Implications
-There is some connection and tension between the transportability between schools and the workplace
-Writing is very contextual, specific to that time and place
-Writing and thinking as a response to context

Gaps
-Need to address the difference between what the students need and what the curriculum demands
-What the school system says needs to happen and what the workplace needs to happen
-The difference between the curriculum and the application in the workplace
-There are some motivators that are ignored when trying to engage people in education because they need to see the relevance in their life, so if it doesn’t seem relevant they won’t engage
-Everyone seems to agree we need to have these essential skills, however we have different pathways to get there
-The business world seems to expect to hire employees who are finished products or masters at their trade. This makes risk-taking, an essential aspect of learning and growth, too risky [seconded!]
-The disconnect and lack of collaboration between educational institutions, government, workforce, and the learners’ reality is a huge gap which slows down/prevents effective transition
-If we don’t understand expectations they will never align or intersect
-Even though there are government plans and strategies for increasing literacy in the general population there is still not enough financial support to carry out their vision

Next steps
-Incredibly important to bring all of these stakeholders together (learners, government, academia, non-profits, workplace, etc.) to align some of our strategies
-Write a white paper to take our experiences/conversations to policy makers
-Include private sector in discussions re: needs/expectations
-Create formal partnership group for research and implementation of new ways forward
-Strengthen eventual white paper with sustained study stemming from these conversations
-The emphasis on who to include here-What about the small and medium economies? They should also be at the table
-More research projects with the people at this conference and to respond to some of the questions emerging from these discussions
-Expanding curriculum to include various types of writing
-Opportunities to make these ideas into action. Developing material; practical projects (hesitate to say “create policy”); community, institutional and worksite training (with worker involvement)
-At the college and in my professional organization I have to access ‘cultural sensitivity’ workshops. But students don’t have that access. Workplaces are multicultural and sensitivity is necessary for success
-All stakeholders-government, educators, employers-seem to have similar end goals, but have widely diverse and often conflicting pathways to get there. How can we better align these groups?
-There is a tremendous benefit to continue to continue to have cross-stakeholder conversations like these today
-Project needs down/up next ten years in a global context
Best practices from companies like Enmax need to be disseminated to both educational institutions and the corporate world
-Photo journal project, white paper, summary report, research project should evolve from this
-Some quick resources and summaries should be developed that could easily be used by community
-Need to have further discussion about if we continue this partnership, what would we want it to look like, who would want to be involved, etc. to be able to make change

Same group.

1. Is there a lowered standard of writing today? Is it lower or different? Is it a perception?
2. Most assessors in non-writing courses are looking at content vs grammar etc. so feedback is not consistent.
3. Employers have very high expectations in many cases.
4. What is good writing? What does it look like? The boss sets the tone – does she set the standard?

How does the ‘ we are always learners’ comment sound to people in lower socio- economic circumstances who may see themselves as always working vs always learning? Is that label of life long learning one of privilege?
5. Students take criticism personally – comes with grade deduction. So see feedback as bad? Need to help make feedback part of a constructive process.
6. Many barriers that student’s face are re personal attributes (attitudes, accountability etc) -do we support them in developing those in structured ways?

Teach them how to learn, that there is a place to find information, how to find information, how to integrate information.
Make situations more realistic. Use relevant, up to date workplace documents and materials.
Foster critical thinking.
Be explicit in your teaching.
Different institutions have different focuses. Some are more focused on workplace.
Teach the process of writing, editing.
Fear of failure is difficult to overcome.
Integrate a collaborative approach to writing in the classroom.
Deborah Morgan’s “Writing Out Loud”.
Participatory writing.
Is there an instructional process around collaborative writing?
Teach the difference between criticism and critique. How to give feedback that can strengthen without demoralizing.

-To what extent would it differ from how students are currently taught in university-currently they are being taught to learn in university, however in some conversations the needs are more technological
-Confidence is again integral
-The tools of literacy vary, some are physical tools like paper as where others are being able to “tweet”
-A lot of people turn away from some technology because it may be difficult to learn at first if this is a skill you do not currently have
-Determination is a factor, particularly to learning independently
-Small victories can build on acquiring these skills
-Empowerment is key-Meeting learners where they are, making sure the learning is reciprocal, if they have the opportunity to share, that you respect the learner’s capacity as expert in things they are skilled at
-Humility needs to be a part of learning for both learners and instructors
-Ex. Using google Docs in the classroom-immediate feedback for the learners, supports the student’s learning because they can carry forward and less pressure
-Need to support learners in an environment where there is lots of feedback
-Gap between the student learning and the workplace learning needs to shrink
-Unfortunately people often view education and workplace as extremely separate, which impacts learners’ transition
-The scary piece of failure/not knowing
-Learning is threatening to some sense
-Learning is hard work
-How often can we say we “don’t know” in a workplace, is it safe to say you need to learn?
-How do you prepare with changes that are happening in the workplace or where your role evolves?
-It becomes your ability to learn vs. what you know, yet you have to know stuff to begin with
-Need to make it explicit in the workplace that we are all learners to encourage a culture of learning, to feel comfortable with taking on and embodying the role of a learner in the workplace
-LEARN OR DIE!!!
-Learners need to be engaged to retain skills
-Experiential learning helps students retain skills they’ve learned
-Showing learners the process of trial and error, through the muddy brainstorming, through the mistakes and various edits…This is the process of writing we often leave out but is extremely beneficial
-We need to demystify learning for learners, remove the perceived “expertise” of the instructor. –We need to show the learner that the instructor struggles as well
-Utilizing funny tools like “The Oatmeal” or “The Yuniversity” or using creative tools like Poetry Genius, Rap Genius, Rock Genius, and create “memes”
-Meeting learners where they are at
-Spoken word programs are very helpful as well to engage learners
-Build assessment pieces with the learners-ask them what should be included, build the rubric together to help them feel a sense of ownership over their learning and to have a voice in how they will be marked (Learners also got better marks because they very clearly understood the requirements of the assignment)
-Learning should include fun things like games, people learn better when they are relaxed and enjoying themselves
-Work can be a game, but can be challenging as well

Young people and Internationally trained professionals (immigrants) often face the same challenge, have knowledge and training, but not what is outwardly said to be needed by the workplace; young people lacking 2-5 years of direct experience; ITPs lacking domestic experience but have 10-15 years of high level experience in the field. Road forward for each could lie in intership-model types of training.