files.eric.ed.gov · 3 0. 28. A statement released by the President and Governors who attended this summit reads as follows: "America's educa- tional performance must be second to

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 337 649 CE 059 308

AUTHOR Nelson, Lucie, Ed.TITLE Building a Workforce for the South. Proceedings of

the Regional Workplace Literacy Conference (Atlanta,Georgia, June 21-23, 1990).

INSTITUTION Eastern Kentucky Univ., Lexington.; Georgia StateUniv., Atlanta.; National Univ. Continuing EducationAssociation, Washington, DC.; Southern Governors'Association, Atlanta, GA.

PUB DATE Jun 90

NOTE 72p.

PUB TYPE Collected Works - Conference Proceedings (021)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Adult Basic Education; *Adult Literacy; Basic Skills;

Corporate Support; Curriculum Development;Educational Opportunities; Education WorkRelat.onship; Government Role; Industrial Training;*Job Training; *Labor Force; Policy Formation; SkillDevelopment; Unions

IDENTIFIERS United States (South); *Workplace Literacy

ABSTRACTThe focus of this conference workplace literacy in

the South is the need for cooperation and collaboration amongpolicy-makers, business and industry, labor, and education providers.The document contain., nine presentations: "What Frito-Lay Has Done inWorkplace Literacy" (Mossborg); "The Need for a Literate Workforce inthe South" (Price); "Pol!oy Recommendations for Workplace Literacy"(Fingeret); "The U.S. Del tment of Education's WorkplaceProgram--Governmental Pe tctives" (Brand); "Effective EmployeeBasic Skills Program Rolek. for Labor and Business" (Jurmo,Sarmiento); "Recent Research of What Works and What Doesn't Work inthe Workplace" (Mikulecky); "Developing Curriculum in the workplace"(Valentine); "Training in Workplace Literacy" (philippi); and"Upgrading Academic Skills in the Workplace--A Success Story at DukePower Company" (Fowler). The conference agenda, a roster ofparticipants, and regional conference tips are included. (NLA)

***********************************************************************Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made

from the original document.***********************************************************************

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The Regional WorkplaceLiteracy

Conference ProceedingsJune 21 23, 1990

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educabonal Research and Improvement

EDUCATIONAL RSSOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)

ei"This document has Nen reproduced asreceived from the person oi organizationoriginating it.

0 Minor changes have been made lo improvereproduction quality

"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THISMATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

Points of view or opinions stated in this docirmint do not necessarily represent official0E111 position or policy.

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)."

2 BEST COPY AVAILARE

Conference Proceedings -

Proceedings Editor: Lucie Nelson

Regional Conference Tips: Lufie Nelson

Proceedings Coordinator: Allison Willis

January 1991

These proceedings have been partially fundedthrough conference registration fees.

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Acknowledgments

These proceedings from the Regional Workplace LiteracyConference have been summarized from presentor's notes, ar-ticles, and audio tapes of the addresses. Because they are compi-lations, the length of the written presentations do not representthe length of the spoken addresses, nor their significance to theissue. We take nih responsibility for any errors in the transcrip-tion. While all major conference addresses are included in theseproceedings, we were able to record only two of the four work-shops.

I appreciate the encouragement and enthusiasm of thosewho assisted with the compilation of the proceedings. AllisonWillis, Eastern Kentucky University, has served as chief coordina-tor for this project and deserves untold credit.

Lucie Nelsc n

Table of Contents

About the Conference 3

Conference Agenda 5

"What Frito-Lay Has Done in Workplace Literacy" 8

"The Need for a Literate Workforce in the South" 14

"Policy Recommendations for Workplace Literacy" 17

"The U.S. Department of Education's WorkplaceProgram: Governmental Perspectives" 24

"Effective Employee Basic Skills Programs Roles forLabor and Business" 30

"Recent Research of What Works and What Doesn't Workin the Workplace" 41

"Developing Curriculum in the Workplace" 49

"Training in Workplace Literacy" 51

"Upgrading Academic Skills in the WorkplaceA Success Story at Duke Power Company" 53

Roster of Participants

Regional Conference Tips

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About thet eonferenceThe idea for a conference dedicated solely to workplace

literacy evolved during the Atlanta AAACE-COABE Confer-ence in Apri1,1989. Program directors from the first round offunding in the U.S. Department of Education's Workplace Lit-eracy Partnership grants met to discuss progress and ex-pressed a sense of regional needs for those living in the South-east. The proposed conference was designated a regionalgathering, yet open to anyone who wished to attet 1.

Having initiated projects and worked through obstaclesand =certainties, the directors felt a strong need for supportand additional information sharing. With the encouragementof the U.S. Department of Education and especially RonPugsley, a planning committee was formed and Atlanta waschosen as the site.

Easterli Kentucky University, with its strong conferenceplanning division, and Georgia State University, located inAtlanta, agreed to assun e the leadership roles for the confer-ence. The conference provided partial funding for an assis-tantship at Georgia State to acquire added assistance by agraduate student. Funding for the conference was providedsolely through registration and exhibitor fees.

The focus of the conference, as stated in the bi ,chure,was the need for cooperation and collaboration among policymakers, business and industry, labor, and educational provid-ers. It thus afforded an opportunity for discussion and thesharing of ideas and opportunities by all of the players in-volved in workplace literacy. Participation by business andgovernment was much less than that of the educational pro-viders. This seems often to be the case and must be addressedin future conferences. The development of mailing lists pri-marily by those in adult education settings limited the numberof companies contacted. Thus, while conference attendancewas a fair illustration of those who were feeling the greatestneed for information and support, mailing list developmentand conference participation by industry must be improved infuture conferences of this nature.

A fonnat which devoted a large portion of its time togeneral sessions was determined to be the best tool for provid-ing the development of a sense of community and commonpurpose. Key experts would make presentations regardingtheir own experiences in this new field.

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A unique feature of the conference was the fact that thecoordination of the conference centered on a coordinator in eachof the southeastern states. s a rule this was a project directorbut in some cases another key person was selected to serve.These coordinators made the conference happen because theyknew who the key players were in their states and how to en-courage state representation in Atlanta. Each state was askedto participate in some specific way.

The conference further offered the project directors andother outstanding projects an opportunity to display some oftheir work through poster sessions and round-table displays anddiscussion. An open exchange of experiences and ideas was con-sidered the most important element of the conference.

Building a Workforce for the South was a success.The number of attendees far exceeded expectations. The follow-

up requests for information and another conference indicated acontinuing desire to learn effective ways in which to meet theever increasing demand for the teaching and learning of basicworkforce skills. The conference slated for 1991 will include amore detailed worhshop/short course agenda to provide effectivestrategies and techniques supported by field trips to successthlprograms. The following is a listing of the people who partici-pated ix: various capacities:

State Coordinators

AlabamaJo Smith

FloridaRon FromanTony Lagos

GeorgiaSue Stephens Fleuren

KentuckyRuth Ann Phillips

LouisianaGary Patureau

MississippiBob Richardson

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North CarolinaSusie Lambert

South CarolinaJimmy SmithDavid Stout

TennesseeWes HasdenK. Owen McCullough

VirginiaElaine Squeri

West VirginiaCarol Reuther

Co-Sponsors

National University Continuing Education AssociationEastern Kentucky UniversityGeorgia State UniversitySouthern Governor's Association

Planning Committee

Nancy Chase Lucie NelsonJudy Cheatham Joanne NurssScott Defife Bob RichardsonSue Stephens Fle, n Pam RitchieAnnette Morgan Elaine Squeri

Conference Program

Thursday, June 23, 1990

2:00 P.M. Registration and Exhibits

7:30 P.M. WelcomeJean Young, First Lady of Atlanta

8:00 P.M. General Session

Presiding: Jean Devard KempOffice of Aduit Literacy, Georgia

'What Frito-Lay Has Done in Workplace Literacy"Kelly Mossberg, Frito-Lay

9:00 P.M. State Display TablesSpecial Conference Kick-Off Drawing

Friday, June 22, 1990

8:00 A.M. Continental Breakfast

8:30 A.M. Announcement

Presiding: James C. YoungGeorgia State University, Atlanta

Eldridge McMillian, Southern Growth Policy Board

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9:00 A.M. Opening Address

Presiding: Susie LambertRowan-Cabarrus Community College, North Carolina

"The Need for a Literate Workforce in the South*Honorable David Price, U.S. Congressman fromNorth Carolina

10:00 A.M. Concurrent Sessions

A. Panel Presentation

"Federally funded Projects: What We'veLearned"Ron Pugs leyNancy BrooksSarah Newcomb

B. Poster Sessions

"Successful Workplace Projects"

11:30 A.M. General Session

Presiding: Ruth Ann PhillipsDepartment of Education, Kentucky

"."olicy Recommendations for Workplace Literacy"Dr. Hanna Arlene Fingeret, North Carolina Centerfor Literacy Development

12:30 P.M. Lunch on Your Own

1:30 P.M. Exhibits


Presiding: Scott DefifeSouthern Governor's Association

"Tim U.S. Department of Education's Workplace Program:Governmental Perspectives"Betsy Brand, U.S. Department of Education

3:00 P.M. Panel Presentation

Presiding: Judy CheathamGreensboro College, North Can lina

"Effective Employee Basic Skills Programs Roles forLabor and Business"Paul Jurmo, Business Council for Effective LiteracyAnthony Sarmiento, Department of Education for AFL-CIO

4:30 P.M. Exhibits

5;30 P.M. Light Buffet and ReceptionInformal Discussion and Information Sharing

Saturday, June 23, 1990

8:00 A.M. Continental Breakfast

9;00 A.M. General Session

Presiding: Betty WongMississippi State Department of Education, Mississippi

"Recent Research of What Works and What Doesn't Work

in the Workplace"Dr. Larry Mickulecky, Indiana University

10:00 A.M. Concurrent Sessions

A. "Developing Curriculum in the Workplace"Dr. Tom Valentine

B. "Getting Started on a Workplace Literacy Program"Mattie Eley

C. "Managing Workplace Literacy Programs"Dr. Mikel Richardson

D. "Training in Workplace Literacy'Jorie Philippi

11:15 A.M. Final Exhibitor Drawing

11:45 A.M. Closing Luncheon

Presiding: Lucie NelsonEastern Kentucky University, KentuckyDavid StoutDepartment of Adult Educat; m, South Carolina

"Upgrading Academic Skills in the WorkplaceA SuccessStory at Duke Power Company"Fay Fowler, Duke Power Company

Final Door Prize Drawings

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Thursday, June 21, 1990


Kelly Mossberg - "What Frito-Lay has Done inWorkplace Literacy"

Introduction

Kelly Mossberg currently, as Area Employee RelationsManager for Frito-Lay South, is responsible for SoutheasternOperations Human Resources for approximately 5,000 em-ployees in sales and manufacturing. He has five years withFrito-Lay in both field and headquarter assignments. He hasprior experience with Union Camp Corporation as CorporateIndustrial Relations Manager at their New York City head-quarters. A graduate of Auburn University, he is originallyfrom Atlanta, Georgia.

Frito-Lay Orlando, in pz.rtnership with the OrangeCounty School System, offered its first employee basic skillstraining course in the Summer of 1988. Funded in part by aWorkplace Literacy Partnership grant form the U.S. Depart-ment of Education, this program has significantly enhancedthe skills of around 25% of the plant's employees. Kelly dis-cussed the Frito-Lay Orlando employee basic skills programand why he believes it is a success.

di Workplace Literacy Partnership

If we could change the name of the conference from"Building a Workforce for the South" to "Empowering aWorkforce for the South", we would get some insight intoFrito-Lay's philosophy toward workplace literacy. Westrongly believe that this type of program does exactly thatempowers our employees to take more ownership in the busi-ness. Our program at Frito-Lay Orlando can best be de-scribed as a joint partnership between industry and educa-tion. Webster defines a partnership as an association be-tween two or more partners in a business enterprise toachieve a conunon goal. In the truest sense of the word, Frito-Lay Orlando and the Orangt. County Public School system

have joined together to form a partnership which has broughtabout the activity I am talking about tonight.

Helping Each Other Grow

The mission of the Orlando manufacturing facility "tosatisfy our customers with the highest quality snack foods atthe most competitive cost by achieving zero waste and helpingeach other grow," is not unique to Orlando. All 38 Frito-Laymanufacturing plants share the same mission. However,there is something unique in the way they are attempting tofill one aspect of that missionhelping each other grow.Driven by a vision of what the plant will be in the future,Orlando is pioneering an exciting new program to enI,Ance theemployee's basic skills in, such areas as reading, language andmath. This plant, located in one of the fastest growing areasof the United States was built in 1965 and currently employsaround 300, and has traditionally had a very active workforce.

