat more likely to be enrolled in
college.
http://www.mdrc.org/publications/473/overview.html  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~