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 . |