Improving literacy can save lives in the workplace – literally

Improving literacy can save lives in the workplace – literallyThe Conference Board of Canada
News Releases 11-10: July 21, 2010

Employers are more confident than workers or labour representatives in the ability of employees to understand health and safety policies, according to survey results published in What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You: Literacy’s Impact on Workplace Health and Safety by The Conference Board of Canada.

“This gap in perception creates the potential for accidents in the workplace to occur. Because employers are confident in their workers’ literacy levels, they are less likely to see the need for training to upgrade employees’ knowledge and understanding of health and safety practices,” said Alison Campbell, Principal Research Associate.

Many employers create manuals and other documents to set out health and safety practices, but relying on written materials leaves organizations open to the risk that their employees may not be able to read and understand them. When incidents occur, the typical response is to review policies and practices – rather than verifying whether individuals have the literacy and basic skills to fully understand or follow set procedures.

“Without even realizing it, some individuals with low literacy skills put themselves, their co-workers and the public at risk,” said Campbell.

The report summarizes the results of a two-year project for Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, including a literature review, national survey, interviews with stakeholders and case studies.

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The report outlines seven steps to take as an organizational action plan:1. Review past incidents through “a literacy lens”
2. Review organizational health and safety policies and practices
3. Examine policies and practices from the perspective of an individual with lower literacy levels
4. Brainstorm solutions to help users understand health and safety documents
5. Measure and track health and safety incidents and improvements
6. Recognize outcomes
7. Reward efforts to improve literacy skills.

. . . . . a site of related interest:

Workforce Competitiveness CollectionNational Institute for LiteracyLiteracy Information and Communication System (LINCS)

The August edition features the Workforce Competitiveness Collection, which covers Workforce Education, English Language Acquisition, and Technology. Each month, Collections News features one of the three LINCS Resource Collections – Basic Skills, Program Management, and Workforce Competitiveness – and introduces research-based resources that you can use in your adult basic education and family literacy programs and classrooms.

What’s New in the Workforce Competitiveness Collection?

The products, materials, and papers in the Workforce Competitiveness Collection can introduce you to strategies useful in building students’ Eng¬lish language skills; provide information on integrating technology into your program; and help you develop effective, work-focused programs. Additional work-focused resources, organized by career clusters or oc¬cupational categories, can be found in the Career Pathways Instructional Materials Library. You also can subscribe to online topical discussion lists to interact with experts, ask questions, and share ideas with colleagues. Subscribe to the National Institute for Literacy Online Discussion Lists.