October
12, 2001 Government of
Canada provides funding to Kingston Literacy for two literacy projects KINGSTON, ONTARIO-The
Honourable Peter Milliken, Member of Parliament for Kingston and the
Islands and Speaker of the House of Commons, welcomed the announcement
of the Honourable Jane Stewart, Minister of Human Resources Development
Canada, that the Government of Canada is providing funding of $53,000,
through the National Literacy Secretariat, for two projects by Kingston
Literacy. The first
project, entitled A Tool Kit - Relationship with Community and Social
Services, will produce a tool kit that will outline the steps for building
an effective relationship with Community and Social Services (CSC) and
develop two workshop training sessions for Literacy and Basic Skills
agencies and CSC staff. The kit will help literacy organizations better
understand how CSC runs and the importance of its referrals of unemployed
adult literacy learners. It will also provide posters, forms, procedures
and suggestions for referring unemployed adult learners to literacy
programs. This project will receive $30,000 in funding. The second
project, entitled Employment Links on a Compact Disk, will receive $23,000
to produce a CD-ROM that will include a collection of resources for using
computers to build employment-specific literacy skills to prepare adult
literacy learners for work in specific entry-level jobs. The CD-ROM will
be developed as a model that other literacy programs can use to develop
similar tools for their own geographic areas, labour markets and client
groups. "Literacy organizations and practitioners play an important role in preparing adult learners for the workforce," said Mr. Milliken. "These projects are providing the tools to effectively teach literacy and numeracy skills." Literacy
skills are linked to work skills, health and self-esteem. Higher literacy
skills among Canadians enable them to participate more fully in our
economy and our society. The Government of Canada is committed to
supporting action on literacy as part of its goal of removing barriers to
full participation by all Canadians. It supports initiatives that promote
Canadian competitiveness in a knowledge-based economy. The National
Literacy Secretariat works in partnership with provincial and territorial
governments, business, labour and the volunteer community. The goals of
these partnerships are to increase public awareness of literacy, help
people share information, improve access to literacy programs, develop
learning materials and advance research on literacy. Funding for
these projects was provided for in the February 2000 Budget and is
therefore built into the existing financial framework. These projects have been reviewed to ensure
compliance with the Department's improved administration of its grant and
contribution programs. PROJECT
SUMMARY
For more
information: Lianne Vardy, National Literacy Secretariat. Human
Resources Development Canada (819) 953-5460
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