Broader
Benefits
Basic skills
gains also have important positive impacts beyond the
workplace, in families and communities:
"The
training helps people dream—that there is another
world out there beyond the job they have been doing. A
lot of them didn’t realize how bright they were."
- Co-ordinator,
Skills Enhancement Program,
Large Eastern Hospital
WEP benefits extend
beyond the immediate workplace and the positive impact
that skilled employees have on workplace performance.
They affect employees’ families and communities.
Ultimately, they create a better social and economic
environment that improves the quality of life for
everyone. This is important for employers, who want
employees to have a good balance between work and home.
Giving employees skills in their personal life helps
them to be happier, more satisfied and self-confident
employees who will perform better at work because they
are happy.
"Nobody
ever looks at the fact that at least 50 per cent of the
gains are not seen by the employer—the gains that lie
outside the firm. For example, employees are now more
involved in their community on PTA’s etc., and more
involved with their families. It all stems from the
overall impact that training has had on their self
esteem."
-
Human Resources Representative,
Large Aircraft Equipment Manufacturing Company
According to
employers, their employees’ gains in work were
paralleled in private life. As individuals, employees
gained confidence and self-esteem, and their quality of
life noticeably improved. They communicated better with
their families, were able to attend parent-teacher
interviews, and learned how to use contracts to purchase
cars, houses and other important family goods and
services.
After WEP training,
employees with limited literacy skills are able to read
to their children at home, help them with their homework
and generally take a more active role in helping them
learn. They also tend to become more active in their
communities. The increased morale and self-confidence
that comes with heightened skills is a key to enabling
employees form better connections in their communities
and making them more apt to volunteer.
Some employees were
so stimulated by their WEP experiences that they
enrolled in other educational programs and got their
GEDs. In one workplace, four employees received college
scholarships for the highest GED test scores in the
county, given out by the local community college. Five
employees in another company used the language skills
they gained to pass their citizenship test with help
from their colleagues at work.
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Last updated: February 18, 2001 . |