Building Essential Skills in the Workplace: Teaching the Skills That Enable Employees to Manage Change at Syncrude Canada Ltd.

This case study on Building Essential Skills in the Workplace highlights Syncrude’s Effective Reading in Context Program—Canada’s first and extraordinarily successful workplace literacy program that has grown and inspired others.

Document Highlights

Syncrude is a leader in developing its employees’ essential skills. It realized early on that its success hinged on a highly skilled, literate and numerate workforce that is capable of lifelong learning and that possesses key essential skills. In 1988, Syncrude, in partnership with Keyano College in Fort McMurray, developed and launched Effective Reading in Context (ERIC), Canada’s first workplace literacy program. Its aim: to enhance supervisors’ key essential skills, such as reading comprehension, writing, and the confidence and ability to deal with organizational change, technological advances and all of the skill- and knowledge-related challenges of the information age.

ERIC was so successful with supervisory personnel that Syncrude began to offer it to all of its employees and now makes it available to business, industry, unions, high schools and communities throughout Alberta.

This case study examines ERIC, the motivations behind it, and how the success of the program has enhanced Syncrude’s competitive position.