Within Frito-Lay there are business planning groups,that is periodic meetings of local management personnel fromvarious departments within the business. Their purpose is toexamine their collective "businesses" and look for ways theycan improve quality, service and cost performance. Duringone of its meetings in 1987, the Orlando group recognized thatmajor changes were going on in their business faster than thepace in which their employees basic skills and training wereable to keep up. Specifically, the changes included the intro-duction of new computer based equipment as well as in-creased emphasis on the part of the company to drive decisionmaking down to the lowest levels of the organization. Mem-bers of the business planning group asked themselves if em-ployees' skills had kept up with these changes, and realizedthat the skills required to produce the product 25 years agowere not the same as those required today. Employees in1965 wer- hired to operate one piece of equipment or to per-form one (Ask. Now employees are as'ted to operate not onlymore sophisticated equipment, but to take an active role inproblem solving on a daily basis and to generate ideas toimprove the plant's overall performance.

Frito-Lay, like many U.S. corporations, is facing foreigncompetition on the one hand, and the need to build up employ-ees' basic skills on the other hand. Since it is our philosophythat our employees have made us the number one snack food

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company in the world, we could not follow the lead of compa-nies who choose to replace old employees with employees whopossess the required skills. Our employees' experience andloyalty is invaluable to our success and for this reason Frito-Lay Orlando chose to empower their employees through theenhancement of their basic skills. A partnership was formedwith the Orange County School system to develop a programthat would do exactly that.

Orange County invested teachers, materials and coursecurriculum design, while Frito-Lay Orlando invested fiftythousand dollars to establish a training center on the plantsite and to pay employees up to two hours of time "on theclock' while they attended instruction. Extensive planningwent into the development of curriculum and the followingquestions were used to give planners direction:

1. How will we assess learning and progress?2. What skills will be needed to form a baseline

level?3. What would a continuum look like?4. Should course content be related and focused on

learning to learn?

Ls part of the pltinning process, managers from Frito-Layvisited another company's facility to observe a successfulworkplace literacy program. They also visited a newer Frito-Lay facility in Georgia to examine what a state of the artfacility would look like. The point of these visits was to gleansome information from their experience and to determine apotential baseline skill level.

Planners wanted to create a positive non-threateningenvironment for employees; thus they knew strict confidenceof employee information and asselsment of skill levels mustbe maintained. Teacher selection was very important to es-tablish trust between the program and employees. Curricu-lum, was designed to feature general usefulness while adher-ing to workplace literacy principles.

Phase one was :1 course termed reading strategies. Thedesign of the course was based on the "think ahead, thinkwhile reading and think back" strategy and used sections outof the plant's operation manuals, the company's corporatebenefits summary book and the company's newsletter formaterials.

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Phase two involved defining actual reading skills ofemployees. The entire plant was asked to complete a volun-tary basic reading skills assessment exercise. Seventy percentof the employees completed the assessment. Each employeeresponding received a confidential leiter explaining the exer-cise and advising them if they would benefit from the programto be offered.

During phase three classes began with those who choseto participate. Students attended two hour classes twice perweek during their normally scheduled shift. The initial courseoffered lasted nine weeds and contained 24 students workingwith an instructor on the plant site. Post evaluations werecompleted by students and their immediate supervisors todetermine if the program was a success. Feedback from thoseevaluations showed a unanimous yes.

Phase four introduced computers to assist in the in-struction in english, reading, and math. Each student couldwork individually, at their own speed and at their own level.Computers were also made available duzing off shift times soemployees could work on their own time.

Empowering a Workforce for the South

There is no question. The program has been a successtor Frito-Lay and for our employees. Since its beginning 65employees have enrolled and completed classes (representingaround 25% of the total workforce at Frito-Lay Orlando) therate of re-enrollment in math is over 75%. Each studentcompleting the course receives formal recognition in a formalceremony conducted by the plant manager. The curriculumhas been expanded to five offerings and a sixth course is beingplanned. Individual tv.toring courses are also offered. Posttesting has indicated that the basic skills levels of employeesenrolled in courses have improved sigthficAntly. Participationby job class almost mirrors overall plant population distribu-tion. But the most important indicator of success has beenfrom employees (see student's comments below).

The outlook for the workplace literacy program at Frito-Lay is bright. Course offerings will be further expanded toinclude introductory computer tutorials, stress managementand efi'lctive presentation skills. Also, Frito-Lay is looking

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into expanding the program to other Frito-Lay manufactur-ing plants and sales divisions in the future.

What has made our program successful? First, theprogram is a joint partnership between the company, thelocal facility management, local educational resources andemployees. Second, local management provides active lead-ership during planning and execution stages of the program.Support is evident not only at the top of the organization butall the way down to the first line supervisory level. This iscritical if a program is to be successful. Third, local educa-tors are flexible and cooperative in their approach to develop-ing a program which meets the needs of not only the businessbut the employees themselves. Fourth, the curriculum is jobspecific and relevant to the workplace. And finally, the trustand credibility of the program was established early on withall involved in planning and execution phases. Employeesmust feel that the overall mission of the program is to en-hance their basic skills to the betterment of not only them-selves but to the company.

Conclusion

As companies move toward the year 2000 we need towork smarter to stay on top. Competing companies have thesame access to raw materials and technology tLat we do.What will keep us ahead of the competition is what we dowith thAse materials and technology. Our employees are ourstratec advantage. Basic skills programs will be our lever-age for our employees' experience and loyalty so that we canwork toward record growth and profits in the future while atthe same time provide our employees with the opportunity toimprove the skills they will use in virtually every aspect oftheir lives.

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Student's Comments

"For me this course is a dream come true. I am 58 years oldand I have eight grandchildren, and I have learned that youare never too old to learn. My family seems proud of what Iam doing. My husband is helping me at home and I ampracticing reading with my grandchildren. I am thankful forthis opportunity, sometimes I wish I could attend classes allday?

M. Addcock 24 years with Frito-Lay Orlando

"Since I work in quality assurance and am constantly fillingout reports, I was surprised to learn that they thought Icould benefit from a reading skills class. I thought I couldread pretty well, but I began to notice a change aftlr mysecond class. I never realized how much I was missing whenI tried to read something. Now I know I needed help?

A. Elise 19 years with Frito-Lay Orlando

"Times are changing. Several of the employees got thechance to go to Frito-Lay's new plant in Perry, Georgia andwe saw how different that plant is. Workers seemed to bemuch better educated and the equipment is much moredifficult to operate. That equipment is going to find its wayto Orlando and when it gets here, I want to be able to masterit. I just hope more of our employees will sign up for theprogram?

C. Green 17 years with Frito-Lay Orlando

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Fridriy, June 22, 1990


Hon. David E. Price, U.S. Congressman fromNorth Carolina - "The Need for a LiterateWorkforce in the South"

Introduction

David E. Price has represented the State of NorthCarolina in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1987.He currently serves on the Banking, Finance, and UrbanAffairs Committee and the Science, Space, and TechnologyCommittee. While his involvement has been impressive inmany areas, his experience with the Sunbelt Institute stud-ies of illiteracy and the education requirements of theworkplace of tomorrow made him uniquely qualified to speakabout the need for a literate workforce in the South.

Representative Price's presentation was originallyscheduled to be the Opening Address on Thursday, June 21.However, due to an important vote in Congress (flag dese-cration amendment), he arrived instead on Friday, June 22to address the morning General Session and spend valuabletime with conference participants before and after his pres-entation.

The Need for a Literate Workforce in the South

There is no question that the education and the skilllevels of the workforce are critical components of our nation'seconomy. National education, business and governmentleaders agree that our ability to compete in today's globaleconomy depends on a highly educated workforce. Most ofthe new jobs being created across the nation demand higherlevels of scientific, mathematic and technical skill than everbefore. Today, people with only a high school diploma qualifyfor a mere 15 percent of new jobs, compared with 40 percenttwo decades ago.

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Sunbelt Study

The cycle of under-education and consequent under-employ-ment in the South was documented in a study conducted at therequest of the Congressional Sunbelt Caucus. This study focusedon workforce literacy in the South and its impact on the Southerneconomic challenge of the 1990's. The Sunbelt study confirmed theSouth's continuing education deficit, but argued that the region'sliteracy problem must increasingly be viewed in terms ofworkforceskills. For most businesses, the deficit lies not so much with gradeschool dropouts who never learned to read, write, add or subtract,but with high school dropouts with limited literacy skills. Becausethe diversification and automation of the economy require a higherskilled workforce, this literacy problem is fully as serious as thetraditional literacy problem.

Although increasing attention is being paid to the challenge,the Sunbelt study documented the inadequacy of the state andfederal response, with fragmented public and private programsserving too few people. Thus, this study was more than an analy-sis of the workplace literacy crisis, it was also a plan of action,recommending effective approaches to closing the literacy gapthreatening the Southern economy.

Key recommendations included:

1. giving the federal government a catalytic role indeveloping higher quality and better funded adulteducation programs focusing on the workforce;

2. developing and disseminating model programs, curric-ula, and teaching technologies;

3. strengthening the relationship between adult basiceducation and the world of work and giving job train-ing programs a stronger basic education component;and

4. encouraging private sector support and enhancedpublic-private cooperation in the implementation ofprograms.

Literacy Summit

In April 1989 congressional, education, labor and literacyleaders from across the south were brought together for interactive

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round table discussions on legislative initiatives to resolve theworkplace literacy crisis. During this two day WorkplaceLiteracy Legislative Summit participants hammered out ablueprint for future legislative action. On the F asis ofthis,Congress is developing a coordinated, targeted approach toliteracy that will benefit the South and the nation.

Some of the major workplace literacy legislation per-tains to vocational education, science and technological liter-acy, and basic literacy. While legislators have not reached aconsensus about all the specifics of literacy legislation, theyhave reached agreement about the importance of an educatedworkforce. Literacy is not a partisan issue, nor is it a stateissue. The private as well as the public sector must be part ofthe solution. Workforce literacy has an enormous impact onthe entire nation; it impacts business, education, the media,and all levels of government; thus all must share the responsi-bility for seeing that solutions are sought.

Conclusion

Thus, we must build a partnership to solve the crisis.Together, we can expand the notion of literacy beyond thethree R's to match the realities of what it will take to claim ajob in the offices and factories of tomorrow. Together, we canmaintain and improve the South's economy and our nation'sposition in the global econonty as a result. We cannot afford todo otherwise.

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11:30A.M. General Session

Dr. Hanna Arlene Fingeret - "PolicyRecommendations for Workplace Literacy"

Introduction

Hanna Arlene Fingeret has been working in literacyeducation since 1969. She spent ten years in the Boston areaas a literacy tutor and teacher, program director, teachertrainer and consultant. Her research includes field studies onhow non-literate adults manage their lives and a statewideevaluation of ABE in North Carolina. She has done extensivework in the field of participatory literacy educafion and pres-ently serves as Director of Literacy South at North CarolinaState University.

Dr. Fingeret's presentation focused on the implicationsrecent research in workplace literacy education has for policyand practice . She attempted to place the federal role in legis-lation in a broader context, and to look at workplace literacynot only in terms of "what the mandate for workplace literacylegislation is", but more broadlylooking at what we need tobe thinking about conceptually when we think aboutworkplace literacy programs.

The Purpose of Workplace Literacy Education

I have had the privilege of being able to sperd timewith some workers who are in some of the workpl oe literacyprograms. These workers, these students, these 1 nersunderstand that through the work 0-ey do, they quite literallyrun the industries they work for. Because of them, the lightscome on, the heat works, the trash gets emptied, but no mat-ter how good their work, many of them feel locked into place.They feel that they are victims of language, culture, race,gender, and class discrimination. Learning to read can en-hance their lives, but does not necessarily lead to new jobs orcpportunities. Literacy is a tool for freedom, but literacy willnot set them free.

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We usually define workplace literacy in terms of thedemands of the workplace. But many of these learners areliterate, even eloquent about their workplaces. They haveanother kind of workplace literacy, they can read the world oftheir workplace with quite accurate literal comprehension.They understand about institutional racism even though theycannot spell it.

