Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Kingston Literacy and Skills cut the ribbon outside its new location at 9 Advance Ave. in Napanee on June 19, officially completing their move to a bigger and better facility.
The new locale measures three times the size of its previous downtown home, is fully accessible and comes equipped with the latest job training technology.
The upgrades will better assist the non-profit organization in its mission to deliver literacy upgrading and teach workforce preparation to anyone over the age of 18 who is lacking the basic skills needed to find employment. They also go one step further, assisting with college preparation as well for those seeking post-secondary education.
“We have the classroom instruction but now we can provide fully digital literacy that we were not able to before with the computer equipment we had,” said Chuck Dowdall, executive director at KL&S. “We can provide full digital literacy either instructed or the student can go online on the online learning module and learn at their own pace. They can come in at any time to do that, it’s not set hours. They have access to the computer lab the entire time.”
Expanded space allows them to house new point of sale technology, which provides students the opportunity to gain experience working on the same scanning device they’d use if they landed a job in retail or in the hospitality industry. Dowdall says he’s worked closely with Justin and Dale Beebe from the Napanee Home Hardware as well as other local businesses to develop a training program that prepares students to hit the ground running once they land a job.
“This is not only literacy, but it’s also for employability,” said Dowdall. “We provide the whole certified program for anyone who wants to work in retail.”
KL&S also provides no cost training to current employees who want to learn the new technology, as well as working with local businesses to set employment for students who graduate from their program. Downdall says it’s a win-win situation in that businesses are getting free training while their students are landing jobs right out of the program.
Along with opening the new facility, KL&S is also in the midst of a new pilot project, which provides literacy training for the residents of the Quinte Detention Centre.
“We actually go into Quinte Detention Centre throughout the week and provide scheduled literacy training and employment training and counselling to residents of Quinte Detention Centre,” said Dowdall. “I can find a positive skill in anyone, regardless of the choices they’ve made. This just assists them so that when they leave Quinte Detention Centre, we just don’t drop them like a hot potato.”
Teaching the residents of Quinte Detention Centre some employable skills could go a long way as they attempt to rehabilitate and work their way back into society. It also addresses the fact that Health Canada has recently recognized literacy as a key factor in determining a person’s overall health and well-being.
Dowdall says the agency also prides itself that the location in Napanee, which serves the rural area of Lennox and Addington, provides the exact same programs as that of its sister location in Kingston. He says that was important when finding a new home, that they provide the same opportunities to those living in a rural area where transportation is often times a barrier.
The programming is made possible through funding from government funding through the Ministry of Advanced Educational Skills Development.
For more on their programming, visit klandskills.ca/.