YELLOWKNIFE (October 8, 2013) – The Northwest Territories (NWT), in partnership with the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), released the first national and jurisdictional results of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) today. The results show current adult literacy rates across Canada and for the territory.

PIAAC is a ground-breaking international study of adult learning and skills. It measures not only adult literacy and numeracy but also problem solving in technology-rich environments, and provides extensive contextual data on adult skills at work. Nine hundred NWT residents took part in the study, representative of all cultural, linguistic and educational backgrounds.

“These results are new indicators to provide us with a baseline to help track literacy levels among adults, and moving forward, will inform the structure and objectives of literacy programs,” said the Honourable Jackson Lafferty, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. “The data provides us with what we need to know to ensure we continue to build a stronger education system.  It is also critical to understanding where we need to address our program gaps for skills and training, and ensure the needs of our adult learners are being met.”

The Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) is currently reviewing, developing and assessing several literacy programs, in partnership with Aurora College and the NWT Literacy Council.  These include the Adult Literacy and Basic Education program, the Adult Recognition Model and programming for out-of-school and at-risk youth in small communities. ECE is also developing an Accountability Framework for the Education and Training of Adults in the NWT to improve planning, monitoring and evaluation of programming effectiveness and access.

For more information on the PIAAC results, please review the attached backgrounder.

Backgrounder - Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies

For more information:

Ashley Green
Public Affairs Officer
Education, Culture and Employment
Phone: (867) 920-3059
Email: ashley_green@gov.nt.ca