Financial Literacy Program Proving to be Effective in Minority Communities
Money Matters, a financial literacy program originally created in 2011 for adults enrolled in literacy upgrading programs, was adapted and tailored to work with newcomers to Canada and Indigenous Peoples in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Now, after more than three years of running the program, we're seeing the positive impact it’s made on these communities.
Since inception, nearly 6,000 Indigenous learners and more than 7,000 newcomers have attended workshops in various cities across the country. The organization has found that the customization of the program has been effective in reaching and recruiting more learners to the program.
“I just want to tell single moms and troubled kids, you can do it. You really can. You just have to keep trying,” Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) student Kaitlin Pitts speaks passionately about the Work Employment Education Development Skills Link Program that got her back on the path to a successful future.
When I was 19 years old, I had my first son. Shortly after he was born, his father was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis which led to me solely providing for our son and struggling to make ends meet working minimum wage jobs with no grade 12 education.
Born and raised in Bible Hill, a suburb of Truro in central Nova Scotia, I was just about at my breaking point when I came across an ad by Metro Works Employment Association for their Work Employment Education Development Skills Link Program in nearby Stewiacke. I quickly and apprehensively applied to the program but was unsure of my qualifications as I had no high school diploma, and little work experience.
Through the Work Employment Education Development Skills Link Program, I learned numerous skills that eventually led to me being accepted into the Continuing Care Assistant Program at NSCC Truro. The skills I developed in this program were communication within the workplace, mental health, first aid/CPR... there were a lot. My favourite, most rewarding skill that I learned during the program was self-confidence building.
Growing up being a troubled kid and running away from home, I did not have those concrete things that made me who I was, I kind of lost track of who I was and what I wanted to do. I had no idea if I wanted to go to school, get a job, get my grade 12 – it was wide open. The Work Employment Education Development Skills Link Program helped me figure it out, and get me back to who I was, and where I was going.”
Now I am a mother of five – three biological children and two stepchildren – they have been my drive for everything I do in my life, they are what keep me going.
In five years, I definitely see myself having a career. I would love to pursue more education and eventually buy my own home. We all need to keep moving forward, and continue to build ourselves up. Just because you hit one dead end, you can’t give up, there’s so much more to come. You just have to keep trying and keep pushing, and ask for help – never be afraid to ask for help.
Update Your LEARN Listing
With summer officially here, it's the perfect opportunity to review
and update your LEARN listing. If you currently have a LEARN listing, you would have received an email from us last week with a link to review your listing. If you have any changes to make, please email them to intern@abclifeliteracy.ca.
Community News
Call for Expertise
Does your organization have experience embedding skill instruction into your family literacy practice? Alberta's Community Learning Network is exploring this area, and they'd love to hear from you. If you'd like to share your learning with them, please email Carissa at cdigangi@abclifeliteracy.ca, and she'll put you in touch.
Calls for Stakeholder Engagement
On behalf of the Future Skills Centre, the Conference Board of Canada will be facilitating a series of regional roundtable discussions with Canadian skills stakeholders. With planning and preparations underway, we look forward to facilitating these events in late 2019 and early 2020. If you're interested in learning more, please connect with Heather McIntosh at mcintosh@conferenceboard.ca.
Canada Training Benefit: Speak Up for Adult Learners
Join us in completing ESDC's online survey about the Canada Training Benefit. If it's going to be designed to serve adult learners and the communities that most need continuing education, then ESDC needs to hear from you! Add your voice and share the survey with your network. Survey closes July 31st.
ABC News
Last month our program coordinator for Quebec and Atlantic Canada, Erica Ruth Kelly, and our programs coordinator for Youth Teaching Adults, Jesse Myers
attended the 2019 Atlantic Education Summit in Moncton, New Brunswick.
Afterward, they asked each other some questions about their shared experience.
Erica: What's one important thing you learned about the future of education in Canada at the conference? Jesse: The current education model works for some individuals, but isn’t a “one size fits all”. There's an importance to developing human skills such as empathy, confidence and communication. Evaluating a student based upon what they know on a test isn’t always the most accurate representation of how far a student has developed over the course of the school year.
Jesse: What's one thing you heard during presentations that surprised you the most about education in Canada? Erica: I was very happy to see that there’s a discussion around digital tools being just that – tools. They are not a magic-bullet solution to problems in education, but rather, a support to different teaching methods.
Erica: The main topic at the summit was around what education will look like in 2030. Was there anything you found particularly interesting about that conversation? Jesse: What I found interesting was the idea of centering education around an individual instead of the actual content and material itself. Allowing students to learn what they want and what they're most interested in can really show them the fun of learning.
Jesse: Can you think of any quotes you heard in any of the presentations you attended that you’d like to share? Erica: Yes! One of my favourites was from David Perley, a Wolastoqi scholar from Tobique First Nation. He was speaking about teaching indigenous peoples and said, “Culture-based education means you will be honoured for who you are.” It really stuck with me.
Want to discuss more? We’d love to hear from you! Send an email to Ericaor Jesse.
“I just want to tell single moms and troubled kids, you can do it. You really can. You just have to keep trying,” Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) student Kaitlin Pitts speaks passionately about the Work Employment Education Development Skills Link Program that got her back on the path to a successful future.
If you currently have a LEARN listing, you would have received an email from us last week with a link to review your listing. If you have any changes to make, please email them to 