Education in the United States has traditionally beenviewed as a means of getting ahead and opening new doors.Literacy has been portrayed as a key to social mobility, get-ting a better job and having a higher standard of living. Thepresent attention to workplace literacy is a little bit different.We hear more talk now about literacy being a way of keepingyour present job and protecting yourself from obsolescence. Away of continuing your present employment and supportingAmerica's competitiveness in the global marketplace. This isliteracy as much for protecting the present as it is doing some-thing new about the future.

A basic question emerge 3. What is the purpose andunderlying rational for workplace literacy education? With-out clarity about the fundamental purpose of such programs,we cannot talk about policy. A piece of the purpose has to dowith increased productivity; but what do we mean when wesay we want an expanding economy as one of the major out-comes of workplace literacy?

When we think about purposes for workplace literacyprograms, we know literacy historically has been a tool forgaining access to power. Instrumental power (can do newthings), personal power (feel more capable of doing newthings), and political power (those who have been disenfran-chised can begin to have a new voice as citizens). Recentresearch looking at both the workplace of the future and insome cases the workplace of the present, asserts that what weneed are literate workers who are able to think critically,learn new jokss quickly and independently, and who can workeasily as members of teams. In order for those things tohappen a sophisticated level of literacy skill and personaldevelopment is required. At the same time we also see pres-sure in many places for narrow technical workplace educationprograms that will train workers in limited, job related skills,but stop short of true literacy development which has to dowith the ability to be continually learning. This is a result of

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a number of factors. Some employers do not see a need forsophisticated literacy skill development; others do not feel it istheir responsibility. In some cases employers feel threatenedby the potential consequences of broader literacy skills. Theyare concerned that workers involved in such programs willbegin demanding better working conditions, more pay or willsimply leave for more lucrative jobs where they will be treatedin a way that will make them feel better.

In addition to goals that have to do with worker's skilldevelopment, whether broadly or narrowly defined, are goalsthat have to do with economic development. A more literateworkforce will ideally mean the end of economic problems forthe United States that have to do with internatiinal competi-tiveness, as well as those that have to do with local fiscalneeds. However, we know the problems we are facing todayare not simply problems that have to do with literacy but areinstead issues that have to do with modernization, capitaliza-tion, debt reduction, monetary policy, as well as issues ofsocial justice and equity. These larger issues raise questionsabout the relationship between workplace literacy and com-munity development. Adults need the literacy skills that willsupport their involvement in economic development, develop-ing their own businesses, and in participating in local decisionmaking in an informed manner. Workplace literacy has to beunderstood as only one component of larger efforts forworkforce literacy development and only one component ofadult education. Personal, emotional, social, and cultural de-velopment has to be understood as valid, important literacygoals in addition to economic and workforce development. Itis only when we pull all these factors together that we can seethe kind of community economic development that is going tobe necessary to contribute to the larger issues around eco-nomic development in our country.

Include Attention to Lowest Skill Levels

In the long run, economic development is served by thedevelopment of our hearts and souls, as well as our intellectsand our skills. We have talked a long time as if there is somemagical point when individuals transform from being illiter-ate to literate. We are seeing now that there is no such thingas that magical point. The Young Adult Literacy Study hashad a lot to do with helping us think in terms of literacyprofiles rather than a cut point between literate and illiterate.

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This re-conceptualization from a dichotomous view to a con-tinuous view of literacy is a cornerstone for thinking broadlyabou%, workplace and workforce literacy development.

While thinking of literacy skill development in terms of

a continuum provides a truer picture of the continuing liter-acy each of us find ourselves in throughout our lives, thiscontinuum view also legitimizes using literacy resources towork with adults whose skills may already be fairly sophisti-cated. Employers fear that it will cost too much to work withemployees who have the lowest level skills. This kind ofargument dehumanizes people by treating them as replace-able parts in the production process, and ignores the largereffects of literacy educaiion. Working with individuals whoseskills are already at a sophisticated level is a short term view,but one we are confronted with often. Policy has to includeattention to adults with the lowest level of skills and to placethat in the conte4t of this continuum view of literacy andliteracy development.

A final set of goals for workplace literacy has to dowith personal development...the growth and learning of hu-man beings who also happen to be workers, family members,and community ieaders. Workplace literacy education pro-grams provide access to education for a whole group of peoplewho might otherwise not have the opportunity to continuetheir skill development. It is important that, since theseprograms are offered on the worksite, people are able to haveaccess to these programs who otherwise would not have hadaccess to them. Although the programs are on site, we areworking with whole human beings, and we need to be con-cerned about the broader goals of human development. Thus,workplace literacy programs need curricular content that willrespect the experience and the aspirations of the workers whoare involved in programs.

Address a Broad Set of Issues

It is clear that if workplace literacy programs are tosupport an expanding economy and a participatory, demo-cratic society then they cannot be narrowly job skills oriented.This is not to say that I am not a supporter of functionalcontext curriculum, but the issue has to do with whose contextand which contexts. Workplace literacy for the purposes of

supporting an expanding economy and a democratic societyhas to mean the ability to apply the technical reading andwriting skills in the context of lives, cultures, and linguisticbackground.; as well as the context of work environments.Wakplace literacy policy must reflect our knowledge thatliteracy education addresses just one aspect of the conditionsthat affect our economy today. Policy for a democratic society,as well as a healthy economy must address the broad set ofissues including discrimination and structural inequality.The dignity of workers, as well as their skills, needs to be atthe heart of workplace literacy programs if they are to servethese broader economic and social development goals over thelong term.

Enhanced Sense of Value

A positive workplace environment, the kind ofworkplace environment that research right now is talking tous about nnd saying that we need, one in which workers areable to be continuing learners, are able to learn new jobs, andto work together flexibly in teamsthis is a workplace envi-ronment that depends upon employees who have a strongsense of their own value (the value of the knowledge, skills,background and the culture of the language that they bringto their jobs and to the workplace). Workplace educationpolicy must support the development of workers' enhancedsense of their own value. This is facilitated by bringing work-ers into the policy development process, as well as the pro-gram development process from the very beginning.

Many of us were taught that first you learn to read andthen you read to learn. We now understand that this kind ofartificial separation of content and skills does not hold up.We know that literacy is fundamentally about reading. As weread the world, the way we read text is changed, and ourinteraction with text has something to do with our interactionwith the world. Language experience and culture shape themeanings we attach to experience and to text. Workplaceliteracy must support the integration of skills instruction withcontent that is mean.ingful to students. Recognizing that thiscontent may indeed have to do with peopie's jobs, but it alsomay have to do wivh the rest of their lives and their back-grounds, their roles in their families, conununities, churches,or their desire for leisure reading.

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Meaningful to Students

There are three corollaries to this point. First, thiscovtent cannot be known without workers input in curriculumdecisions. No matter how well meaning, educators and em-ployers simply cannot speak for others. Employees must beinvolved in instructional and programatic decisions. There-fore, what follows is that evaluation of workplace literacyprograms must include attention to workers learning goals, aswell as to the employer's interests. In addition, in order forthese things to happen training has to provided far literacyeducators to whom this is a relatively new way of doing busi-ness. Literacy programs traditionally have not been knownfor relevant content and literacy educators have not had muchtraining in how to create instructional materials with theirstudents. Policy has to support the provision ofadditionaltraining to literacy educators.

Flexible IM;eloping Programs

There are as many models for literacy programs asthere are programs. This kind of pluralism is important. It isimportant that companies remain flexible in their develop-ment of workplace literacy programs, and remain willing totailor their efforts to the needs of the situation and to theiremployees' characteristics. This may mean adding transpor-tation, childcare, involving other family members, or provid-ing indiAclual tutoring as well as small classes. It is impor-tant that programs are monitored to insure that employeesare provided with the greatest possible opportunity to partici-pate. Policies for workplace literacy must allow for flexibledeveloping programs that reflect the continuing growth ofemployers and workers.

Summary

In summary, I recommend that workplace literacypolicy address the broad et of issues that includes discrimi-nation and structural inequality. That it support workers'enhanced sense of their own value. That it include attentionto adults with the lowest level skills. That it support theintegration of skills instruction with content that is meaning-ful to students. That it involve v )rkers in the process ofpolicy development and in instructional and programatic

decisions. That it include evaluation that attends to theworkers' learning goals as well as to the employers' interests.That it support th'a provision of additional training for literacyeducators. That it allow for flexible developing programs thatreflect the continval learning and growing ofboth employersand their workers. And that it serve personal, emotional,social and cultural ciavelopment, as well as economic andworkforce development.

Conclusion,

Workforce and workplace literacy programs are vitallyimportant. The involvement, participation and support of theprivate sector is crucial for all of us. It is important not tolose site of the fact that our larger goal is a better world for allof us to live in. Workplace literacy policy must support coop-erative working relationships among employers, unions,educators and workers. It must be a wedge into the social andeconomic inequalities, that plague our world. It must supportthe innate dignity of every human being. Workplace literacyhas to do with reading the world that is the workplace, deal-ing with text is simply one element of literacy in theworkplace. Because it is easy to get lost in conversationsabout the economy, we must keep in mind that we are talkingabout the lives of real people...employers, workers, teachers,and learners.

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Betsy Brand - "The U.S. Department ofEducation's Workplace Program:Governmental Perspectives"

Introduction

Betsy Brand is the Assistant Secretary for the Office ofVocational and Adult Education in Washington, D.C. She hasworked extensively with various U.S. Congressional Commit-tees in the areas of labor and human resources since 1981.She is skilled in devek ping, drafting and handling legislation.Her presentation attempts to summarize her breadth of expe-rience and the governmental perspective on workplace liter-acy.

A Better Educated Workforce

I have felt since coming to the Department of Educationthat we do not spend enough time and effort focusing oneducation for work.. For the most part, we have had our fed-eral policies dictated by individuals in the academic sector.We need to recognize that there are a large number of chil-dren who will never go into an academic or baccalaureatedegree program, yet they need additional training. Thus far,we have not recognized this with our federal education poli-cies.

Today 50-60% of our children do go on for a baccalaure-ate degree, but only about 25% of that number stay and re-ceive a four year degree. What happens to the rest? Andwhat happens to those who drop out of high school and nevergo to college at all? Some will find a job, but our policies andour programs do not recognize these workbound youththepeople who some are calling the forgotten half. It is time forus to design some programs and policies that focus on thework bound youth, programs that result in some positiveexperiences for thetn. This is a far reaching broad problemthat needs to be dealt with system wide.

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There have been a lot of reports calling for a restructur-ing of our educational system. I have been pleased by thes-reports, particularly when the business sector has becomeinvolved. Since the early 1980's business has been "cryingout" about the need for our schools to educate people who canbe productive employees. Yet, we have not responded. Overthe past 12 months the business community has, in a varietyof ways, stood up and said to the educational system, "Theproduct that you are sending us is a poor product, we can't useit." This is a dramatic message, it is a strong message. Ithink it is a good message, one that schools and people in-volved in education are finally beginning to listen to andrespond to. We need to know what business wants that finalproduct to look like.

An interesting report released this past Tuesday by theCommission on the Skills of the American Workforce is titled"America's Choice: High Skills or Low Wages". The report istruly a perspective from du, business sector on what we arefacing if we don't do something to change the product that oureducation system is producing. We have an opportunity toprepare students for high skill jobs a high standard of livingand a strong economy. Or we could go about business asusual and allow our citizens to participate in low skill jobswhere they will have a low standard oiliving and obviously bein a poor position to compete in the global economy. Thisexciting report raises issues that will be very controversial,but that need to be discussed.

In the South you have been fortunate that the educa-tion system has been at the lower end of the scale nationwide.The reason you are fortunate is that this has really forced youto examine what has gone on, and what education means interms of your economy. I think what the leadership in theSouth has recognized is that educatior is tied directly toeconomic development and thus tied to the health of theeconomy in the states in the South. The connection betweeneducation and work needs to be made and has been madequickly in the South. Because this connection has been made,we are seeing a lot more activity with regard to workplaceliteracy and educating the workforce. I believe the South isleading the nation in terms of workplace literacy programs.Of the funds that we have provided under the State AdultEducation Grants, 70% goes to workplace literacy programs.There is a strong focus on workplace literacy in the South,

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and this is because your industries and business leadershave recognized that you cannot have a vibrant economywithout a well trained workforce. The South has 97% moreworkplace literacy programs than the West, 86% more thanthe North East, and 73% more than tika Midweat. These arestartling figures, but those areas of the country have tendedto have more robust economies and have not yet made theconnection.

