Workplace LiteracyWorkplace Literacy

Presentation by Heath PrincePresentation by Heath PrinceJune 7, 2007June 7, 2007

Working Poor Families Project, Policy AcademyWorking Poor Families Project, Policy AcademyChicago, ILChicago, IL

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IntroductionIntroduction

• JFF• Goals for this session

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Importance of Importance of WorkplaceWorkplace Literacy Literacy

Work• It’s where we spend half of our waking

hours• Provides access to hands-on learning

materials (contextualized instruction)• Provides the opportunity for workers to

apply what they learn to their jobs

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Importance of Workplace Importance of Workplace Literacy (cont.)Literacy (cont.)

Literacy level affects labor market stability and advancement• 25,380,718 of the US population between the ages of 18 and 64 have less

than a high school diploma or equivalent degree (just over 14 percent).• Nearly 1 in 5 (19.6 percent) young adults (18-24) have less than an HS

diploma.• More than 1 in 5 adults between the ages of 18-64 earn less than 200

percent of poverty (approximately $37,000 for family of 4), what some have called a “living wage.”

• 61 percent of US residents with less than a 9th grade education live in households that earn less than 200 percent of poverty

• 46.5 percent of those who enrolled in but did not complete HS earn less than 200 percent of poverty (compared to 14.5 percent with an AA and 8.9 percent with a BA).

• 51 million adults (approximately one out of three) are in need of adult basic education and literacy instruction.

• “Given current educational attainment disparities by race/ethnicity and projected changes in the population, it is likely that the segment of the population with less than a high school diploma will grow more than any other—unless successful intervention takes place.”

Sources: ETS’s America’s Perfect Storm (ETS) and Mounting Pressures (NCAL) reports, 2007

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Importance of Workplace Importance of Workplace Literacy (cont.)Literacy (cont.)

Economic competitiveness

• There is increasing demand for higher levels of education within the workforce, particularly in occupations that pay a living wage.

• US cannot compete economically without better educating older adults who have dropped out of HS or who completed HS but did not attend college.

• US ranks 11th among OECD countries in percent of young adults with a HS diploma, and is the only country in which younger adults are less educated than the previous generation (Jones).

• 39 percent of 25-44 year olds in US have an associate’s degree or higher (compared with approximately 50 percent in Canada, Japan and Korea—top three OECD countries in this category).

• 43.2 percent of workers without a HS degree are “not participating” in the workforce, compared to 20.7 percent with some college, and 17.3 percent with an AA degree.

• 9 million jobs expected to be created by 2014 in US will require some level of postsecondary education (matching total job growth for all jobs that do not require a formal degree).

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Importance of Workplace Importance of Workplace Literacy (cont.)Literacy (cont.)

Economic competitiveness (cont.)• Jobs requiring some sort of postsecondary vocational award will grow by 17.7 percent and jobs that require an AA degree will grow by 25 percent, compared to 11.4 percent job growth in jobs that require only short-term on the job training, and 8.5 percent of jobs that require moderate term on the job training.

• The National Center on the Educational Quality of the Workforce found that raising average education by 1 literacy level increased productivity by 8.6% in manufacturing and 11% in non-manufacturing occupations (vs. other interventions, such as increasing work hours, which increased productivity by an average of 6% between the two sectors).

• The proficiency requirement for new jobs in high-growth occupations is 301 (level 3); the proficiency for lost jobs in declining occupations (e.g., fabricators, assemblers and inspectors) is 252 (level 2) (Andy Sum)

• “A number of national and state organizations in the US, including the NGA, have identified Level 3 proficiency as a minimum standard for success in today’s labor market. Findings from the International Adult Literacy Survey indicate that only half of the US adult population 16-65 years of age reached level 3.” (Andy Sum)

• There is a strong correlation (.84) between personal income per capita and actual tax revenues per capita—tax base increase would more than pay for any public investment in Adult Education and Literacy.

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BackgroundBackgroundBrief History• Prior to 1960, primarily union-based, focusing on: literacy, ESL,

citizenship, public speaking, economics and union-building• 1962: MDTA provides vocational training, including workplace

literacy• 1964: Economic Opportunity Act establishes Adult Ed. Program• 1966: Adult Ed Act created programs providing: basic skills up to

completion of secondary school level; ESL• 1973 CETA: reflective of growing popularity of workplace literacy

movement. Contextualized learning at center of CETA’s workplace literacy provisions

• 1980s: increased investment in workplace literacy, intended to reinforce critical thinking and teamwork needed for high-performance work organizations

• 1984: Carl Perkins Vocational Ed Act expands training for LEPs• 1988-96: National Workplace Literacy Program created to

provide grants to fund local projects operated by partnerships of business, labor and education

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Background, cont.Background, cont.National Workplace Literacy Program

