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Bridging the Employment Gap - Grounds Maintenance is one in a series of manuals for Learners with Low Level Literacy Skills. The Grounds Maintenance manual addresses issues and work tasks in landscaping such as: understanding hazardous product labels, tools and fasteners, lawnmowers, and flower gardens. A complementary Ready for Work manual addresses soft skills.
     URL: http://www.nald.ca/library/learning/gap/grounds/pdf/grounds.pdf

Bridging the Employment Gap - Retail is one in a series of manuals for Learners with Low Level Literacy Skills. The Retail manual addresses issues and work tasks in retail settings such as: counting money, matching UPC numbers and stocking shelves. A complementary Ready for Work manual addresses soft skills.
     URL: http://www.nald.ca/library/learning/gap/retail/pdf/retail.pdf

Bridging the Employment Gap - Janitorial is one in a series of manuals for Learners with Low Level Literacy Skills. The Janitorial manual addresses issues and work tasks in janitorial settings such as:  understanding hazardous product labels, understanding signs, mopping  and garbage: bags & recycling. A complementary Ready for Work manual addresses soft skills.
     URL: http://www.nald.ca/library/learning/gap/janitorial/pdf/janitorial.pdf

Bridging the Employment Gap - Kitchen Help is one in a series of manuals for Learners with Low Level Literacy Skills. The Kitchen Help manual addresses issues and work tasks in kitchen, bakery, or restaurant settings such as: dishwasher use, food sorting and storage, burner and oven use and measuring ingredients. A complementary Ready for Work manual addresses soft skills.
     URL: http://www.nald.ca/library/learning/gap/kitchen/pdf/kitchen.pdf

Shifting Gears: State Innovation to Advance Workers and the Economy in the Midwest: this report summarizes state actions to address the issues faced by the five Midwestern states (Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin), who wish to strengthen state postsecondary, adult basic education, and workforce development systems so that more low-skilled workers gain the education, skills and credentials needed to advance and succeed in our changing economy.
     URL: http://www.shifting-gears.org/images/PDF/ProjectResources2/shiftinggearsstateinnovationstoadvanceworkersandtheeconomyinthemidwest0710.pdf

Strengthening the Skills of Our Current Workforce: Recommendations for Increasing Credential Attainment Among Adults in Minnesota: this report provides recommendations for success, such as Minnesota’s FastTRAC which helps educationally underprepared adults achieve success in well-paying careers by integrating basics skills and career-specific training in formats that are convenient and manageable for working adults.
     URL: http://www.gwdc.org/adult_learners/GWDC_Strengthening_the_Skills_of_Our_Current_Workforce.pdf

Working to Learn: Skills Development Under Work First: this report provides practitioners and policy makers with an opportunity to benefit from the experience of nonprofit organizations, public agencies, community colleges and employers that have been able to meet Work First requirements and provide needed training for workers. It sets out organizational strategies and operating principles that underlie these effective programs.
     URL:
http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publication.asp?search_id=20&publication_id=99&section_id=0

We're Education...You're Semiconductors: Improving Worker Skills Through Employer-Community College Partnerships: this report describes how several major employers are partnering with community colleges to provide training that upgrades the skills of their workers. It offers key lessons for both employers and community colleges about how to structure their relationships for success.
http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publication.asp?search_id=20&publication_id=98&section_id=0

“Growing Their Own” Skilled Workforces: Community Health Centers Benefit from Work-Based Learning for Frontline Employees: through Jobs to Careers, four community health centers have partnered with education institutions and other community organizations to change the way frontline employees are trained, rewarded, and advanced. This report details how these partnerships have developed career paths and made them easily available to frontline employees.
http://www.jff.org/publications/workforce/growing-their-own-skilled-workforces-com/1151

The Language of Opportunity: Expanding Employment Prospects for Adults with Limited English Skills: this resource summarizes the research on best practices for developing workplace programs for low-skilled immigrants. It lays out principles and steps required to develop educational programs that assist non-native speakers to improve language, cross-cultural, and job skills. It also includes an appendix of promising program models and practices delivered in various parts of the United States.
     URL: http://lincs.ed.gov/lincs/resourcecollections/abstracts/workforce/RC_work_abs50.html