Workplace Literacy

There are many reasons to focus on workplace liter-acy. We have technological changes facing; us that requirenew skills of our workers. In the wurkplace, however, wehave a problem not only in the area of technology, but alsoin the area of basic skills. One of every eight workers todayreads at the fourth grade level or lower, and ow, of everyfive, or 24 million workers, reads at the eighth grade level orlower. This does not even take into account immigrants andeie special needs that they have. You are all familiar withEakforge_a= and the demographics. rm not telling youanything new, most of you deal with tlr)se problems on adaily basis.

We have a tremendous amount of work to do in thearea of workplace literacy. We have a tremendous amount ofwork to do in our schools. So the Department of Education islooking at b.th a prevention and remediation side of theproblem. Remediation through the Adult Education Act andworkplace literacy programs that we fund, as well as otheron going efforts. Prevention through the Carl Perkins Voca-tional Education Act and many of our other education pro-grams.

The Federal Agenda

Education is at the top of the President's agenda. Youhave probably heard about his Education Summit held lastSeptember in Charlottesville, Virginia with each of the 50Governors. I would like to share with you the six goals thatcame out of that summit. As I do, think about how you cansupport them, how you might be able to get involved inthem, how as a parent you can support them with your ownchildren. Take them back to your local communities; focus

ou them. We are all stock holders in our education systemand all of us need to be involved in what happens in the K-12system, because it is eventually going to effect all of us. Thepresident has called upon us all as stock holders to becomeinvolved.

1. By the year 2000 all children in America willstart school ready to learn. (There are a tremen-dous number of reports that tell us if childrenstart out in Kindergarten or first grade on parwith their fellow students, that they have amuch better chance of staying in school, retain-ing their normed grade and graduating. This isan important goal because, if we lose childrenearly on, we may lose them forever.)

2. By the year 2000 the High School graduationrate will increase to at least 90%. (Our gradu-ation rate right now is around 75%, we havequite a way to go.)

3. By the year 2000 Americans will leave grades 4,8 and 12 having demonstrated competency overchallenging subject matter including english,math, science, history and geography, and thatevery school in America will insure that allstudents learn to use their minds well so thatthey may be prepared for responsible citizenship,further learning and productive employment inour modern economy. (This goal goes to theheart of the skills one needs to be a productiveemployee.)

4. By the year 2000 all United States students willbe first in the world in science and math achieve-ment.

5. By the year 2000 every adult in America will beliterate and will posses the knowledge and skillsnecessary to compete in a global economy andexercise the rights and responsibilities of citizen-ship.

6. By the year 2000 every school in America will befree of drugs and violence and will offer a disci-plined environment conducive to learning,

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A statement released by the President and Governorswho attended this summit reads as follows: "America's educa-tional performance must be second to none in the 21st century.Education is central to our quality of life, it is at the heart ofour economic strength and security, our creativity in the artsand letters, our invention in the sciences, and the perpetuationof our cultural values. Education is the key to American indus-trial competitiveness."

We have tried to respond to the areas of adult literacyand workplace literacy by some of the initiatives we haveundertaken at the Department of Education. We have in-creased our budget for adult education and are seeking thelargest budget for the Adult Education Act ever. We are sup-porting increased funds for the workplace literacy programs sothat we can fund almosi, double the number of projects. We areasking for additional funding for homeless programs that werun which are tied to job training. We have funded some excel-lent projects under the Workplace Literacy Program, throughthem we are learning about what works and what doesn't workin teaching adults. Because you cannot teach adults the sameway you teach an 18 year old, workplace literacy programsmake their education relevant and meaningful. Adults aremuch more willing to learn under those circumstances. We arealso working on coordination of programs and services, andtechnical assistance with the dissemination of information tothe field.

Along these lines, President Bush has created an inter-agency group called The Taskforce on Literacy. This taskforceis designed to find ways to allow the different agencies who areresponsible for basic skills programs to learn from each otherand work more closely together. They will attempt to makedefinitions consistent and performance standards consistent.Also, they will look at ways to encourage service integrationand to make services more flexible at a single site.

The Department of Education will be learning a lot fromthose in the field over the next few years. But, once we havethis information, what will we do with it? First, we plan to do alot more dissemination and technical assistance. Also, we planto be a lot more visible out in the states. The Department hasrequested money to create a National Literacy Institute onResearch and Practice. Basically, it would be a national centerthat would provide clearinghouse services, technical assistance,

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research and demonstration projects, workshops and confer-ences to inform those out in the field about what works andhow to do what works. That center will also be supported byfunds from the Department of Labor, as well as the Depart-ment of Health and Human Services. These three agencieswill serve as advisors to guide the activities of the center. Inaddition, we will be funding more research. As a part of thiswe will be evaluating the results of the workplace literacyprojects funded this past year to find out what works andwhat does not. The result of that evaluation will be widelydisseminated.

Conclusion

In the future we will need to tap into the great pool oftalent and experience of all of our citizens. In order forAmerica to be competitive and to remain competitive in theglobal economy, we will have to change the way things havebeen done. We can export our jobs, we can import workers,or we can build up the skill of our citizens. Learning must bea lifetime project, people will be touching the adult educationsystem throughout their lives from now on. Education willnot be ending at high school or college, technology will notallow that and new ways of doing business will not allowthat. We have to train people to adapt to whole new ways of

doing things.

As President Bush has said, "We must bring in thegenerations, harness the unused talent of the elderly and theunfocused energy of the young. For not only is leadershippassed from generation to generation, but so is stewardship."We have the responsibility to pass this educational legacy on.Our nation needs a world class workforce and our childrendeserve a world class education.

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Friday, Julie 22, 1990

3:00 P.M. Panel Presentation

Paul Jurino and Anthony Sarmiento -"Effective Employee Basic Skills Programs:Roles for Labor & Business"

Introduction

Paul Jurmo is the Senior Program Associate for theBusiness Council for Effective Literacy, Inc. (BCEL). AnthonySarmiento is Asastant Director of the Department of Educa-tion for the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C. During this panelpresentation, the two discussed the important roles businessand labor, as well as educators and public policy makers,should play in building more effective workplace literacyefforts. The discussion began with the business perspectivepresented by Paul Jurmo, followed by Anthony Sarmientowith the labor perspective. Participants were then given theopportunity to ask questions about implementing the ideaspresented.

Part I - The Business Perspective

The nation has a lot to learn from the workplace liter-acy efforts which are now underway in the South. Policyorganizations like the Southern Growth Policies Board, theSunbelt Institute, and the Appalachian Regional Commissionhave for several years been focusing the attention ofpublicpolicy makers on the workforce implications of the region'sliteracy problems. The region plays h. .t to community basedliteracy practitioners who have developed nationally recog-nized models for combining literacy education with economicdevelopment.

The South has a lot going on in workplace literacy. Butdespite the hard work, the workplace literacy field in theUnited States is still in its infancy. We as a field, not only inthe South but across the country, have a lot of work to do tobuild on the experience we've gained so far. We have a greatneed for better informed policy-making and for high qualitystaff development opportunities.

The Business Perspective

Although it would be nice to be able to say there is abusiness perspective on workplace literacy issues, that issimply not the case. The reality is that businesses are re-sponding to the employee basic skills question in may differentways. After observing what the business community has saidand done aratmd this issue for the past six years, I have cometo the conclusion that there is no single businessperspective. What seems in fact to be the case is that thebusiness community is responding in many ways to the ques-tion of how prepared U.S. workers are to handle the newworkplace.

In some cases, businesses haven't given the questionmuch thought at all and haven't really developed a position onthe topic. There are a variety of reasons for this lack of action.Some have not yet been hit in the face, or in the pocketbook bythe painful experience of having an under- educatedworkforce. Others are so preoccupied with financial mattersthat management does not have the time to look at the issueof employee basic skills. Still others have simply not beenexposed to the concept of workplace literacy.

There are also businesses which have considered theissue and found that they have a worker basic skills problem,but have decided to ignore the problem. While some of thesecompanies lack the resources necessary to begin a workplaceliteracy program, more often they hope the problem willresolve itself through company lay-offs and the purchase ofnew technology. In other cases, businesses look at the prob-lem and decide the solution lies in improving traditionalschool education. This response ignores the fact that millionsof low literate workers are already beyond school age and willbe in the workforce .:'or the next 20 to 30 years.

Some businesses, realizing they have an employee basicskills problem, seek a solution that will not cost them muchtime or money. These businesses typically look for an educa-tional institution or vendor to provide a low-cost, "quick"solution to the problem. Other businesses recognize that theskills of the available workforce are nft what the companyrequires, and the employer decides that the most efficient wayto deal with the problem is to find a test or other screeningdevice to eliminate inadequately-skilled workers before theyare hired.

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Finally, there are those few businesses who have satdown, done their homework, and realized that an effectiveresponse to the employee basic skills problem will require anumber of short and long term efforts on many fronts. Time,thought, a collaborative spirit, and hard resources are devotedto dealing with the problem. And these things will continueto need to be devoted, not just by these businesses, but by theentire nation if we are to effectively deal with the millions ofunder-educated adults who will make up a good chunk of ourworkforce for the next 20, 30, or more years.

The Growing Interest in Workplace Literacy

Workplace literacy has been a hot topic in recent years.Business and labor leaders have been told by public policymakers, educators and the media that they should be payingattention to the basic skills of their workers. They have beenlearning that the work force is changing as the pool of avail-able workers is increasingly made up of people who havedeficiencies in the area of basic skills. They are also learningthat the workplace is changing. Workers are now expected tohave higher levels and broader ranges of basic skills.

In response to what they have been told and in re-sponse to their own direct experience, business and laborleaders have now begun to pay more attention to employeetraining and education issues. Businesses have been formingtask forces, examining workforce resources in their communi-ties and in their industries, assessing the basic skills of theirown employees, and in some case! aa-ually jumping in andsetting up programs for their employees. Unions have in-creasingly done the same.

Lessons Learned to Date

On the surface, it seems as if the key players havebecome aware, shown some interest, done some planning, anddevoted some resources to begin tackling the employee basicskills problem. But we should not be satisfied with wherethings stand today. The quality of existing programs and thelevel of commitment to these programs are not what theyshould be. If educators, employers, unions, or public policymakers really want to develop effective employee basic skills

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efforts in this country, some hard questions must be dealt withand a good deal more groundwork must be done before we go

much further.

Far more care must be taken when assessing needs. Intoo many cases an employee education effort is implementedwithout a true understanding of the problem or the range ofpossible solutions. Understanding the literacy problem in aparticular workplace requires careful study by all partiesconcerned. A team of managers, union representatives, educa-tors and employees should be formed. This team should firstdo their homework to learn from the considerable work al-ready done by researchers and other employers and unions.

Basic skills are no longer defined as the 3 R's welearned in grammar school. Thus, an employee educationplanning team should use a broader definition which includestechnical and sodal skills. Through employee (and supervisor)interviews, observations of workers actually on the job, andproduction record reviews, a planning team will produce aclear picture of the skill areas with which workers might behaving problems. These are the areas an employee educationprogram should be designed to accomplish.

Once problem areas are identified, the team needs tocontinue their systematic planning by investigating possiblestrategies for responding to them and by developing the appro-priate response for their workplace. Rushing in to set up aneducational program is not always the best response. Some-times restructuring particular jobs to enable workers to per-form more efficiently and safely with the skills they alreadypossess is the most appropriate response. Sometimes rewrit-ing the materials used in a job to make them more easilyunderstood by the workers who have to use them is the mostappropriate response.

In most cases, however, developing an instructionalprogram is the best route to take. Yet, often planners of em-ployee basic education programs have little prior experienceputting together a literacy program. Many naturally assumethat any instructional method will work. This is obviously afalse assumption. Research has shown that, too often, tradi-tional literacy programs have simply adopted academic

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instructional approaches found in school. This curricula haslittle direct relevance to the particular job tasks employeesface each day. If mastery ofjob-related literacy tasks is atleast part of the program's intended purpose, such standard-ized curricula are not a direct route to those job-related objec-tives. Planners should decide first what they want to accom-plish with an educational effort. By beginning here, they willbe better able to decide on the best method to reach thesegoals.

As an altemative to the traditional curricula whichteach skills in a vacuum that is isolated from meaningfuluses, some literacy practitioners have developed a contextual-ized approach to instruction. The contextualized is struc-tured to enable the learner to learn by doing, to develop thestrategies used in fluent reading and writing by actuallypracticing those strategies in real, meaningful activities. Notwo of these programs look the same. Some define the "con-text" for the learners, while others involve employees them-selves in defining literacy tasks and topics on which to buildthe curriculum.

