Charting a Course: Responding to the Industry-Related
Adult Basic Education Needs of the Texas Workforce
Handbook One: Planning and Implementation Tips
for Program Planners and Administrators

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Appendix B: Glossary of Terms

This is an abbreviated version of the two glossaries included in the SHOP TALK series posted at http://www-tcall.tamu.edu. It is a short list of terms with which adult educators should be familiar as they prepare to discuss/deliver workforce-related instruction.

Contextual Learning: An approach in which learners develop skills through application in real world situations. This approach facilitates transfer of skills to new contexts.

Demand-Driven: used in workforce circles to refer to specific industries and occupations in demand in a particular geographical area.

Displaced or Dislocated Worker: An individual who has been terminated or laid off, or who has received notice of termination or layoff from employment, as a result of plant closure or plant relocation; or an individual who was self-employed but is now unemployed as a result of a turn in general economic conditions; or a homemaker who has been providing unpaid services to family members in the home, has been dependent on the income of another family member, and who is unemployed or underemployed and experiencing difficulty obtaining or upgrading employment (U.S. Dept. of Labor, 2004). During 2001 to 2003, approximately 11.4 million workers were displaced.

Employment Readiness Classes or Pre-Employment Skills: Minimally, these terms usually refer to short term classes to assist learners in locating job openings, completing job applications, preparing resumes, and participating effectively in job interviews. Optimally, they are extended to include personal and life skills that assist an individual in surviving and thriving in the workplace. These classes are not designed to address specific occupational skills but are a viable link to successful participation in vocational training and are fundable with WIA Title II adult education funds.

Entry Level Occupation: usually the lowest paid occupations within an industry or firm, usually requiring minimal work experience and limited educational background as conditions for hire. Criteria differ widely by industry.

Environmental Print / Realia: printed materials, manuals, signage related to a workplace, including tools and equipment used to accomplish a job task.

ESL Worker Competencies: Language and work related competencies English language learners need to get, survive, and thrive on the job (Burt, Grognet, 2001).

Industry-Specific: directly related to the job skills needed in a particular industry, such as healthcare, manufacturing, customer service.

Interpersonal Skills: Also described as life skills, soft skills, and pre-employability skills, these include the ability to participate as a member of a team, teach others new skills, serve clients/customers, exercise leadership, negotiate, and work with diversity – all critical skills for native and non-native speakers of English.

ISO: A series of standards agreed upon by the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) and a prerequisite for global competition. U.S. companies must meet ISO standards in order to compete in the international marketplace. www.techstreet.com/info/iso.tmpl.

Job Shadowing: the process of observing a job being conducted, recording the tasks needed to perform the job, and identifying the language, literacy, and basic skills needed.

Language / Literacy Task Analysis: A series of activities that help identify the literacy and language related needs of workers and inform curricular responses. Activities may include meeting with employers about a company’s specific needs, interviews/surveys of frontline supervisors, employees (native and non-native English speakers), job shadowing, plant tours, and review of environmental print.

Limited English Proficient (LEP): A term sometimes used to describe individuals with limited English language proficiency. English language learners (ELLs) are those LEPs engaged in activities to improve their English language skills. www.LEP.gov.

Lean Manufacturing: Using the minimum amount of total resources (worker, materials, money, machines, etc.) to produce a product and deliver it on time.

Learner-Centered Instruction: Instruction which builds on the strengths, interests, and needs of learners as well as on their conceptual and cultural knowledge.

National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL): A nationally representative and continuing assessment of English language literacy skills of American adults. Results reveal that more than 40% of American adults have literacy levels of 1 and 2 on a scale of 1 to 5, below the level required to secure jobs with good wages. http://nces.ed.gov/naal/

O*NET: The Occupational Information Network is a unique database and directory of occupational titles, worker competencies, job requirements, and resources designed to support public and private sector workforce development efforts. http://online.onetcenter.org/

OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. http://www.osha.gov/

Return on Investment (ROI): Direct and indirect benefits to the company offering work-related education to its employees. www.work-basedlearning.org is a free site containing workplace basic skills information, tools and advice for employers who want to raise their employees’ skill levels as well as tools for adult educators working with business and industry. Includes links to promising practices, a toolkit, tip sheets, discussion areas, and public policy updates.

Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS, 1991): A commission formed to advise the Secretary of Labor on the level of skills necessary to enter the workforce. The commission published two reports, What Work Requires of Schools and Learning a Living: A Blueprint for High Performance. These two reports provide an outline of skills and competencies needed in today’s workplace. Employers are often familiar with SCANS; many educators recognize SCANS as the building blocks for better articulated standards such as Equipped for the Future. (http://worklink.coe.utk.edu/home.htm).

Skills Development Funds: Administered by the Texas Workforce Commission, these funds assist businesses by designing, financing and implementing local customized job training programs in partnership with public community and technical colleges and community-based organizations for the creation of new or existing jobs and/or the retraining of the current workforce. http://www.twc.state.tx.us/svcs/funds/sdfintro.html

Stakeholders: Those with a vested interest in the integration of literacy services and workforce development, including education and training providers; federal, state, and local human service agencies; federal, state, and local officials, businesses, unions, correctional institutions; institutions of higher learning; elementary and secondary school systems; libraries; community-based, faith-based, and volunteer organizations; and business and professional organizations.

U.S. DOL/ETA: United States Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration: Excellent source of information regarding services and information on workplace literacy programs through the Hispanic Worker Initiative, ensuring that persons with limited English language proficiency have meaningful access to all types of federally funded programs. It maintains websites useful to adult education providers: www.lep.gov and www.doleta.gov/usworkforce/.

VESL (Vocational ESL): The study of English words, sentences, text and oral language related specifically to one job or career field. VESL includes terms and communication skills that students will actually use on the job.

Workforce ESL: An effort to integrate employment preparation into the adult ESL curriculum. It attempts to incorporate employment skills training into ESL instruction, combining communicative and behavioral objectives with linguistic objectives that can improve learners’ abilities to function in an employment or vocational training context.

Workplace Literacy and Education Programs: Also referred to as workforce-related and workforce development programs, since the nature of the program has more to do with goals and objectives than with actual location. It is designed to focus on the literacy, language, and basic skills needs of emerging, incumbent, and displaced workers.