April Girard, Atikokan; Allison Mullin, OLC; Vijaya Chikermane, OLC; Jeannine Stus, Atikokan; Melanie Luptak, Atikokan
Atikokan Literacy Incorporated’s Adult Learning Centre is more than just a literacy program: it’s a community of people who come together to learn, talk and support each other through life’s ups and downs. That’s what OLC learned after spending the day there last Thursday – the first stop on our road trip through Ontario.
Atikokan is a small (just over 3000 people), rural community about two and a half hours northeast of Thunder Bay. Its literacy program is the only one of its kind in the area – meaning its six full-time staff members are a busy group.
Atikokan’s Learning Centre offers a variety of programs, including General Education Development (G.E.D.), Academic Career Entrance (A.C.E.), intro to computers, reading, writing, math and many more areas, including specific grant programs.
Since mining is also a growing industry in the area – mining companies are currently prospecting land around Atikokan in hopes that mining sites will soon be built, creating hundreds of jobs in the area – Atikokan’s Learning Centre has now completed two mining training courses. These courses take students into the wilderness, teaching them basics such as safety training, reading a compass, line tracing and many other skills that will give them the training needed to gain employment when these mines eventually open.
Holiday Potluck at Atikokan's Adult Learning Centre
It’s a small program doing important work. More information about Atikokan Literacy Inc. and its staff that participated in OLC’s Spotlight on Learning: Becoming Agents of Change conference will be made available on OLC’s upcoming Spotlight on Learning website, coming end-of-January 2011. And stay tuned over the coming weeks as OLC continues to highlight Agents of Change in the literacy field!
Skills for the 21st Century
February 3, 2010 — ontarioliteracycoalitionIn these current economic times, the issue of the lack of skilled labour is increasingly coming to the forefront. Workers who have been laid off are finding that the new jobs available require higher skills levels. In a recent article by the Globe and Mail, Rick Miner, the past president of Toronto’s Seneca College and a former management professor, claims that there “will be an expanding pool of unskilled workers looking for jobs and an even larger number of companies that cannot find the workers they require.”
In its presentation to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, the OLC pointed out the value of increased and sustained funding for adult learning programs: “Investment in literacy and skills training generates a payback for individuals, but it also accelerates growth in the economy and in productivity, and improves the government’s fiscal balance.”
To help Ontarians find the Employment Services they need, Employment Ontario has released fact sheets for each region of the province . To view the sheets, click here.
Nowhere more than in Ontario has the current recession signalled a profound restructuring in the economy. The demand for skills upgrading in this new economy cannot be ignored if Ontario wishes to compete globally and increase its productivity.