Building Employability Skills in Family Literacy Programs: Lessons from the Toyota Family Learning Program. Practitioner's Guide #7

The recent enactment of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) is prompting adult basic education and family literacy programs to more intentionally focus on supporting adult learners to transition to family sustaining employment. This change directly affects family literacy practitioners who primarily work with underskilled or undereducated adults living below the poverty line. Family literacy programs that include an adult basic education component are critically important because they can provide opportunities for parents to pursue additional training or education needed for skilled employment. To be competitive for skilled employment, many family literacy participants need guidance and intentional instruction in basic skills, English language development (in the case of immigrant students), and employability skills. In addition, family literacy practitioners can provide vital transition support to help participants find employment in an industry with a career path, postsecondary opportunities, or further training. This brief draws on lessons learned from an ongoing formative evaluation of the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) Toyota Family Learning program. The evaluation seeks to identify promising practices for integrating employability skills development into programming that supports parent and child literacy and family learning--core principles of family literacy programming.