Workplace literacy programmes: satisfying a dual agenda for policy-makers

Abstract

Workplace literacy and numeracy programmes have gained prominence in countries such as New Zealand for their ability to contribute to a dual agenda of improving productivity and providing educational opportunity for non-traditional learners. This paper will report on the findings of a large workplace literacy and numeracy project involving 18 course evaluations and over 1000 interviews and assessments during a three year period. The results show that the programmes can achieve positive outcomes not only for the course participants, but also the companies that host the courses.