NEED HELP with your Literacy Skills!
What is “Literacy”?
Literacy is not simply the ability to read but the ability to explore the environment around us through the written word.
Having the ability to read, write and understand meaning and context is crucial to navigating life successfully. Developing these skills and using them effectively for meeting basic needs is an important component to our simulation into society. We must be able to analyze, understand and use information to live, study and work – to achieve our goals, to develop our knowledge and potential.
Our ability to read, understand, interpret and communicate written material will dictate our level of achievements.
EMAIL US : If you are interested in improving your literacy in English and or French please email us at pickeringreads@hotmail.com
SOME LITERACY STATISTICS – Taken from “Canadian Literacy and Learning Network” website.
In Canada…
42% of Canadian adults between the ages of 16 and 65 have low literacy skills.
55% of working age adults in Canada are estimated to have less than adequate health literacy skills. Shockingly, 88% of adults over the age of 65 appear to be in this situation
Impoverished adults often do not have the literacy skills required to get into job training programs. They may need literacy skills upgrading before they can succeed in training programs but only about 5 – 10% of eligible adults enroll in programs
Less than 20% of people with the lowest literacy skills are employed
A 1% increase in the literacy rate would generate $18 billion in economic growth every year
Investment in literacy programming has a 241% return on investment
International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS)
The latest literacy study by Statistics Canada shows that millions of Canadians do not have the literacy skills they need to keep pace with the escalating demands of our society and economy. This loss of potential impacts on the social and economic well-being of individuals, families, communities and our country.
The Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (IALSS, 2003) sheds light on our current literacy challenges and also connects those challenges to some of Canada’s most pressing social and economic issues. The link is clear in this conclusion: “… investments in foundation skills would lead to improved levels of health, increased productivity, reduced social costs and higher growth”.
If you or your child needs help in improving foundational learning skills contact us at pickeringreads@hotmail.com.
Mala Mahabir or Vinod Mahabir
Program Directors