UPSKILL: A Credible Test of Workplace Literacy and Essential Skills Training

Authors:David GyarmatiNorm LeckieMichael DowieBoris PalametaTaylor Shek-Wai HuiElizabeth DunnSophie Hébert

A large-scale demonstration project to measure the impacts of literacy and essential skills (LES) training in the workplace. The project uses a random assignment design to provide the most reliable measures of the impacts of LES training on workers skills, their job performance, and other outcomes relevant to workers and firm-level objectives. Approximately 80-100 firms and 1,200 workers participated, half of whom received training; the other half served as a control group in the study.

Download Technical PaperDownload Final ReportDownload Executive Summary

Project Details

Capability: Experimentation
Policy Area: Adult Learning - Literacy and Essential Skills
Population: General Population - Low-skilled Workers
Type: Report, Executive Summary, Technical Paper
Start Date: February 2010
Completion Date: February 2014
Sponsors: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, Office of Literacy and Essential Skills

Other Related Projects and Publications

• UPSKILL Health and Mental Health Outcomes Study: Conceptual Model Testing
• UPSKILL Health Study — Knowledge Synthesis Report
• UPSKILL Health — Technical Report on the Qualitative Sub-Study
• UPSKILL Health — Technical Report on Worker and Business Outcomes

Other Related Projects