• Dept of Ed-funded program• At peak (1992), it provided $21,751,000 to support local

education programs designed to provide literacy training to meet workplace needs

• Awards were primarily to public organizations, including postsecondary institutions, state and local ed agencies, and CBOs

• Program funded:o Basic skillso Math skillso Literacy trainingo ESL (nearly 2/3 of projects had an ESL component)

• Learning gains were reported, but outcomes generally considered weak

• Program seen by some as inflexible and difficult to adapt to changing employer needs

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Background, cont.Background, cont.WIA Title II: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act

(AEFLA)• Marks end of NWLP• AEFLA is principle source of adult basic and literacy education programs for adults

with poor basic skills, no diploma, and poor English proficiency• Distributed by formula to states based on Census data on adults in each state who

lack a HS diploma and are not enrolled in school• States competitively award 82.5% of grants to local providers (remainder is

reserved for admin [5%] and program improvement activities)• States must match 25% of federal contribution and must provide MOE• AEFLA performance measured along six core measures:

o Educational gain—basic literacy skillso Educational gain—English language acquisitiono HS completiono Entered postsecondary ed or trainingo Entered employmento Retained employment

• Workplace literacy now just one of several options for states

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Background, cont.Background, cont.

Devolution to states• Federal divestment coincides with shifting emphasis in social

programs to removing welfare recipients from roles and “rapid attachment” to the labor market– Undercuts focus on workplace literacy– Overlooks facts that:

• Most of current workforce is already employed• Current workers will be primary source of labor for next several decades• Skills of current workforce are inadequate to meet changing technical and

social demands of emerging workplace

• In 2004, AEFLA served 2.8 million adult basic education students of a target population of over 51 million low literate adults

• 43.8 percent of AEFLA participants were enrolled in ESL• 72.4 percent of AEFLA participants were members of minority

groups (compiled by The Workforce Alliance)

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Barriers to Expansion of Barriers to Expansion of Workplace LiteracyWorkplace Literacy

• Shifting priorities among traditional champions– Downsizing/layoff concerns for unions in 80s and 90s– Shift toward buying rather than making skilled

workforce among firms

• Adult ed providers overwhelmed by existing waiting lists for traditional ABE– Function of relatively fewer funds– Less interested in branching out to serve workplaces

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Innovative State ApproachesInnovative State Approaches

• Pennsylvania– Pennsylvania Workforce Improvement Network provides customized

basic skills training for incumbent workers since 1999– Adult ed providers apply to join PAWIN (currently 44 providers in

network)– AEFLA funding (approx $500k) supports professional development,

technical support, and networking for providers

• Massachusetts– Workforce Training Fund is UI surcharge-funded program ($8.40 per

worker per year)– Issued over $21m in 2006 to train over 24,500 workers– Targeted to low-skilled workforce– Businesses apply directly to fund– Flexible source of training funds for small/med-sized employers

(workplace lit, ESL, technical skills training, etc.)– No AEFLA funds used

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Innovative State Approaches, Innovative State Approaches, cont.cont.

• Arkansas– The Workforce Alliance for Growth in the Economy

(WAGE) certificate program provides work-based certification programs for workers needing basic skills instruction

– Partnership among local employers, employment agencies, educators, city government and industrial development organizations

– Workers who score above 6th and below 12.9th grade level on TABE are eligible

– 80% of programs are provided at the worksite– Funded through AEFLA and state match

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Work readiness certificatesWork readiness certificates

• Definition• State-wide implementation• Pros and cons

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Recommendations: Increasing Recommendations: Increasing fundingfunding

• Advocate for targeted use of WIA Title I funds

• Promote expanding use of state WIA Title II for workplace literacy

• Advocate for states to permit local WIBs to merge Titles I and II, and to streamline performance measures when used in conjunction

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Recommendations: Increasing Recommendations: Increasing funding, cont.funding, cont.

• Promote alternative, flexible financing strategies

• Advocate for funding targeted to increasing the capacity of education providers to address employer and worker needs in the workplace

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Recommendations: Recruiting Recommendations: Recruiting stakeholdersstakeholders

•Advocate for state tax incentives that encourage businesses to support workplace literacy•Prepare ROI argument for recruiting firms•Determine stakeholder needs, and what can be reasonably accomplished through needs analysis that:

•Examines the needs of workers and businesses•Determines the skills and knowledge needed by workplace literacy providers•Provides policymakers with what they need to know to make informed decisions

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Recommendations: Promoting Recommendations: Promoting economic payoffs for workers economic payoffs for workers

and firmsand firms•Promote workplace literacy in economic competitiveness terms•Make workplace literacy advocacy central to career pathways efforts in states’ priority industries

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Contact informationContact information

Heath Prince, Senior Project ManagerJobs for the Future

88 Broad St., Floor 8Boston, MA 02110

Phone: (617) 728-4446, ext. 145Email: hprince@jff.orgWeb site: www.jff.org