References and PD Resources

This page introduces the nine Essential Skills and the Essential Skills levels. Examples of workplace tasks illustrate the Essential Skills and levels.

This article highlights the importance of building learners’ awareness of soft skills for employability. It has lesson ideas for teaching learners verbal and non-verbal soft skills from intermediate to advanced levels.

This comparative framework contextualizes the Essential Skills (ES) framework within the context of language development and the Canadian Language Benchmarks. It is designed to support ESL instructors with learners who hope to join the workforce (as well as ES practitioners who are working with employees who are language learners). It helps instructors identify employment-related content for the classroom, as well as develop learning materials, assessments, and programs.

Based on tasks identified in occupation-specific Essential Skills Profiles and NOCs, Occupational Language Analyses define the CLB levels required to perform the tasks from selected Essential Skills Profiles.

This article presents results from two studies identifying the communication needs of adult immigrants in the workplace. The studies highlight the importance of going beyond the traditional LINC/ESL focus on the four skills, and addressing the oral communication needs of adult immigrant learners, not neglecting listening, pronunciation, and pragmatics.

This website provides an introduction to the framework of skills identified by the Government of Canada as needed to thrive and participate in learning, work, and life. Previously called Essential Skills, these are now called Skills for Success and include the following: adaptability, collaboration, communication, creativity and innovation, digital, numeracy, problem solving, reading, and writing.

On this webpage, you can learn about the skills (descriptions of skills and videos). You can also find assessment and training tools.

This webpage includes a short 1-minute video introducing the nine Skills for Success. These would be useful for ESL instructors who are new to the Skills for Success; instructors may also choose to use the videos in class.

ES Profiles provide detailed information about the tasks and essential skills that people in an occupation need, ranked on a 1–4 complexity scale.

Instructors might refer to these Profiles when planning curriculum and tasks for learners heading to a specific workplace.

Learners may refer to these Profiles to learn more about a target occupation and to set learning goals.

NOCs provide brief descriptions of what workers do in a particular occupation, along with sample titles, main duties, employment requirements, and additional information.

The page links to a variety of workplace projects designed to help newcomers to Alberta integrate into the workplace.