A growing number of workplace educators are develop-

ing a third alternative for employee basic skills educationwhich rejects these two instructional approaches. This thirdalternative goes by a number of names: participatory, collabo-

rative, learner centered, worker centered, partnership educa-tion, and other terms. Basically, all see the worker, not as acompany machine which needs some technical fine tuning, butas a human being with considerable strengths and interests.Learners' personal qualities are seen as assets; thus participa-tory workplace programs are structured to provide multipleopportunities for workers to build on their strengths, enablethem to think critically, analyze and solve problems, and com-municate clearly.

The emphasis of needs assessment in participatoryprograms is not so much on workers' deficits as on their exist-ing abilities, interests and potential. Learners study articlesin the company newsletter, work related statistics, and othertexts related to the topics which interest them. They alsowrite about those topics, share their writings and give feed-back to one anotLer. Verbal communication and math activi-ties, even complex tasks, are likewise built around real worldinterest. By encouraging workers to focus on a wide range of

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topics of personal interest, participatory programs reinforcethe notion that language is a tool which workers can use toaccomplish meaningful, interesting goals.

In this collaborative arrangement, employers and edu-cators are seen as partners who help define what is studied inthe program, but they don't dominate the process. In thiscollaborative process, workers' self-esteem and team spirit arereinforced as they realize that they have something to say andhave colleagues who are willing to list;en.

Actions Needed

These kinds of carefully planned programs, unfortu-nately, remain a distinct minority within the field. Theseprograms require a number of ingredients no t yet widelyavailable. Our challenge is to make sure that the basic ingre-dients of vision, cooperation, qualified personnel, and materialresources are in place before we go much further with literacyefforts which should be aiming at creating not only a moreproductive workforce but a more just and democratic societyas well.

Employers, unions, and public policy makers faced withsetting up a worker education program should not settle onquick fix solutions. They need to do careful needs assessmentsand resource development. By doing so, they will be engagingin the same kind of thoughtful planning they would give toany other business decision.

Vendors of educational texts, software, videos, andconsulting services are often overlooked as players in theworkplace literacy efforts. As a field, we ne4d to encourageworkplace literacy publishers and consultants to become ourallies in the development of appropriate methodologies ratherthan function as competitors for scarce educational resources.It is also time that more representatives of the news media getbeyond merely repeating what is already known about theworkplace literacy issue. The public needs to know whatneeds to be done, and by whom, to really create a strongAmerican workforce and society. The media can help educateus all.

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Adult educators need to take the time to rememberthat the process of developing a quality educational programrequires considerable technical skills and a clear vision. Inworkplace programs, we are being pushed into a focus on thebottom line when in fact we know that employee basic skillseducation is much more than fine tuning workers' technicalskills to increase corporate profits.

Finally, we need to remember the central role whichworkers themselves play in these efforts. We mustn't forgetthat the success of workplace literacy education in this coun-try will be largely up to the workers who will participate inthe programs we create with them. If we leave them out ofthe process of putting together our educational program, wewill likely fail to take advantage of their considerable valu-able knowledge and positive motivations.

Conclusion

Workers in the United States have a lot going for themalready. That includes those who didn't get the opportunityto develop strong literacy skills. If the rest of us do our part,we can make sure all of our workforce get a real chance tosucceed this time around.

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Part II - The Labor Perspective

There are many important issues in the area ofworkplace literacy I could have chosen to talk about today.I could have discussed the difficulty we have had on the De-partmant of Education's Literacy Definition Committee indefining literacy. One of the debates we had in trying to comeup with a definition of literacy for the United States as itmeasures adults throughout the country was over the natureof literacy. Should we emphasize only the use of printed andwritten information or should we emphasize both the use andthe production of printed and written information? I couldhave chosen to talk about all the different ways unions havebeen involved in worker education. Why we are so interestedin this and why unions are bargaining for more in the collec-tive bargaining agreement to set up education programs.However, and more importantly, I would like to talk about re-lationships.

The Labor Perspective

There has been a lot of discussion so far about partner-ships, but what is the nature of these partnerships? When wetalk abt relationships we need to recognize that each part-ner has different perspectives, values and priorities. How dowe resolve these differences? How do we acknowledge themand move on? These questions are important to unions, be-cause there will always be differences between unions andmanagement. This is not to say that the stereotype of laborand management always fighting is true. It is far from trueand we have more in common than we have differences; weagree that there is a need for increased adult education butwe debate dbout what to do and how to utilize the resourcesavailable.

How do we take care of these relationships? Partner-ships are important, so how do we make them work whenthere are differences among the partners? We have heard thejoke that says the definition of coordination is an unnaturalact between two unconsenting partners...it is even worsewhen you talk about a three way relationship between em-ployees, employers and educators. We must first ask thequestion: "What is the quality of this partnership?" As far asthe business/ employee relationship is concerned, the rhetoric

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about employees being a company's greatest resource needs tobe more than rhetoric.

The Example of Frito-Lay

At the Frito-Lay Orlando plant, employees were shownin a variety of ways how important they were. Workers re-ceived all kinds of signals that they were truly valued bymanagement and that the rhetoric was not just rhetoric.What were some of these signals? The Orlando plant had ano-layoff policy. Even when new technology came in, employ-ees working the jobs replaced by machines were given theopportunity to retrain for new jobs. Like mo3t companies,they had two alternatives as new technology affected theirplant. They could fire people who didn't have the skills andreplace them with people who did, or they could retrain thepeople they had. This plant recognized that someone who hasshown 15 years of loyalty to the company had something tooffer that is not as tangible. Also, they were willing to back uptheir commitment statements with money to educate theiremployees. They allowed employees to go to classes as part oftheir regular eight hour work day, put in a new educationcenter with computers, and even after the Federal grantmoney was gone, they continued the program. All participa-tion in the program was voluntary and employees believed itwas everyone's responsibility to make the company continue tobe productive. Finally, the company talked about empoweringtheir workforce. Is this kind of relationship attainable whereyou are now?

In Frito-Lay Orlando, Kelly Mossberg made it clear thatthe relationship was a real team. Each partner was in theprogram for the long haul. At the same time employers andemployees figure out the nature of their relationship, theeducational partners need to monitor their relationship, credi-bility and trust with the private sector.

Building Relationships Among Partners:Education & Business

I suggest the educational and business partners thinkabout how they will design their own formative evaluation.How will you rate the metacognitive skill of each of the part-ners. These are the kinds of things we rate our participants

on, how do we rate? Part of this will involve communicationthat goes beyond throwing people together. The partnersmust learn about each other. Those of you in education mustnow not only become experts in learning theory and instruc .tional design, but also experts about the industry you findyourself working within. If you are not aware of the kinds oftrends and pressures the individuals you are working with areworking under, the kinds of new technology that are facingthose individuals, the consolidation of ownership that may becausing changes...then how will you come across as credible tothose hardline, bottom line managers?

How will you come across as credible to employees whenthey get the feeling you don't appreciate the kind ofjobs,tasks and work conditions they face? Look at the relationshipbetween supervisors and employees. You can tell a lot aboutthis relationship by looking at the work conditions and theconditions of the equipment ...are the signals there similar tothose we "saw" at Frito-Lay? When you talk about the impor-tance of linking literacy/basic skills training programs toexisting training at the work site, are you making the assump-tion that there is existing training at the worksite?

If you look at recent research by the American Societyfor Training and Development or the Society for Human Re-source Management, you will find that only 10% of the Ameri-can workforce gets any kind of formal training on the job. Asa general rule, the more education you bring to a job the morelikely you are to get soireone to invest in maintaining thateducation. When you look at who gets the training it is themanagers and highly paid technicians. The less education youbring to a job the less likely you are to get someone to invest inmaintaining that education. In surveys done by their own,only 26% of employers said they are interested in basic skillsnrograms. Seventy-five percent said that they were not inter-ested or that they did not think it was their job.

Building Relationships Among Partners:Education & Labor

Educators should not only look at the job task, but thetotal work environment and culture. Begin by reading Busi-ness Week or the Wallstreet Journal to follow some of the cur-rent trends and ideas that concern the work partner. If youare in a unionized plant, read books about unions and worker

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involvement, look over a copy of the contract and the collectivebargaining agreement to find out the rules that govern theworkplace right now. And draw on your own experience.Think about the jobs you have had and the job you have now.Who gives training where you work? Is learning a value inyour organization, has anyone ever asked you for your ideasabout what the priorities ought to be or what you will beassigned to do? Only about 25% of most companies even doanything like an employee survey.

We are all illiterate in some particular context depend-ing upon what we are being asked to do, the nature of thereading material we are given or the nature of the writing wehave been asked to do. Once we realize there is not muchdifference between us and the individuals we are trying toserve we will start to design programs with their interest inmind and they will come to us.

The alliance between labor organizations and educatorsis a natural one. Just as you have said that you want educa-tion to go beyond productivity and job training, so we in thelabor movement want education to go beyond productivity andjob training. It is not just important that people be able to dotheir job, it is important that people be able to perform theirresponsibilities as citizens as well as union members. If ourmembers cannot read their union newspaper, their contracts,proposals and collective bargaining agreements, how will theybe able to vote in an informed waywhether it be for a candi-date for union office or a candidate for elected office in ourgovernment?

Conclusion

In 1916 Samuel Gompers, the first AFL-CIO Presidentcaptured Labor's perspective. He said, "Education is not anarbitrary thing that automatically ends with a certain year oflife, but must continue throughout life if the individual isreally to live and make progress. Education is an attitudetoward life, an ability to seo and understand problems andutilize information forces fcr the best solution to life's prob-lems." Education has nothing to do with productivity specifi-cally, but speaks of human potential and helping our mem-bers do what they want to do and reach for whatever goalsthey have set for themselves.



Larry Mikulecky - "Recent Research of WhatWorks and What Doesn't Work in the Workplace"

Introduction

Dr. Mikulecky is Professor of Education at Indiana Uni-versity as well as the Chair of the Language Education De-partment there. His research examines the literacy require-ments for success in business. He has served as a consultantto numerous governmental agencies and school districts. Heis also author of over 75 published works.

Dr. Mikulecky's presentation summarized, in part, achapter that he and Rad Drew have recently completed forpublication. The explanation here will attempt to summarizesome of that chapter and Dr. Mikulecky's remarks. The chap-ter, "Basic Literacy Skills in the Workplace" will appear asChapter 24 of the text, Handhoksf.Rading.Eggeargh;_id,ume It (1991), Longman.

What is Basic to Functional Literacy in theWorkplace?

By the 1970's research had established that Americanadults spend more time reading and writing in the workplacethan they do anywhere else. Since so much of adult readingtime is spent on work-related material, it becomes essentialthat we understand the reading demands encountered inthese materials.

The definition of functional literacy continues to bemuddled; there is little agreement on what skills actuallycomprise literacy. Thus, literacy specialists define literacy ina number of ways and even disagree about the best ways tomeasure literacy levels. Some prefer to look at job literacycompetencies while others prefer establishing grade levelequivalencies.

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Using grade level indicators is somewhat problematic.Research has shown that workers can read work-relatedmaterials at a higher grade level than they can newspaper-like materials. Sticht (1986), found a variance of up to fourgrade levels when reading job-related materials. Familiaritywith the topic and format seem to attribute to this finding.Therefore, grade level defini+ions of literacy are particularlyineffective as a reader's background knowledge increases.

It appears that the ability to process information by anindividual may be a better predictor of functional literacy taskdifficulty than the more traditional indicators of readingdifficulty.

Literacy Demands in the Workplace andWorkplace Training

There are a small and shrinking number ofjobs requir-ing little or no literacy, and the amount of literacy demandsappears to be increasing in most sectors of the workplace.

In 1980 Diehl and Mikulecky examined 100 workers ina representative cross-section ranging from executive vicepresidents to fork-lift drivers. Only 2% of the occupationsexamined required no reading or writing, in fact most re-quired workers to spend nearly two hours daily reading print,charts, graphs, and computer terminals. Difficulty of on-the-job reading material ranged from the ninth to the twelfthgrade levels.

Many high school students are unprepared for usingliteracy skills in the workplace. Rather than reading from asingle text, workers are required to gather information fromseveral sources to solve problems, provide services and per-form tasks. Problem-solving reading skills (the abilities to setpurposes, self-question, summarize information, monitorcomprehension, and make useful notes) often distinguishsuperior workers from adequate workers when exhibited atthe workplace.

