Online Community Adult Learning Needs Assessment and focus group

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Sunny South News

By Heather Cameron
Sunny South News

Residents of Picture Butte, Coaldale and Lethbridge are invited to participate in an online Community Adult Learning Needs Assessment survey until Feb. 8 and are also invited to participate in in-person focus groups.

Melanie Patenaude, executive director of the County of Lethbridge Community Learning Council, stated that NorQuest College created this assessment for the CLCLC (County of Lethbridge Community Learning Council) and for Read On Adult Literacy Services, Lethbridge Public Library. 

“It will help us to identify community adult learning needs to determine language and foundational literacy training services for adult residents and employees, skills development gaps and priorities among employers and organizations within specific communities, trends or changes in adult learner needs within the community, and supports we can provide to community adults, organizations and employers to achieve their personal and employment goals through relevant programming and services.”

This assessment is open to residents of Picture Butte, Coaldale and Lethbridge, Patenaude says, and the information will be collected by Norquest, analyzed, and the findings will be reported to CLCLC and Read On. 

“This information will help us to inform activity planning and programming in the following years. It will also help us to identify local employers who have a need for workforce language and foundational or essential skills training,” said Patenaude. “Employees’ perspectives on their foundational skills gaps, needs and learning challenges will also be identified and used to improve the design and delivery of adult learning programs that benefit the learners, employers and communities. We are excited to meet with people at the in-person surveys and we look forward to receiving the results once all the data is compiled as we want to serve our communities as best we can.”

Patenaude says that interested parties can complete the survey at the following link: https://norquest.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4Z44Uc9Txf7jvSe and completing the online survey provides a chance to win an iPad if the participant lives in Coaldale, Picture Butte or Lethbridge. Also, Patenaude says, by attending an in-person focus group, they will receive a $10 gift card.