Literacy & Employment
Literacy skill levels are strongly co-related with successful employment outcomes. Canadians with low literacy skills are more than twice as likely to be unemployed than those with higher level literacy skills. OECD Skills Outlook 2013: First Results from the Survey of Adult Skills. 2013. OECD Publishing.
Educational attainment is strongly related to employment. In 2016, only 55% of Canadians aged 25 to 64 who did not complete high-school were employed. Conversely, the rate was 82% who had attained a college or university credential. Education Indicators in Canada, an International Perspective. Statistics Canada. December 2017.
Literacy & Health
Canadians with the lowest levels of literacy are more than twice as likely to be in poor health compared to Canadians with higher literacy skills. Special Report: Canada’s literacy and numeracy challenge worsens. December 12, 2013. TD Economics. Craig Alexander and Jonathan Bendiner (page 7).
Literacy & Health
The high school graduation rate in Ontario has increased from 68% in 2004 to 86.5% in 2016. However, this still means that 13.5% of young people dropped out before completing their high school education. In addition, 19% of Ontario students who wrote the grade 10 literacy test in the 2016-2017 school year were unsuccessful. Ontario Ministry of Education, Education Quality and Accountability Office, 2017.
Literacy & Justice
Correctional Services Canada reports that approximately 75% of offenders admitted to federal custody had an education level of less than Grade 12. Offender Education Programs and Services. February 2015.
Literacy & the Economy
Literacy provides a substantial socio-economic return on investment. There is strong evidence that investment in literacy can benefit the Canadian economy by: reducing costs in areas such as social assistance, healthcare, and justice; and it results in increased productivity and earnings. The 2011 report From Poverty to Possibility: Literacy’s Impact on Canadian Economic Success, placed the annual savings in social assistance alone of raising every adult to Level 3 at $542 million. From Poverty to Prosperity: Literacy’s Impact on Canada’s Economic Success. 2011. Canadian Literacy and Learning Network.
Download the PDF of “More Than Words Can Say” (2018) from Community Literacy of Ontario HERE
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