The literacy demands for vocational training appear tobe even higher. Mikulecky (1982) found that students in job-training programs actually spent more time reading texts andmanuals than did high schooi juniors. Readability formulas

have indicated that training materials range in difficulty fromeighth-grade level to college-graduate level. While these highlevels create a demand oh vocational students, the student'sinterest, motivation and familiarity with a given subjectmatter often offset some degree of the difficulty.

It is clear that an individual's success in the classroomand the workplace is dependent, in part, on an ability to readand apply information obtained from complex contextual andgraphic materials. Literacy skills in vocational training andwork ',settings include reading to solve problems and makejudgements,

Literacy Skills Demands Have Been Increasingwith Scme Exceptions

The difficulty levels of occupational reading are quitehigh. Even blue collar v.orkers average more than one andone-half hours of daily job reading. Though having a wealthof background knowledge on a topic can lower reading diffi-culty levels, the heaviest job-related reading is performed bynew workers learning new jobs and these are the least likelyto have the needed background experience.

Literacy needs have changed. For example, materialshandlers have traditionally been the employees who picked upboxes and moved them from place ts place. Muscles notbrains were hired. Today in many industries the same jobsrequire that employees sit in chairs and run computers thatmonitor automated warehouses. They keep real-time invento-ries and do real-time quality control. They now have a muchmore important role in the management of the operation in-tellectually Limn ever before.

Fragmented, assembly line type jobs are now fre-quently shipped out of the country, leaving Americans withlow literacy abilities without employment. Many serviceindustries are attempting to compensate for the low skillsthrough the use of pictures on cash registers, robots andcomputerized pricing. These are attempts to eliminate mis-takes by lower skilled employees and in many cases reducethe need for lower skilled workers altogether. General Mo-tors, for example, is quickly approaching its goal of an 80percent reduction in non-skilled positions through the in-creased use of robots.

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The Changing Nature of Work

As the nature of work changes, so do the accompanyinglevels of literacy skills required. Even though we have beeninformed in numerous reports that service industry jobs willmake up the greatest number of new jobs in the immediatefuture, a good deal of increased paperwork and regular man-aging of information to solve problems will be required.

While much research, including that of Mikulecky, tellsus that high-tech jobs will make up only a small percentage offutive jobs, occupations that have traditionally requiredminimal basic skills are becoming more corrplex, demandinghigher-level reading, writing and computational skill. Someoccupations will show a decrease in skill requirements, butmost will move from low-skill to middle-skill levels.

Relationship of Literacy Shills to JobPerformance

The underlying assumption that literacy skill levelsand job performance are directly related has not been demon-strated in an overwhelming way in research. Most of theresearch is sketchy and based on military studies.

While reading ability has been shown to be a moderatepredictor ofjob performance, literacy and cognitive perform-ance do not totally explain job performance. A much higherrelationship was noted between job performance and theability to apply and use reading, writing, and computationskills critically. Low ability reading levels, however, do resultin losses in production, quality, and general corporate per-formance through costly accidents and mistakes.

To summarize, literacy skills appear to be related to job per-formance in at least two ways:

1. the best workers can communicate and use printto solve problems; and

2. the least effective workers do not use print insuch ways and may be prone to costly dangerouserrors in situations calling for the use of basicskills.

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How Generic and Transferable are LiteracySkills?

For many years it was assumed that once basic skillswere learned, they would easily be transferable to theworkplace or vocational training. Researchers, however, havefound that transfer on the part of learners is severely limited.Duffy (1985) noted that transfer from one reading task toanother depends on the similarity of components (the process-ing requirements) of the tasks. For example, Sticht (1982)reported that military recruits given traditional literacy-skilltraining made gains while in class, but tended to revert andlose their skills within eight weeks. Personnel retained 80percent of their end-of-course gain in job literacy training andonly 40 percent of their end-of-course gain in general reading.

According to Mikulecky et al. the most effective jobliteracy training programs appear to integrate literacy skillstraining with actual job training. Programs such as this avoidthe risk of mistakenly assuming transfer or mistakenly count-ing on generic skills.

Effective Training Programs

A key characteristic of effective workplace literacyprograms is a job-oriented approach that employs tasks,materials, and training directly linked to the functional con-text in the workplace. This increases the likelihood of trans-fer and continued practice of &ails and stracegs mastered intraining (Sticht & Mikulecky, 1984).

Dr. Mikulecky discussed several military and iivilianprograms in which teaching materials were developed usingtable of content, indexes, tables and graphs that were neededon jobs. He discussed the use of video disc and computerapplications as they have been developed for specific pro-grams. He also described a retraining program which hired areading specialist to help employees gain mastery of technicalvocabulary, concepts, and materials. The specialist set upspecial study guides to break down assignments into manage-able tasks and in some cases rewrote or redesigned materialsto lower difficulty levels.

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4 s

Several conclusions could be made. It does appearpossible to make fairly rapid gains in the ability to comp..e-bend technical material if training is focused on that material.General literacy improvement, however, was less apparent insuch programs. Best results seemed to occur when basicskills training was integrated with technical training. Match-ing training to the application on the job appears to bc themost successful approach.

Modifying Literacy Demands Via JobPerformance Aids

Training is not the only way to narrow the gap betweenworker literacy abilities and workplace demands. Informationcan be restructured so that it is more accessible and compre-hensible to workers. The restructured information is oftencalled job performance aids (JPA).

Performance aids are usually based on a task analysisof the jobs to be accomplished by the employee. While theyvary in format, typically check.lists, flowcharts, step-by-stepdirections and computerized guidance programs are used. Jobperformance aides are designed to improve job performanceand lower the time needed for training.

Needed Rc march

Dr. Mikulecky noted five areas of research which still needattention:

1. developing workplace literacy process models;2. determining the generalizability and limits of

transfer for literacy strategies in the workplace;3. examining the cost-effectiveness of workplace

literacy training efforts;4. technology's role in workplace literacy training-,

and5. economic and political issues related to race and

social class.

Research in the area of cost-effectiveness would beparticularly helpful to businesses considering a workplacetraining program. Workplace literacy is often concerned with

46

the cost-benefit ratio of training. Military research by Sticht(1982) indicates that a grade-level gain in reading abilitytakes approximately 100 hours of engaged literacy trainingtime. Focusing on job specific training can cut ae time andthus cut costs, but gains may be limited to the job-specificmaterials.

Multistranded Approaches

There appear to be three major problem areas inworkplace literacy. These areas relate to:

1. extreme low-level literates who are unable tofunction independently with even simple print

(this is the smallest number of workers but those who are foremost

on the public's mind) ;

2. new and experienced workers who can read at amoderate level (the sports page), consider them-selves literate, but derive little benefit from ex-pensive training because of insufficient reading,computing, and study abilities,

(this includes the vast majority of workers who may even have ahigh school degree yet test too far below minimum training levelsto be successful in on-going training ); and

3, workers at nearly all ability levels who makesome job-related literacy mistakes that influencesafety, productivity and promotability

(mistakes are reported by employers as (he major literacy problem.Literacy-related productivity problems involve mistakes such asthe need to redo correspondence or a safety error and block theability to implement new productivity innovations ).

Most work sites experience all three of the above problemareas. It is unlikely that a single solution will solve all ofthem. A multistranded approach which offers varying solu-tions to varying problems is needed.

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Conclusions

There is a gap between the literacy abilities needed tobe productive in the workplace and the ability levels of asignificant percentage of workers. This gap is largely theresult of a general increase in the demands of most jobs thathas occurred at the same time that many very low-skilled jobshave been disappearing or shifted to nations where la)lor isless expensive.

Because a disproportionate percentage of black andHispanic workers are among those with the most inadequateskills, our ability to thrive economically may be dependentupon our ability to integrate these workers into our laborforce more productively. We must recognize that there areseveral workplace literacy problems and that they call fordiffering solutions. The workplace of the 1990's may requireas many different educational resources as our school systemspresently require.

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10:00A.M. Concurrent Session

Note: Only summaries from two of the four concurrents sessions wereobtained during the conference, they were prepared by participants inthe sessions indicated.

Dr. Tom Valentine "Developing Curriculumin the Workplace"

Curriculum provides a reason for student placementand direction for the program. In order to design curriculumfor a workplace literacy program, educators must visit theworksite to gather information for planning purposes. Thisinformation should include: the literacy education needs ofthe corporation, the goals of the proposed program, the re-sources needed for the proposed program and the nature ofthe employees the program would need to serve. Specificquestions to ask when gathering this information include:

1. The Literacy Needs of the Corporation:

- how do we know some employees in the corporationneed literacy education?

- educational level of workers?- literacy related job problems?

2. The Goals of the Proposed Program:

to what extent will the proposed program be expectedto increase production in the corporation?

- to what extent will the proposed program be expectedto increase job satisfaction among employees?

- to what extent will the proposed program be expectedto increase employees' self-esteem?

- to what extent will the proposed program be expectedto help employees with literacy tasks not related towork?

- to what extent will the proposed program be expectedto help improve the community in which the corpora-tion ref. ides?

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- does the corporation consider this program to beprimarily an employee benefit or primarily produc-tion-oriented training?

- how will the corporation judge the success of theprogram?

3. The Resources Needed for the Proposed Program:

- what resources (i.e. instructional location, materials,release time, money) will the corporation contributeto the program?

- what resources will the educational provider beexpected to contribute?

- who will staff the program?- where will the program be housed?

how much money is available for curriculum develop-

ment?

4. The Nature of the Employees the Program WouldServe:

- who exactly will the program be designed to serve?- how many of these employees are there?

are employees unionized?- why might those employees choose to enroll in the

program (incentives and benefits)?why might those same employees choose not to enroll(threats and competing demands)?

- who can best inform us about the employees probablereaction to such a program?

During preliminary activities talk with supervisors,employees, union representatives, tour the plant and identifysample on-the-job reading, writing and math tasks. Initialcontact requires realism, and often you must educate thebusiness as well as the employees.

Be sure instruction is geared toward specific tasks -this kind of instruction is the most productive. Workersmust see that the prcgram values learning and expects suc-cess from them.

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Jorie Philippi - "Training in WorkplaceLiteracy"

A multi-stranded approach to curricultmi design is themost successful for program development. This type of ap-proach meets the needs of both the employee and the em-ployer. It involves the learner as a whole person and trans-fers to whole-life situations. A multi-stranded approachutilizes metacognitive methods to focus on or mirror job skillsas applied to life skills.

To be successful in selling your training to business,you need to understand the agenda or criteria for need in thetargeted industry. Your program competes with various otherinternal and external forces for time, material, monies, andother resources. All businesses and industries have their ownagenda.

The focus of all workplace literacy training is to servethe basic worker. To make that person promotable and ingeneral a more successful employee and citizen. There is somuch knowledge out there that people cannot process effec-tively. You are charged with helping people access the knowl-edge they need. So help your clients set realistic expectations.

There are corporate and individual expectations. Donot make the mistake of promising more than you can effec-tively deliver. If your program attempts to be too broad basedor to remediate too deeply you are doomed to fail. Understandthe changes which are desirable to make a positive impact inthe specific workplace. Compare these desired changes to thecorporate alloted time frame. Be realistic in marketing expec-tations. While focused adult learners can make significantprogress fairly quickly, it is impossible to remediate twelveyears of poor education in six weeks. You can positively im-pact job specific skills very effectively.

It is a recognized academic goal to teach informationand expect transfer to general life situations. In reality, 80%of what you teach is lost within six weeks if it is not reinforcedby frequent practice. People are being overwhelmed by theknowledge explosion. We are all being exposed to more mate-rial than we can internalize, thus reinforcement is ever morecritical.

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To be competent performers in our society, and to de-velop a good image of self worth, people need to hold an im-portant job. Today this requires critical thinking skills andthe ability to make choices on every level. The enculturationprocess of being on welfare erases the ability to make choices.

The system does not allow productive choices; the systemdictates behavior. Thus, recipients gradually loose theirability to choose effectively. Training empowers workers tobecome and reinain fully functional. Today it is necessary tobe promotable just to retain a job, even the most basic entrylevel job is becoming more technical. A job candidate must beable to read warnings, follow directions, interpret signals,and probably be computer literate. Workplace changes arenot going to stop. It is our job as trainers to help employeesmeet the increased challenges these changes will bring.

