The Literacy and Basics Skills (LBS) Program helps learners reach goals of:
- employment
- apprenticeship
- secondary school credit
- post-secondary education
- independence
This includes learners who have various barriers to learning.
Without foundational literacy abilities, individuals are significantly disadvantaged in their efforts to pursue their goals of a career, maintaining current employment, participating in further education and training opportunities, and increasing personal independence. The LBS Program provides adults with a foundation from which to launch and pursue their goals. This foundation is centred around Essential Skills.
According to the World Literacy Foundation, 1 out of 5 people in the world can’t read or write. That’s 20% of the population! The BK McLamore Foundation supports literacy – watch video
Essential Skills are the basic building blocks we use to learn other more complicated skills. Grounding in Essential Skills help us adapt to life and workplace change. This is why they are called Essential Skills.
Through extensive research, the Government of Canada and other national and international agencies have identified and validated nine Essential Skills. These skills are used in virtually all occupations and throughout daily life in various levels of complexity.
Essential Skills are very important.
- 77% of employers say basic writing and numeracy skills are very important
- 81% of employers indicate reading skills are essential (today’s workers must read 97 minutes per day on average)
- 70% of employers report awareness of significant workplace literacy issues
Learners may advance their Essential Skills by studying an occupational curriculum designed for specific positions such as Warehouse Worker, Retail Associate, etc. For a complete listing of these positions, please look under the FREE Courses tab. This instruction is provided in either a small group classroom or one-on-one with a volunteer tutor.
If you would like to upgrade your Essential Skills call 613-932-7161 today. The LBS program is free-of-charge and is offered on an ongoing basis. You can sign up anytime!
A few words from our learners
“TCLC is a friendly, non-judgmental place that lets you work independently at your own pace… Staff is knowledgeable on subjects.”
-Kendra
“It’s a great learning place. You go at your own pace. My teacher is always available and he’s super awesome and knowledgeable. I haven’t received a good education in high school, especially in math. I’ve always struggled with it my whole life…”
-Chantal Lavictoire
Tri-County Literacy Council 