Tennessee ESOL in the Workplace: is a collaborative project of the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the Center for Literacy Studies at The University of Tennessee, this manual was developed for English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) supervisors and instructors to prepare them to launch successful workplace initiatives in business and industry.
     URL:     http://lincs.ed.gov/lincs/resourcecollections/abstracts/workforce/RC_work_abs01.html

Workplace Health and Safety ESOL Curriculum: is a comprehensive lesson plan that focuses on safety and health issues that arise in the workplace. The lessons utilize authentic material and base the discussion in students’ lived experiences. While the curriculum is specifically designed for union classes in Massachusetts, it is valuable more generally to the field of adult education.
     URL:
http://lincs.ed.gov/lincs/resourcecollections/abstracts/workforce/RC_work_abs53.html

Hard Work on Soft Skills: this publication describes approaches used by four workforce development programs to prepare their participants for the cultural demands of the workplace. Each program has a different approach and serves different populations with the same goal of success in the workplace for their learners.
     URL: http://lincs.ed.gov/lincs/resourcecollections/abstracts/workforce/RC_work_abs84

Getting Ahead — Staying Ahead: Helping America’s Workforce Succeed in the 21st Century: is a valuable tool for adult and workforce education programs, exploring the knowledge and skills workers need to compete and succeed and makes recommendations that would encourage relevant skill development, create a culture of lifelong learning, and facilitate capacity to adapt to changing labor markets.  
     URL: http://businessroundtable.org/studies-and-reports/the-springboard-project-releases-final-recommendations-to-strengthen-a/

Improving Workplace Opportunities for Limited English-Speaking Workers: An Overview of Practice in the Manufacturing Sector: a study of workplaces that are incorporating ESL instruction to various degrees and is most useful to adult educators delivering workplace literacy or technical training programs; and to employers or employer associations.
     URL: http://lincs.ed.gov/lincs/resourcecollections/abstracts/workforce/RC_work_abs78

Business Results Through Essential Skills and Literacy: this guidebook can be used by businesses or literacy providers to develop assessments of the essential skills needed in the workplace to improve or maintain the skills necessary to stay competitive. It also includes several business success stories and innovative methods used to accomplish essential skills training and the impact on the company.     
   URL: http://lincs.ed.gov/lincs/resourcecollections/abstracts/workforce/RC_work_abs77

Sound Investments: Building Immigrants’ Skills to Fuel Economic Growth: this report highlights successful strategies and recommendations to address the needs of more immigrant workers. It identifies a number of innovative initiatives that are investing in low-skilled immigrant workers to help increase their opportunities for economic advancement.
     URL: http://economicmobilitycorp.org/index.php?page=62
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How to Build Bridge Programs that Fit into a Career Pathway: A Step-by-Step Guide Based on the “Carreras en Salud Program” in Chicago: this manual presents a how-to guide on bridge programs leading to specific careers; and relates specifically to a healthcare program developed for Latinos in Chicago. Can also be replicated with other ABE or ESL populations and adapted to various vocational and technical career paths.
     URL: http://lincs.ed.gov/lincs/resourcecollections/abstracts/workforce/RC_work_abs105

Adult Education for Work: Transforming Adult Education to Build a Skilled Workforce: this guide outlines how comprehensive career pathways can be constructed to better meet the skills required for today’s workforce. In addition to a self-assessment tool for program administrators and providers, the guide also provides benchmarks and promising practices.
     URL: http://www.jff.org/sites/default/files/adult_ed_work_guide.pdf

Learning for Jobs: the OECD policy review of vocational education and training (VET), presents a set of policy recommendations to help countries make their vocational systems more responsive to labour market needs and boost economic growth. 16 countries were reviewed for this report including best practices from the United States (South Carolina and Texas).
     URL: http://www.oecd.org/document/61/0,3746,en_2649_39263238_43736957_1_1_1_1,00.html

Skilling the Existing Workforce: Unlocking productivity in your business: This report identifies how businesses are drawing on the full range of skilling options and includes a diverse mix of activities such as mentoring, coaching, in-house training and information learning.
     URL: http://www.aigroup.com.au/portal/binary/com.epicentric.contentmanagement.servlet.
ContentDeliveryServlet/LIVE_CONTENT/Publications/Reports/2008/skilling_existing_workforce.pdf