To be functional, training materials must access thefamiliar - both in the workplace and in broader life situ-ations. Analyze a specific segment need and design materi-als to meet that need.

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11:45A.M. Closing Ltmcheon

Faye Fowler - "Upgrading Academic Skills inthe WorkplaceA Success Story at Duke PowerCompany"

Introduction

Faye Fowler serves as Director of Human ResourcesPlanning, Development and Employee Relations, as well asAssistant to the Vice President of Htunan Resources for DukePower Company. She has been with Duke since 1960 and hasworked primarily in the areas of employee relations andimprovement. Her presentation dealt with the way in whichbasic skills training relates to changing work requirementsspecifically at Duke, but her observations are easily applicableto worksites throughout the South.

The Need for Higher Skills in a ChangingWorkplace

As you are well aware, there is a looming mismatchbetween the education of employees and the educationalrequirements of the jobs in this country. As educators, youknow the statistics and the predictions better than I do. Butas a representative of a major employer in North and SouthCarolina, I can tell you that what I do know frightens me. AtDuke Power Company we are seeing a shrinking labor pool,fewer qualified applicants for our job openingsno applicantsfor some job openings, and an ever increasing training re-quirement for employees in some areas due to regulation andrapid changes in technology. If that is what we are seeingtoday, what will the future look like?

The Future World of Work, a report published by theUnited Way of America paints a sobering picture of theworkforce needs by the turn of the century. Its authors pre-dict that 75% of new jobs will require at least some collegeeducation, where as 60% of America's current jobs can beperformed with a high school diploma or less. At the same 53

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time many employees already in the workforce will see anincreasing need for advanced training due to the technologi-cal adv ances we see today and those on the horizon. The jobmay stay the same, but the way of getting that job done willchange dramatically and will require a high level of knowl-edge on the part of employees.

This gap is already showing itself in the dollaramounts that businesses are investing in corporate training.In the late 80's businesses were investing at least twenty-onebillion dollars to teach remedial education and fundamentaljob skills. In the July, 1988 Trend Letter, John Nesbitt wrotethat by the turn of the century more than 65% of large U.S.companies will provide remedial education to boost productiv-ity and reduce mistakes. What Nesbitt did not say is thatcompanies are already investing in remedial training in aneffort to retain valuable dedicated employees. Such has beenthe case at Duke Power Company.

Duke Power Company

Duke Power Company, the nation's seventh largestinvestor owned utility, services 1.6 million customers in thetwo Carolinas and is renowned in the utility industry forbuilding its own power plants (most utility companies do notconstruct their own plants, but instead bring in contract laborto do this). Since the beginning of the company's constructiondepartment in the 1920's, its employees have built twenty-six hydroelectric stations, eight coal fired stations, and threenuclear stations. The technological developments in efficientproduction of electrical power are evident in these plants--particularly when you compare the earliest hydro-dams withthe nuclear stations. The technology in the nuclear stationsis unbelievably advanced, and the men and the women whohave helped build these plants represent a very special seg-ment of Duke's employee population. They are highly skilledin the araa of construction and highly experienced in theirvarious specialties. Yet, sadly some of them are part of theestimated 23 million adults who are considered functionallyilliterate. Two major developments have brought the needs ofthese employees to the forefront of Duke's internal educa-tional efforts.

The first came about as a part of the company's moveto de-escalate our construction activity. Construction has

taken a back seat to maintenance since around 1986 whenDuke opened its third nuclear station. The winding down ofthe company's construction phase made us take a hard look atthe abilities of our existing construction forces to performnu- enance worknot only in the hydro and fossil plants,but particularly in our nuclear plants. You can imagine thetechnical and regulatory requirements associated with nuclearpower. Maintenance work must be done in such a way that itmeets very high, very specific standards set by the nuclearindusfty. While the construction experience provided thebasic hands-on skills necessary to do this maintenance work,there was a definite need for technical knowledge and betterreading, math and writing skills for these employees. Wefound we had two problems early on:

1. some of our employees could not pass the NuclearRegulatory Committee's basic qualifications teststo gain the clearance necessary to do the mainte-nance workthey lacked the necessary reading,writing and math skills; and

2. some of our employees could pass these tests, butwere limited in their effectiveness because theylacked a high school diploma which is requiredfor these employees to be able to sign-off as ac-complishing work in the stations.

The second development relates closely to the first. Asour construction efforts closed down we were faced with moreemployees than we needed. Layoffs are nothing new in theconstruction business; our construction employees are familiarwith the ebb and flow of that type of work. M the same timethese were employees who had a lot to offer because they hadworked so long with the company. Duke wanted to providethem with jobs, if there was a way to do that. With the sup-port of Duke's management, internal placement activitieswere stepped up to place these employees in jobs in otherareas of Duke Power Company. This became a difficult andoften frustrating experience because nine times out of tenthese employees were going to have to have in-depth trainingto meet the qualifications for the new job. Without that train-ing, both the employee and the hiring manager were put inlosing positionsneither were getting what they wanted.

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With these developments and the obvious educationalneeds they presented to us, Duke had to do something. In1986 a partnership was formed with the York County (SouthCarolina) Adult Education Office to establish two efforts, atutoring program and a G.E.D. program. With Y.C.A.E.'sassistance and guidance, construction employees werescreened to identify those who needed one-to-one tutoringand those who needed G.E.D. classes either to improve theirgeneral knowledge or to actually prepare for their HighSchool equivalency exam. With the screening completed,learning began in earnest in January, 1987 and in June, 1987forty-five employees graduated in a formal ceremony...thefollowing year 39 more employees received their G.E.D. in aformal ceremony. The ages of our graduates ranged from 19to 63 yearsthey had between six and 31 years of servicewith Duke Power Company. Some had started with the verybasic one-to-one tutoring and had advanced through theG.E.D. program.

Elements of Success

What are the things that made this effort successful?What are the keys to success in our program? First, thescreening process, the classes, the G.E.D. exams, and thegraduations were conducted at the work site. This made theeducational process less stressful and more comfortable forthese employees. It also eliminated some of the real andsubconscious barriers to success. Employees learned in veryfamiliar training rooms, places they had been many timesbefore. They went to class immediately after their regularwork day so that they didn't have to go home, clean up anddrive back. They did this on their own time so that we wereconvinced that their commitment was there and that it was astrong commitment. Second, the support of other employeeswas very apparent. Other employees were involved as tutorsand aides in the G.E.D. classroom, in fact from January 1987to April 1988 around 1,400 hours were given by these em-ployees to help tutor co-workers. Their ability to do this in asupportive, caring manner enabled those in classes to learnin a comfortable, open environment. Third, the quality of theeducators we were able to involve in the program had a tre-mendous impact. Without the efforts of these professionalsgiving us their guidance and supporting us in our objectives

5;1

we would not be able to be here today attesting to the factthat programs can be successful in the workplace. Andfinally, we had the understanding by employees that therewas a need to change and to improve their educational abil-ity. They were aware of and supportive of our changingpriorities from construction to maintenance workthey couldsee things changing and were eager to gain the skills thatwould erable them to change too. They had too much to losefor them not to change.

Those first two years of on site training have laid thefoundation for continuing educational opportunities for Dukeemployees. As the needs of employees have changed, so toohave our vograms. The employees themselves have given agreat deal of input into how courses should be taught andwhat types of reference materials should be available tothem. A resource center is open four days a week, and em-ployees are given the opportunity to participate in classestaught by the York County Adult Education office as well as avariety of self.directed computer courses. In addilion collegecourses are now being offered at the worksite to improve em-ployees skills on the college level. Employees take this re-source center seriously and they take the responsibility formaking sure that its contents meet their needs

Conclusion

Education cannot survive without the support of busi-ness. And business cannot survive without the support ofeducation. Duke power also has an outreach program calledP.I.E.Power in Education. In this program employeesthroughout our service area devote a number of hours eachmonth to help tutor students in neighborhood schools. Thisprogram is an example of where we devote our time tio theschool system. Our internal training program is an exampleof where one school system devotes its time to Duke PowerCompany. We had a need and York County Adult Educationcame through. That is what power in education is all about.

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Appendix

Building a Workforce for the SouthConference Participant List

A

Adams, RosemaryAguillon, AndyAllen, SheilaAlston, SharesAnderson, Alvin F.Angel, Penny

Bacon, GaryBaldwin, Anna 0.Banfield, MarianBarron, DorothyBates, PatriciaBauer, RobertBee land, BobBerty, PatBarthel, RichardBetz, MikeBibb, Ann W.Black ledge, DeweyBlack ledge, Mary Jo

Boggis, MollyBowen, TeresaBow lip, Michael F.Bazar jian, Robert

Brand, BetsyBranscomb, ChuckBrevard, DarrylBridgers, JimBrooks, Nancy SmithBrowder, JerryBrown, BillBrown, Jane McLachlanBuchholz, Michael L.Bullock, SarahBurden, GenevaBurice, BaxterBurke, LyndaBurt, MiriamJutler, Elaine

taiCallaway, TonyCanfield, CarolCates, Dianne S.Cave, Katherine (Katy)Centeno, Janie F.Chapman, Marilyn Mitchell

Chase, NancyCheatham, JudyChristopher, JohnClark, JohnClouse, JaneClymer, CarolCoffey, PatCoile, SuzanneCompton, JoyceCooper, El loris

Cooper, Wade H.Coulter, AnnCox, RonCulross, Terry

Daniel, CherryDaniel, LeeDe Fife, Scott

De Stefano, JohannaDixon, Bonny C.Doak, Perry J.Dovers, JudithDunlavey, WaltDunn, Becky

Eley, Mattis H.Eoff, Joe C.Evans, Vergie L.Evarhardt, Phil

Fetterman, KarinFingeret, Hanna ArleneFisk, William R.Flueren, SueFoley, Thomas F.Poison, JennyFoster, DinaFowler, FayeFroman, Ron

ElGabbard, CarolGalley, LamarGarrett, MaryGash, JoyceGendimenico, RosalieGilfillan, BettyGilfil Ian, Dave

Gore, DartGray, BrendaGreenfest, Michael

Hackney, Susan W.Halverson, BrentHandshaw, DickHarris, IrwinHarrison, JohnnieHasden, WesHeatherly, JeannieHeninger, DorothyHensley, BethHewitt, KarenHiles, JudyHolmes, Alice F.Holmes, HaroldHondros, SherryHornung, William P.

House, CharlieHoward, SueHowell, Ruth

Jackson, AnnJameson, JudithJenkins, TinaJohnson, ConnieJohnson, JoAnneJohnson, MargoJurmo, Paul

Kelley, JeanKingery, KenKinker, Judy BaileyKirk, NancyKneeland, ChrisKremer, Nick

Lamar, AngelaLambert, SusieLandrum, ElaineLangdale, SharonLashof, JudithLaycock, DottieLeach, MillieLegg, HildaLetzkus, RuthLewis, JudyLongnion, BonnieLowery, JimLussier, Virginia LeeLynch, Monica

LI]Malone, KevinManley, DonnaMarshall, DavidMartin, KarenMartinez, MartaMc Cameron, FritzMcCrary, JeanMcDaniel, GloriaMcEvoy, Ann L.McKee, Susan

63

ifi

McKenzie, KathleenMcMillan, Diann D.McMillan, EldridgeMcNeill, Marcia LMendel, RichardMensah, Donnetta W.Mario, BarbaraMertz, DavidMeyer, PatMeyer, PaulMickulecky, LarryMiller, ChristinaMiller, DaveMiller, SallyMiller, SuzanneMiolen, HazelMontgomery, BoMontgomery, MelissaMorgan, AnnetteMossberg, KelleyMrowicki, LindaMukadarn, SattarMulcahy, LoisMullarkey, JamesMullins, Linda

IINelson, LucieNewcomb, SarahNewman, AwndreaNewman, MylesNickles, AnnNurss, Joanne

ElOetting, JoyceOsbom, Carl J.Owens, Larry

laParks, TeresaParlor, SonnyPatton, HerbPatureau, GaryPerin, Dolores

13

Parry, Jim

Pettit, KarinPetty, CarolPhilippi, JoriePhillips, RuthannPollan, Carolyn

Price, DavidPrice, William C.

Pritz, SandraPrybylowski, LeoPulling, Lewis

ElRed Shirt, EllenRenfrow, DonataReuther, Carol JeanRichards, SuzanneRichardson, MikelRichardson, NancyRichert, James E.

