Literacy Facts

DID YOU KNOW...

Statistics Canada recently released a report called Literacy Skills for the Knowledge Society. This report confirms that we have a serious literacy problem in Canada. Here are some of the facts:

Twenty-two percent of adult Canadians have serious problems dealing with printed materials

A further 24-26% of Canadians can only deal with simple reading tasks

The higher an individual's literacy level, the more likely he/she will be employed and have a higher income.

Literacy skills are like muscles - they are maintained and strengthened through regular use

Canadians use their literacy skills more in the workplace than at home

The report writers suggest that 'good' jobs are those that provide opportunities to maintain and enhance literacy skills

At ABC CANADA we believe that one of the keys to developing a competitive and stable economy is to ensure that Canadians are continually learning. One of our jobs is to make Canadians aware of the opportunities that await them as they enter into a life of learning. We are also committed to connecting Canadians with literacy programs through ABC CANADA's LEARN campaign with toll free numbers listed in all Yellow Pages directories across Canada, connecting learners with literacy organizations in their own communities.

The International Adult Literacy Survey, conducted by The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 1997, bluntly told Canada that its future competitiveness hinged on the degree to which we can raise literacy and learning levels in our society, and that one of our most vulnerable areas is the workplace.

Unemployment and Social Assistance

In 1993 1.6 million Canadians received UI

Over 3 million received UI or social assistance in the same time period

About 40% of UI claimants had used the program at least 3 times in the last 5 years

Less than half of SA recipients had graduated from high-school

Close to $40 billion dollars is spent each year on UI and SA. More than $50 billion is spent on education and training

In 1988 the unemployment rate for people with less than 9 years of schooling was two points higher than the national unemployment rate

The Labour Market

About 45% of new jobs created in this decade will require 16 years of education

Close to 33% of employers reported training problems because some of their staff were functionally illiterate

Women make up 45% of the paid labour force. This will go over 50% by the year 2000. Women hold 72% of the lowest paying occupations and the majority of part-time and casual work

Sixty percent of jobs created in 1993 were parttime

"The skills needed today and tomorrow are the so-called soft skills or life skills that can be transferred to any area...key among these are communication skills, team building ability and leadership"

"The working age population will be growing more slowly" and "the number of young workers entering the labour market will decline"

The Jobs

The fastest growing jobs include: computer and math scientists, technicians, and sales, marketing, administration and managerial positions

The slowest growing job categories include trades, jobs undergoing automation, biological sciences, secretarial, early childhood education and any low-tech field

Canadians will change jobs an average of 4 or 5 times over their lifetimes. Between 1979 and 1989 small business accounted for as much as 85% of the 2.5 million net new full-year-equivalent jobs in the private sector

In 1991 job losses were reported in all sizes of businesses except for small businesses with fewer than 5 employees, in which there was an increase of 45,000 jobs.

1.4 million new jobs will be created in Canada by the year 2000
Service sector jobs are growing. Ninety percent of new jobs created will be in this sector.

The Private Sector and Training

Only 10% of Canadians see illiteracy as part of our economic problems.

Canadian companies provided only 14 hours of structured training per year in 1991 for their employees. Two-thirds of training provided by employers was aimed at sales, professional or managerial staff. Two percent of the training was literacy training.

The training provided by Canadian companies included: orientation, 20%;
computer, 12%; health and safety, 11%; managerial, 11%; sales, 10%; professional, 9% ; literacy, 2%; environmental, 2%; non-office equipment, 6%; and other types, 17%

Canada's public spending on employment and training programs is 0.5% of our GDP. Sweden, Germany and Denmark all spend at least twice as much on their training and employment programs. The US spends 0.3% of its GDP on these programs.

"Almost three-quarters (70 percent) of the 626 surveyed companies feel that they have a significant problem with functional illiteracy in some part of their organization."

Literacy and Numeracy

Literacy Definition - "The information processing skills necessary to use the printed material commonly encountered at work, at home, and in the community."
Literacy Definition - "Literacy education is part of a process or cycle of lifelong learning, based on life experience, shared knowledge, and decision making by learners supported by their instructors. Literacy education contributes to the development of self knowledge and critical thinking skills. In turn, this development empowers individuals and communities."

Literacy Definition - "Literacy is the ability to read, write, calculate, speak, and understand, as well as sign (for the Deaf) and communicate in other forms of language, according to need. It is a continuum of these skills necessary for everyday life in the home, at work, in education and in the community."

Reading - Twenty two percent of Canadian adults can use reading materials to carry out simple reading tasks only in familiar contexts with clearly laid out formats. They do not have the skills to cope with unfamiliar and more complex reading materials. The reading skills of 16% of Canadian adults are too limited to allow them to deal with the majority of written material encountered in everyday life. This percentage covers 5% of people whose abilities are at Level 1 (see below) and 2% report that they have no abilities in English or French, for a total of 7% at the lowest level of reading skills. Older Canadians, part-year workers, and workers from primary industries (forestry, agriculture, fishing) are more likely to have reading problems than other Canadians.

Level 1 - People who have difficulty with printed materials and identify themselves as unable to read.

Level 2 - People who can use printed materials for limited purposes such as finding a familiar word in a simple text.

Level 3 - People who can use reading materials in a variety of situations providing it is simple, clearly laid out and the tasks involved are not too complex.

Level 4 - People who can use a wide range of reading materials and meet most every day reading demands.

Writing - Eighty-eight percent of Canadian adults are able to write a simple message. Two million Canadians were not included in the Statistics Canada results because they: a) did not have sufficient skills in either French or English, b) had limited reading skills in French or English, and c) refused to complete the writing tasks.

Numeracy - Reading and numeracy skills are closely related. The majority (62%) of Canadians have numeracy skills sufficient to handle the numerical tasks normally encountered in every day life. Twenty-four percent do not possess the necessary skills to meet most everyday numeracy requirements but can deal with familiar documents that require simple math skills such as addition and subtraction. The remaining 14 percent of Canadians cannot perform numerical operations consistently but can recognize numbers in isolation or in a short text.

Adult Literacy In Canada: Results of a National Survey, Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 1990.
Accountability Framework for the Adult Literacy Education System and Core Quality Standards for Programs, Toronto: Ontario Training and Adjustment Board, 1994.
Accountability framework for the Adult Literacy Education System and Core Quality Standards for Programs, Toronto: Ontario Training and Adjustment Board, 1994