The Work-Based Learning Self-Assessment Tool is designed to help education and employer partners determine how well they have implemented work-based learning. The tool also suggests steps for strengthening current practices.
     URL: http://www.jff.org/publications/workforce/work-based-learning-self-assessment-tool/913

The Sustainability Planning Tool provides educators and employers with sound methods and practices that can be used to sustain a commitment to career advancement for frontline workers. The tool also challenges administrators to think long term about the organizational and budgetary implications of continued workforce development for frontline workers.
    URL: http://www.jff.org/publications/workforce/sustainability-tool/914

Skills Credentialing Tool for IndividualsI: a self-assessment and portfolio-building tool for students, employees and job-seekers. This free on-line tool helps individuals identify their essential skills and employability attitudes and behaviors. It generates an evidence-based portfolio that can be shared with an employment counselor, instructor or workplace supervisor.
    URL: http://conferenceboard.checkboxonline.com/Survey.aspx?s=b5cfd4c7ef204b5cb3e6a6c1f7e07628

Supporting Skills for Life learners to Stick with it!: a guide for managers, practitioners and learners, offering tools for accessing personal and business strategies. It is based on persistence and motivation and provides steps for life learners to “stick with” learning until they achieve their goals.
    URL: http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=164918

Northwest Michigan WORKS!: provides a wide variety of services for youth, job seekers, employers and businesses. It consists of partnerships bringing together governmental and educational agencies, and accesses a multitude of publicly-funded programs.
    URL: http://nwm.org/miworks.asp

Mentoring Formerly Incarcerated Adults: Insights from the Ready4Work Reentry Initiative: this report explores “mentoring” as a tool for supporting the successful reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals helping them find and retain employment. The Ready4Work program provides newly released inmates with traditional employment and training services; as well as mentoring and other “wraparound” social services which are offered through partnerships among community and faith-based organizations.    
     URL: http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publication.asp?section_id=22&search_id=&publication_id=265

English Language Learner University (ELL-U): a free learning portal for Adult ESOL Educators. ELL-U provides users with a variety of learning activities and social networking opportunities designed to create a community of professional practice focused on improving ELL instruction.
     URL: http://www.ell-u.org/about_us/

Employer Engagement in the National Fund for Workforce Solutions: this report identifies challenges and solutions to helping workers gain the skills required to be employable and for employers to access the skilled labor they need.
     URL: http://www.jff.org/publications/workforce/employer-engagement-national-fund-workfo/1182

Preparing for Work: is a skills-based course to prepare individuals for entry level work. The interactive learning activities provide opportunities for learners to explore the skill concepts and to build the knowledge and apply the skills needed to succeed in work.
   URL:  http://eff.cls.utk.edu/PDF/Preparing_for_Work_Overview.pdf 

Work Readiness Credential Profile: lists the skills that new workers in entry level jobs need to be able to successfully carry out.
   URL: http://eff.cls.utk.edu/PDF/WorkReadinessProfile.pdf

Breaking Through: Helping Low-Skilled Adults Enter and Succeed in College and Careers: is a guide to developing, sustaining, and expanding strategies that create pathways for low-skilled adults from multiple entry points to occupational/technical certificates and degrees. It can be used by community college leaders and by program leaders and practitioners in adult education, workforce development, developmental education, non-credit continuing education, and occupational and technical credit programs. |
    URL: http://www.jff.org/sites/default/files/BreakingThrough.pdf

Breaking Through Practice Guide: is a compilation of practices developed and implemented by community colleges involved in the Breaking Through initiative from 2005 through 2008. The tools in this guide are designed for use by practitioners to connect adults who have low-level math and/or reading skills with postsecondary credentials leading to employment. The four components of the guide are based on key strategies identified as: accelerated learning, comprehensive support services, labor market payoffs, and aligning programs for low-skilled adults. Of interest is the inclusion of the contextualization toolkit.

   URL: http://lincs.ed.gov/lincs/resourcecollections/abstracts/workforce/RC_work_abs101

Virtual Workroom on Workforce Readiness: provides resources on integrating and contextualizing workforce skills and includes guidelines for establishing successful career pathway programs.
  URL: http://www.calpro-online.org/News.asp#workforcereadiness

NC Transition Programs: a free on-line course that provides advice and effective strategies for starting a successful transitional program.
 URL: http://www.abspd.appstate.edu/instruction/transition/index.html