INAUGURAL JFLL LECTURE:
Productivity Enhancement Through Literacies
As part of its efforts to achieve Vision 2030 goals, the JFLL hosted its first public lecture to advocate strategies to enhance national goals through literacy.
"Productivity Enhancement Through Literacies" assembled leading presenters from various sectors including research, industry and education.
Dr. Charles Douglas Executive Director of the Jamaica Productivity Centre provided insight into Jamaica's declining productivity since the 1970s and a comparison to the increasing productivity of various CARICOM partners. His statistics also demonstrated that the correlation between GDP per capita and productivity was strong.
He pointed out the critical role of literacy in an increasingly technology driven workplace and as a critical foundation to make workers trainable to adapt to rapid changes in the workplace.
Dr. Phillip Brown Group Director, Human Resources Training & Services Standard, Sandals Resorts International pointed out that workers with weak literacies were counterproductive as they required more supervisory interventions for many issues, hampering their and their supervisor's productivity- a case of “handling the goods too much."
He stressed that workers need to arrive with both basic literacy and information literacies - knowing how to learn - in place, to be productive in the modern workplace
Dr. Alison Cross JFLL Executive Director took the opportunity to demonstrate the "C" change in literacy teaching methods taking place internationally. She highlighted that literacy had been revolutionized by technology and social advance to cover not just the 3 Rs but to include the 4 Cs:
- Critical thinking and problem solving
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Creativity and innovation
She also stressed the common theme of technological change and its implications on the workplace wherein simple advances in equipment could render workers with literacy challenges unproductive in short order.
These changes require a revolution in teaching strategies and methodology and policy shifts to secure a comprehensive approach to literacy instruction and the positives it brings to the workplace
The lecture is envisioned to be an annual event as part of the JFLL’s advocacy for adult education and Lifelong Learning.
Review Dr. Cross's PowerPoint here
Review Dr. Douglas Presentation here
Watch presentations and Panel Discussion here
