Enhancing Employees Literacy Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Enhancing Employees Literacy Skills - Essay Example Among the consequences of low levels of workplace literacy and numeracy are: time and costs wasted in having to repeat assignments; inefficient work teams, wasted material, poor training, miscalculated finances, injuries in the workplace, unsafe practices and difficulties recruiting and retaining skilled staff (AI Group, 2010). The consequences of low levels of literacy in the workplace are therefore far-reaching. Campbell (2005) informed that â€Å"literacy skills are vital to high performance and productivity† in the workplace (p. 1). The reality is, low adult literacy in general has negative impacts not only on business activities, but on the individual and the country’s economy as a whole. Poor literacy constrains an individual in terms of career choices, impairs a business’s competiveness and thus undermines the country’s ability to compete globally (Campbell, 2005). It therefore follows that improving literacy skills in the workplace is an urgent mat ter. This paper proposes a project aimed at resolving this dilemma and thus suggests a program directed at employers that will enhance literary skills in the workplace. The program thus directs attention to workplace change that can enhance literacy in the workplace. ...Thus the workplace literacy program suggested is one that not only offers literacy training for employees but also ensures that literacy learning is a part of the workplace environment. Employees are not only encouraged to participate in literacy learning programs, but are also engaged in the workplace in such a way that fosters literacy improvement. The proposed workplace literacy improvement project is realistic in that it readily accepts that workplace literacy is low and in order to improve workplace literacy change must occur in the workplace first and foremost. This workplace literacy enhancement project takes the position that a learning environment in the workplace is conducive to enhancing literacy. Thus the re is an emphasis on the utility of investing in information technology and information technology training in the workplace as a supplement to general literacy training and education in the workplace. An examination of the literature identifies the efficacy of fostering a learning environment and in particular investing in and using information technology as a training and educational tool as well as a tool for business operations. A Review of the Literature Smith et al (2000) admitted that schools around the globe have systematically failed to produce the requisite number of skilled and talented workers. This may not be entirely true as a number of persons have literacy deficiencies because they either did not complete school or simply failed to attend school at all.