Riley, SherryRobertson, JaniceRobertson, Martha AnnRobinson, John C.Robinson, SallyRodriguez, MikeRoil* DonaldRoss, Cynthia

aSankovsky, RaySarmiento, TonyShelton, ElaineShepherd, DannSharer, RalphSilo, KathleenSimms, Shauna KingSingletary, JeanSkvensos, MaxineSmith, E. JimmySmith, JoSmith, MarkSpann, Janice N.Squeri, Elaine G.Stang, MimiSteffens, JanetStephenson, BarbaraStevenson, Maxine

Stone, RobertStout, DavidStrubbe, SusanStuckey, EllenSullivan, Melinda B.Swofford, Adair

Tabbita, Phillip A.Taliaferro, PeggyTeasley, LukeThomas, KathyTignor, BeatriceTorrescano, AdolfoTyler, Wendy

Uvin, Johan

Valentine, TomVan Moorhem, Julie

Wall, PamWalsh, DanielWard, Cheryl D.Ward, RexWashburn, %Wiles

Westberry, SusanWhitaker, PatriciaWhite, Randall C.Whittle, HenryWike, TradeWilliams, DorothyWillingham, EstelleWillis, AllisonWolford, BruceWong, Betty

Ye lton, Roy

Zeller, John

V

Focus of the Conference

The most important element of planning a conferenceinvolves deciding its focus or theme. Not only will deciding afocus for your conference speed decision making later in theplanning process, it will also insure the material covered willbe appropriate. When priorities are clear, decisions are easierto make. If you do not know what objectives your eventshould accomplish, it may not accomplish anything. To beeffective and to be attractive to participants, the conferencemust deal with issues or address needs which are importantenough for your audience to inv k,;'. their time and their dol-lars. Once you have identified the focus, be prepared to ex-plain it in early conference brochures and information.

A quick survey will help determine current attitudesand needs. Surveying members of related associations andorganizations can give you the type of information you need todesign an educational meeting. Keeping informed aboutcurrent legislative and regulatory changes will also assist indetermining content. Furthermore, calling and correspondingwith funding sources can give you further direction, sincepriorities can be discussed with those most closely related tothe topic.

Be sure to check "acceptable" conference subjects wheninviting state or federal employees. Also, some professionalsrequire a very specific list of objectives and goals prior toregistration.

Coordination

Conference coordination is critical in that you mus'; becertain that adequate skills will be availali a and timelinesare drawn up. Coordination requires a sense of detail andmarketing from those involved. Cooperation and an abilitycollaborate with associates who have widely varying agendasof their own is essential.

Coordination can often be dcne by those actually in-volved with the program areas as long as they have the assis-tance of those skilled in conference planning and implementa-tion. If possible make arrangements with a non-profit

organization, such as a university, to assist with logistics.They will be aHe to save you time and may even be able togenerate money to defray the cost ofpublishing conferenceproceedings. In many institutions, seed money is not re-quired. Also, their participation could be a measure of supportwhen the organization or the institution is already involvedwith the subject area.

Most non-profits will charge indirect costs to cover theiradministrative expenses. They may also need to allocatepersonnel time for brochure design or registration assistance.Even with these expenses, it would be to the advantage of theconference to identify institutions who can take care of theseservices and enable the committee to devote greater time toconcentrating on the program agenda. In short, let thosewhose expertise in conference planning plan the logistics ofthe conference and those whose expertise is in the contentareas plan the program Don t worry about added expenses.You will probably receive more registrations with happierparticipants and even generate more funds than if doing ityourself.

An element of regional conference coordination whichworks well and gives a sense of ownership for the conference,is the identification of a coordinator in each state with whomconference planners can work. This state coordinator canidentify the important people and organizations for you tocontact and even mail conference brochures from their lists.They not only provide leadership within their states, but alsoserve to garner support for your event. When utilized, statecoordinators should receive appropriate recognition and anyfinancial support possible such as a free lodging during theconference and waived registration fees. The use of state co-ordinators will make your conference truly regional.

Conference coordination seems to be most productivewhen specific jobs or tasks are given to the regional coordina-tors. Responsibilities for important parts of the conferencebeing shared with others usually results in a better programand a stronger sense of ownership and thus success.

Audience

Once you have identified your focus or theme, the nextjob is to identify your audience. If this is an association

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annual meeting, this task is simplified but even then youshould think beyond the borders of your membership lists.

Be creative as you defme the mailing list. Think ofsupporting organizations or those who share a similar con-cern. Think of those who depend upon your subject area.Think of those who directly and indirectly affect the subjectthrough rules, regulations, or dollar appropriations. Andthen, of course, think of all your close family friends, rela-tives and those you can "strong-arm" if necessary. (Be sureto put your own name on the mailing list so you can judge themailing time of brochures.)

Program

The actual program is probably the component thatwill sell your conference or influence people to attend. Onceyou have identified both your focus and your audience, youmust decide who and what will best meet their needs, andbest meet the expectations you have for the event.

Top-name speakers are usually essential. The numberof top-names you ask to attend will depend upon the formatthat ycli_ select. For example, if you decide to use a standardconference with general sessions and break-outs, you willneed a greater number of top speakers. People want to hearinformation from those they consider to be " in the know".Unfortunately, these people are not always the most knowl-edgeable, so all too often your task becomes slipping the realauthorities in with the recognized names. On the otherhand, if you are using a work-shop format as the key compo-nent, you can use fewer recognized names and providegreater in-depth learning experiences. People like to leave aconference or meeting with the feeling that they have learnedsomething they can implement when they return home.

The format will depend to some extent upon the cur-rent field of the subject you have chosen and the generallevels of expertise that have arisen in that field. in areaswhere there is a long standing body of knowledge and tech-niques, a general conference format that will generate ideasis the best choice. In areas where the strategies are stilldeveloping, a context to provide common understandingfollowed by in-depth learning seems to work best. The cur-rent trend seems to be away from the general format and into

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the more concentrated one. Round-table discussions andactivities that allow and encourage discussion and interactionamong participants are also very effective, and stimulatenetworking, ideas and information-sharing.

Another consideration as the program is being de-signed, is to select the convenors of 0.3ach session to maximizeparticipation. They should be knowledgeable in the confer-ence topic and be able to provide the expertise participantsneed, They can serve as an added attraction particularly ifthe event is an interactive one.

Supporting Organizations

The use of supporting organizations or associations isimportant for a number of reasons. First, they lend credibilityto the activity. Also, they can provide possible attendees andpromotional assistance if they will mail brochures to theirmembers or share their mailing list with you.

Too many supporting groups can be difficult to organizeand lead, however. You may find yourself in the situation inwhich the program or activities are being dictated by thesupport folks. Avoid that if possible. Since every organizationhas its pet speaker, you may want to develop your programbefore you request the assistance of supporting organizations.

Promotion and Attendance

A good brochure can "sell" a conference. Be sure yourconference brochure projects the image you want to get across.Take time to think through content. Include the "tentative"conference agenda, the goals, the logistics such as hotel ar-rangements, and registration information. Do not put toomuch information in a brochure. Allow the pages to be pleas-ing and not a jumble to the eye. Provide enough informationto invite interest yet not bore. Decide upon a format verycarefully; then, be consistent throughout. Be creative here.Save old brochures that have appealed to you and then usesimilar formats. If you are working closely with good desktoppublishers or typesetters, be sure to give them plenty of timeto create, and as the brochure takes shape, to catch errors.

A date saver card to announce the conference should bemailed at least nine months prior to the conference date. The

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full brochure should be in their hands three months prior. Ifyou can establish dates a year or even two years in advanceyou are even better off. Then folks can save the dates andawait brochures.

In addition to mailing brochures to potential conferenceparticipants, think about all the organizations who publishnewsletters with a focus similar to your conference. Mailthem a news release or an explanation and a copy of your bro-chure, and ask them to note the dates and tepic in the nextnewsletter. There are a vast number of organizations whoproduce newsletters, and most will be happy to include confer-ence information. In fact, all of your supporting organizationswill probably be happy to help in this area.

Mailing Lists

Your mailing list is your conference, so treat it withcare. Update and add to it frequently. Be sure you are awareof all the new post office regulations before you even begin thedesign of the brochure. Check the information (zip codes) thatwill be needed and the most effective way to mail.

Depending upon your paper selection, it may be easierto use an ink-jet system for address labels eliminating theneed for labor to adhere labels. (Glossy paper will not takeink-jet.)

Lodging and Food

No decision has more potential to make or break theconference than your decision concerning conference lodging-and how to handle food. People like a nice room and goodfood. If you begin an event with inadequate food or dirtyrooms, you will have complaints the entire conference andhear about it for years.

Try to select a setting that meets the needs of the con-ference program. Sometimes a university setting in whichserious learning can take place is the best. Other times ahotel setting is more appropriate. The hotel should be coop-erative and willing to be extremely flexible. Watch forcharges that you did not anticipate such as room set-up fees.If forced with a decision, the quality of the meeting spaceshould take precedence.

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Sleeping rooms and the numbers blocked become im-portant when you must provide rooms for speakers and mem-bers of the conference committee. You snould be able to nego-tiate one room per 50 room nights minimum. Try to do betterand get a suite included at no charge. If you are able to directbill part of the lodging try to get lower rates for those roomsalso. Since direct billed rooms are sure money for the hotel,you should be able to get a break. Also, check hotel sur-charges on telephone calls conference participants make. Seeif it is possible to waive the charges if you are negotiating fora large group of people. If not, let conference paeleipantsknow about the charges (you want to try to avoid surpriseswhen your people get their bills), and be sure to share thelocation of pay phones with your group. Another considera-tion with the hotel, is parking. No one likes to pay parkingwhen they are already paying large registration fees and hotelbills. Try to negotiate free parking into the hotel contract.

Meeting space prices are calculated different ways.Usually if you have enough catering functions, there will beno meeting charge. liowever, this is not always the case.Some hotels will want to negotiate on a percentage basis.This can be dangerous for your budget. A flat rate wouldprobably be better for you. You must weigh each offer care-fully and decide what your attendance can afford. If adding afew extra meals can eliminate the meeting charge, that wouldbe preferable to a charge higher than the extra uneatenmeals.

Food is the second key ingredient. Make sure that it isplentiful or at least looks that way. Breaks should most oftenbe placed near or in exhibit areas if you are having them.This guarantees that folks will walk around the exhibit areasand make the exhibitors happy. Instead of making elaboratesuggestions to catering, let the chef make recommendations toyou. He/she knows the food business and what menus resultin the fewest complaints.

When giving numbers to catering, try to estimate lowerfor opening and closing events. These usually have lower at-tendance rates than other conference events. Estimate lowfor continental breakfasts also. For all other meal events givecatering numbers closer to the true numbers. Remember thatcatering will provide at least 5% more meals, so you can

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always get more food if more people than you were expectingshow up. On the other hand, when fewer than erpected show,you have to pay for meals requested but not eaten. Usingdosing coupons re vouchers is another way to help calculateclosing Ix ?al events. A suggestion for increasing the numbersis to have an awards ceremony at the last function.

Exhibitors

Exhibitors are often very imrIrtant to conferences.Including exhibitors in the overall conference program offersattendees an opportunity to see the latest equipment and cur-riculum items and even to receive some free samples. Includ-ing them offers companies potential sales and an opportunityto showcase their wares. And finally it offers the conferencecommittee an opportunity to off-set some costs through exhib-itor fees and thus reduce the amount charged for registrationfees. Exhibitor fees will vary based upon the type of spaceand the equipment (pipes and drapes) provided. Be carefulabout providing too much. You can be "stuck" with a largeexposition bill with only 20-25 exhibitors. The quality of thepresentation is the important element here. You will nr.,:d todecide what will work best for your conference.

Be sure and include exhibitors in conference activities.Give them a free luncheon and continental breakfast. Manywill have door prize give-aways which are attractive to atten-dees.

Doorprizes

Giving away doorprizes to conference participants is, ofcourse, option...L. Sometimes it works well and other times notso well. Here you must know your audience. Use doorprizesat the end of the conference to hold attendees or use them ona daily basis to ensure attendance in the exhibit hall.

If the conference is regional, you might want to askeach state to bring an article representative of their state fordoorprizes. This will work well as long as all prizes are ofequal value.

Good luck!

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Documents

files.eric.ed.gov · 3 0. 28. A statement released by the President and Governors who attended this summit reads as follows: "America's educa- tional performance must be second to