Employees Honoured for Workplace Education

TRANSPORTATION/PUBLIC WORKS--Employees Honoured for Workplace Education

The Department of Transportation and Public Works recently celebrated the commitment to lifelong learning of more than 30 of its employees.

The employees successfully completed an 80-hour workplace education program, which included literacy upgrading and pre-GED studies. They received certificates and were honoured at a ceremony in Middleton on Wednesday, June 20.

"This program helps numerous government employees return to the learning path and focuses on a government commitment -- lifelong learning," said Transportation and Public Works Minister Ron Russell. "I’m pleased for the employees and pleased that this program continues to be a success."

The education program is sponsored by the departments of Transportation and Public Works and Education. The Nova Scotia Highway Worker’s Union provides course material.

The transportation and public works department initiated its workplace education program in 1998 as a pilot project in Pictou County. The program soon spread to the rest of eastern and northern Nova Scotia. It has expanded to parts of western and central Nova Scotia.

The employees recognized Wednesday are from Lequille, Digby, Annapolis, Middleton, Berwick and New Minas.

More than 200 employees across Nova Scotia have participated in the program and more than 60 have written and passed their GED exam.

Mr. Russell said the department benefits by having more knowledgeable, better-educated employees and the employees benefit from the positive effect on their personal lives.

The Department of Education conducted a study in 1999 that showed 91 per cent of the participants experienced higher levels of self-confidence as a result of workplace education.