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Canadians like to celebrate occasions such as a student’s graduation from grade school, high school, university or college. Increasingly, though, these events are no longer endpoints to learning, but rather milestones on a lifelong journey. Indeed, Canada’s learning landscape is rapidly changing and Canadian adults of all ages are choosing to expand their horizons, whether at work, at home, or in the community.
Some undertake learning and training out of personal interest, or a desire to get involved in their communities. Some do it to polish their job skills, boost their income or advance their careers, while others want to enhance their basic reading and writing skills.
Learning brings many benefits, including greater satisfaction in people’s professional and personal lives, more civic engagement, and better chances for a healthier and longer life. An educated population is good for a country as well, because it enhances economic productivity and strengthens social cohesion. Indeed, in light of Canada’s aging population, skills shortages and globally competitive labour markets, a skilled and adaptable workforce has become an urgent necessity.
Unfortunately, we are not where we would like to be. More than four in 10 Canadian adults lack the literacy skills needed to succeed in today’s economy. Literacy rates have been stagnant over the past decade, and those in greatest need of learning and training—older workers, high-school and post-secondary dropouts, and members of under-represented groups such as immigrants—are least likely to get further training.
In its first State of Learning in Canada report, the Canadian Council on Learning examines adult learning from four perspectives:
Adult literacy—About 42% of the adult population, or 9 million Canadians aged 16 to 65, lack the literacy skills needed to succeed in today’s economy, a rate that has remained unchanged over the past decade. Literacy is measured in terms of the ability to find, synthesize and use information from various types of texts and documents. Also, 50% of Canadian adults lack the ability to manage numbers. Health literacy—More than half (55%) of Canadians aged 16 to 65 do not have levels of health literacy adequate to read nutrition labels, follow medication directions, understand safety instructions, or make informed and adequate choices for their own healthy living. Health literacy is particularly low among seniors, who require health services most and are prescribed the greatest number of medications. Of all Canadians older than 65, 88% lack the literacy skills needed to deal with health information. Other populations with low health-literacy levels include low-income Canadians, Aboriginal people, and recent immigrants who have low levels of formal education and a foreign mother tongue. Work-related learning—The proportion of Canadian workers enrolled in formal work-related training rose from 29% in 1997 to 35% in 2002. More women (37%) took such training than men (33%), and younger workers were more likely than older workers to participate in such training. More than half (52%) of university-educated workers took formal training, compared to 18% of workers with a high-school diploma or less. In 2002, 33% of Canada’s workforce also participated in informal work-related learning, which typically does not result in a certificate or diploma. Again, women, younger workers and people with more formal education were most likely to take informal training. One-quarter of the adult workforce received some form of employer-sponsored training in 2002, a rate little changed since 1997. Larger companies are far more likely than smaller firms to offer their staff structured training. However, Canadian businesses were less likely to invest in employee training than firms in the United Kingdom and Norway. In the meantime, a growing number of Canadian workers are choosing to take training at their own initiative and expense. Time, money, and growing family responsibilities are the most commonly cited barriers to workplace training. Another barrier that some Canadians and immigrants face is the lack of recognition for previously acquired learning, experience and credentials. Learning for personal development—Volunteering and community participation provide individuals with a variety of informal learning opportunities. In 2004, 45% of Canadians over the age of 15 volunteered a total of nearly 2 billion hours—the equivalent of 1 million full-time jobs—in various community and social activities. While younger (55%) and more educated (59%) Canadians and those with higher incomes (60%) were more likely to volunteer, seniors and Canadians with lower incomes actually donated the most hours of their time. Two-thirds of Canadians 15 and older belonged to at least one club or volunteer association in 2004. Participation was highest among people aged 45 to 54 (69%), who had a university degree (82%), who were employed (71%), and who possessed a high household income (80%). More than two-thirds (68%) of Canadian adults—16.8 million people—used the internet for personal activities in 2004–2005, and most of them did so daily. The biggest users were younger adults aged 18 to 34 and people with higher education, although seniors are becoming increasingly avid internet users.
Adult literacy—About 42% of the adult population, or 9 million Canadians aged 16 to 65, lack the literacy skills needed to succeed in today’s economy, a rate that has remained unchanged over the past decade. Literacy is measured in terms of the ability to find, synthesize and use information from various types of texts and documents. Also, 50% of Canadian adults lack the ability to manage numbers.
Health literacy—More than half (55%) of Canadians aged 16 to 65 do not have levels of health literacy adequate to read nutrition labels, follow medication directions, understand safety instructions, or make informed and adequate choices for their own healthy living.
Health literacy is particularly low among seniors, who require health services most and are prescribed the greatest number of medications. Of all Canadians older than 65, 88% lack the literacy skills needed to deal with health information. Other populations with low health-literacy levels include low-income Canadians, Aboriginal people, and recent immigrants who have low levels of formal education and a foreign mother tongue.
Work-related learning—The proportion of Canadian workers enrolled in formal work-related training rose from 29% in 1997 to 35% in 2002. More women (37%) took such training than men (33%), and younger workers were more likely than older workers to participate in such training. More than half (52%) of university-educated workers took formal training, compared to 18% of workers with a high-school diploma or less.
In 2002, 33% of Canada’s workforce also participated in informal work-related learning, which typically does not result in a certificate or diploma. Again, women, younger workers and people with more formal education were most likely to take informal training.
One-quarter of the adult workforce received some form of employer-sponsored training in 2002, a rate little changed since 1997. Larger companies are far more likely than smaller firms to offer their staff structured training. However, Canadian businesses were less likely to invest in employee training than firms in the United Kingdom and Norway. In the meantime, a growing number of Canadian workers are choosing to take training at their own initiative and expense.
Time, money, and growing family responsibilities are the most commonly cited barriers to workplace training. Another barrier that some Canadians and immigrants face is the lack of recognition for previously acquired learning, experience and credentials.
Learning for personal development—Volunteering and community participation provide individuals with a variety of informal learning opportunities. In 2004, 45% of Canadians over the age of 15 volunteered a total of nearly 2 billion hours—the equivalent of 1 million full-time jobs—in various community and social activities. While younger (55%) and more educated (59%) Canadians and those with higher incomes (60%) were more likely to volunteer, seniors and Canadians with lower incomes actually donated the most hours of their time.
Two-thirds of Canadians 15 and older belonged to at least one club or volunteer association in 2004. Participation was highest among people aged 45 to 54 (69%), who had a university degree (82%), who were employed (71%), and who possessed a high household income (80%).
More than two-thirds (68%) of Canadian adults—16.8 million people—used the internet for personal activities in 2004–2005, and most of them did so daily. The biggest users were younger adults aged 18 to 34 and people with higher education, although seniors are becoming increasingly avid internet users.
CCL will continue to monitor and report on the state of adult learning, as well as promote research and knowledge exchange on a wide range of issues related to adult and workplace learning.
Three of CCL’s five knowledge centres have a particular focus on adult learning issues.
CCL’s Adult Learning Knowledge Centre has established the following topics as its priorities:
The Work and Learning Knowledge Centre is exploring three key areas of interest:
The Health and Learning Knowledge Centre is sponsoring projects to strengthen understanding of the links between learning, health literacy and personal well-being.