Before entering into the various steps of the definitive implementation of a literacy training programme, this chapter will explain the fundamentals that underpin the Literacy@Work approach.
Adults at work: The provider’s attitude The training courses are specially designed for adult learners. It must therefore be kept in mind that each of the learners has a path; a personal, social and professional life that enables them to acquire knowledge, experience and know-how. They have also developed strategies to face difficulties linked to basic skills at work and in everyday life. The group that the teaching team is going to work with is composed of workers or employees who have been working in their given professional sector, in some cases for a long time, and do not need to be taught their job. The workplace literacy trainer is a literacy trainer and not a “job trainer”. Moreover, the know-how and strategies developed by people throughout their personal and professional pathways can be a support for them to learn new things. They are skilled professionals in their trade while the teaching teams have no knowledge that work. Meanwhile however, the learners have difficulty with basic skills, which is the teachin g team’s area of expertise. The work situation is the one common factor in both the learners’ training and their actual area of expertise. Hence it is a starting point for analysing the needs and building the contents of the training programme. As training providers and as teaching teams, you must take these aspects into account through every single stage of the project, from the very first contact with the company to the final evaluation of the training programme.
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