Summary of the Evaluation of the Literacy and Essential Skills Program

About the program

The Literacy and Essential Skills Program aims to help adult Canadians improve their essential skills levels to be successful in the labour market. It has recently been re-branded as the Skills for Success program.

The Program, which is a Grants and Contributions program, funds projects that:

• develop new tools and conduct research in essential skills
• pilot, replicate, and scale up innovative practices to skills upgrading for Canadians in varying contexts

Key findings

• There is recognition from program officials, Other Labour Market Programs, partners, stakeholders and experts that the Skills for Success model is sound, is designed to address the evolving needs of the labour market, and aligns with international essential skills approaches
• Participants in program-funded essential skills training interventions, including participants from under-represented groups, are satisfied with the training they received. They reported that the training helped them overcome barriers in learning and employment, gain important skills, and increased their sense of wellness and wellbeing
• Surveyed participants reported that the most common skills gained as a result of their training were:
  • social/interpersonal skills including team working skills (45%)
  • communication skills (40%), and
  • people skills (36%)
• Among surveyed participants, 31% reported having found a new job one year after their participation in the essential skills training and 16% reported having found a better job

Recommendations

• Continue to strengthen performance management practices with funding recipients, including exploring a way to measure skill levels of training participants, to provide regular and robust evidence to support policy analysis and program decision-making
• Increase communication and engagement within ESDC and with partners and stakeholders, particularly employers, to foster awareness of the Skills for Success Model and the tools to support the implementation of the new model
• Continue to improve access to foundational and transferrable skills training opportunities and to raising awareness of these opportunities particularly to under-represented groups