Skills development: for whom and for what? Professional Development Conference for Practitioners: Supporting Learning Needs of Adults Literacy Nova-Scotia Donald, Lurette Andragogy Consultant November 2017

Large group discussion… What is your perception of the conference so far (in terms of content)? What have you learned? Any highlight?

Small group discussion… How should we develop skills for adults in Nova-Scotia with literacy issues?

Consultant’s perspective: A BIT OF HISTORY AND CONTEXT Le CAP : Centre d’apprentissage et de perfectionnement Early 2000s: Creation of very-high-speed integrated programs for some employment sectors (manufacturing, food service, consumer service, health…) In a single educational intervention: Integration and strategic development of many types of skills (essential, generic, technical and language skills) based on the needs of the employment sector. Integration of educational resources through strategic partnerships to ensure the development of various types of skills. Certification / qualification aquired based on skills development

Late 2000s: Development of a generic Canada-wide model by RESDAC in collaboration with le CAP. In 2013, this results in a two-year action research project; funded by OLES; RESDAC will try to implement the integrated model and its andragogical approach in 8 communities (4 Anglophone and 4 Francophone) across 4 Canadian provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan.

An andragogical approach of literacy development

According to the international surveys According to the IALS in 1994, the IALSS in 2003, and PIAAC in 2012, basic skills/competencies are like muscles: the more they are used, regardless of the context, the better they are maintained and the more quickly they improve.

What is a skill?  

Definitions of key concepts Competency/skills (in general) : A person’s ability to mobilize its own resources (internal and external) to perform a task (Le Boterf, 2010). Competency/skills (adult education field) : A body of knowledge, know-how and attitudes that helps a person complete, as appropriate, a task or a group of tasks (Legendre, 2005). According to its nature, we can suppose that the efficient development of competency/skills rests upon a strategic to-and-fro between theoretical learning and practical action.

Henri Boudreault’s diagram : Visual representation of interaction between the categories of “savoirs” when using a competency/skill.

External Resources… Accessible Human Resources: Learners Work colleagues Outside human resources Others… Accessible material resources: Technology (digital and others) Infrastructures, equipment and supplies  

Different categories of skills to support development of tasks Essential skills Generic skills (soft skills) Second-language skills Specialized or technical skills In the context of doing a task, these diverse skills must fit together seamlessly: sometimes one completes the other and sometimes one supports the other, either in the learning process or in action (carrying out a task).

Les concepts en duo: Alphabétisme et compétences Littératie et compétences

Analyzing the needs From a learner/context perspective before a program perspective…

An andragogical approach of literacy development

Analyzing learners’ needs Analyzing the needs of adult learners is at the very core of an andragogical intervention: Adult learners have multiple and complex needs. Most need to produce and to work, to earn an income for themselves and their family. Adults’ needs are complex, because they are distinct from one individual to another, or from one group of individuals to another.

Perception of needs: Research project in New Brunswick (1) Needs identified by the work place in terms of skills/competencies development

Perception of needs: Research project in New Brunswick (2) Needs identified by training and employability practitioners in terms of skills/competencies development

Needs are context based; Needs are not static; Development of competency/skills can meet different needs Besoins familiaux et scolaires (réussite scolaire des enfants, relation avec l'école, etc.) Contexte Développement des compétences et familles Besoins en employabilité Contexte Développement des compétences et travail Besoins communautaires (participation à desévénements, bénévolat, etc.) Contexte Développemment des compétences et développement communautaire Besoins personnels (autonomie, meilleure qualité de vie, etc.) Contexte Développement des compétences et développement personnel

Creating strategic local partnerships The model’s second component

Mobilizing educational resources This mobilization of partners in training and support for learners with low literacy skills under one single collaborative framework can take several forms. The most important element is to gather together strategic partners in order to conceive andragogical interventions that are appropriate for the target clientele, their needs and their context.

Constructing adapted andragogical interventions The model’s third component

Constructing andragogical interventions The construction of andragogical interventions that are adapted to the needs of learners, the community and partners For the longest time, most literacy programs have focused solely on improving certain basic skills (reading, writing, numeracy, computer use). Very few adult education services attempt to develop more than one type of skill–in an integrated manner–under a single initiative.

Fundamental question What skills/competencies to develop for what type of jobs? What role do essential skills, generic skills, second-language skills (English as the language of integration) or specialized skills play in meeting the integration needs of the targeted clientele?

Choosing skills It is the learners’ needs, depending on the desired integration project, that determine to what extent each skill type merits being further developed and to what degree the service offering should take this into account.

The CAP’s analytical framework of andragogical issues

Strategic partnership with Ministries Ministère à vocation éducative (réussite scolaire) Ministères à vocation sociale (développement parental) Contexte Développement des compétences et familles Ministères à vocation sociale (développement de l'autonomie des citoyens) Contexte Développement des compétences et développement personnel Ministères à vocation sociale (développement social et communautaire) Ministères à vocation économique (développement économique communautaire) Contexte Développemment des compétences et développement personnel et communautaire Ministères à vocation économique (développement économique et de l'employabilité Ministère à vocation sociale (développement de l'employabilité) Contexte Développement des compétences et travail

Thank you!