Literacy Facts

Canadian Statistics

Manitoba Statistics

Literacy in Manitoba

EDUCATION

In Canada, twelve years of formal education are needed for a person to attain literacy level 3, the level at which most communications occur (level 1 is normally achieved by grade 4, level 2 is normally attained by the end of grade 8). From the Internet to newspapers and recipe cards, level 3 is the level for most popular writing and reading.

According to the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS, 1995), academic and professional writing’s selective vocabulary and concepts are often at level 4 or 5. Many years of post-secondary training are required to write (or read) at these levels.

(According to the International Adult Literacy Survey IALS, 1995.p. 77)

• According to the 2006 Canada Census, the number of Manitoba adults of working age (20 to 64) with less than grade 12 is 138,130 or 20.5% of working age adults.  The fewest Manitobans with lower than grade 12 standing are in the 25 – 34 cohort at 16%.
• The cohort with the lowest education levels is the oldest (75+) at 51%. About 70,000 seniors (65 and older) did not complete high school. Half of these have less than grade 9.
• Youth are staying in school and tend to be better educated; the drop-out rate in Manitoba has improved significantly in the past decade.  More students are staying in school and those who have left are returning in unprecedented numbers.
• The availability of “second chance” learning opportunities has permitted thousands of former drop-outs to return to Adult Learning Centres and literacy upgrading programs to complete and obtain High School credits.

LABOUR FORCE and ECONOMICS

• Average annual salary for a Manitoba worker with a college or trade school certificate in 1998: $29,000
• Average annual salary for a Manitoba worker with less than a high school education: $19,000
• The estimated cost per year of low literacy to Manitoba society in 2005: $800 million

Sources: 2001 Statistics Canada Census Report; Manitoba Advanced Education and Training Statistical Return 2003; Manitoba Provincial Budget 2003; Perrin, B. How does literacy affect the health of Canadians, 1998; LPM Literacy Atlas; Conference Board of Canada Literacy and Economics Report.,  IALSS, 2003 Statistics Canada.

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