TOWES: practical, effective, beautiful.

It may seem strange to refer to a hiring tool as beautiful, but the Test of Essential Workplace Skills (TOWES) fits that descriptor in its practicality, logic and effectiveness. This major national initiative was developed to assess skills competencies in the areas of reading text, numeracy and document use--not to align people with further education as most tests do, but to determine their fit with specific jobs and job environments.

Funded by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), this test is delivered in Ontario through a partnership among 21 of Ontario's Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology, and the College Sector for Adult Upgrading. The test compares a person's skills against ratings developed by the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) and HRSDC to help employers increase workplace safety, improve their productivity, screen for skills in potential employees, and adapt more quickly to new technologies. It measures essential skills, or the skills people use to carry out a wide variety of everyday life and work tasks--not the technical skills required by particular occupations. Writing skills used in the filling out of forms is one example. In addition to helping people perform these tasks, essential skills provide people with a foundation to learn other skills, and enhance their ability to adapt to change.

One of the most active colleges in the TOWES initiative is Canadore College in North Bay, where they are currently testing potential employees for Ontario Northland, an operational enterprise of the Government of Ontario providing transportation and telecommunication services throughout northeastern Ontario. Karyn Brearley, Executive Director of Enterprise and Partnership for Canadore College, says that TOWES is one of the most useful tools her department has to carry out its mandate. "We're the sector of the college that looks after all interaction with businesses and industry," Brearly says. "If a company needs to train welders, for example, their representatives would come to us. We also deal with all three levels of government, from municipal organizations to HRSDC."

Brearley points out that TOWES was initiated in western Canada, where the concept was developed, designed and prototyped. "Through the Colleges of Ontario Network for Education & Training (CON*NECT), Canadore College has been involved since December of 2003. In a way, we were launched into it by the needs of Ontario Northland, one of our local clients. The organization is over 100 years old, and was initially created as an economic development tool to get people and product in to and out of the north. Today, it provides passenger service by train and by motor coach, freight train service, and telecommunications services through its subsidiary, Ontera."

In the spring of 2004, Ontario Northland underwent a significant reorganization and at the same time successfully bid on a major refurbishing project for GO Transit. The project is to refurbish up to 121 commuter cars over the life of the contract. The cars will be stripped to the bones, re-engined, reupholstered, painted, glassed, etc. As a result of the changes, the organization found itself needing to hire about 125 new employees throughout the organization, with about half of those to work on the GO Transit project. Ontario Northland had been considering TOWES testing for use in its apprenticeship selection to update the process, and when the major hiring initiative was to be undertaken, Canadore suggested using TOWES as an evaluation tool.

"It's been fascinating," Brearley says, "to see Ontario Northland's unions and management coming together to improve their hiring practices to ensure the best candidates are selected. Being an organization with a low turnover rate, the challenge of such a relatively large hiring was significant."

Ontario Northland placed ads in various newspapers and on the web for several different trades occupations including auto-body repair, electrician and millwright, and literally received thousands of applications. They did the initial screening, validated credentials and came up with a go-forward pile. At this point, Canadore stepped in. "We contacted between 200 and 300 people to undergo the testing." Brearley says. "We invited them to participate in a neutral environment, which means there were no representatives of Ontario Northland there, and the candidates sat and wrote the test. Because these jobs involve skilled trades, they wrote the G3 level test, which upholds a federally established standard based on a formula to determine the workplace outcome skill level a person would need in a specific area. The participants then allowed Ontario Northland to receive copies of the results. This helped Ontario Northland decide with whom to follow up. It is a practical process to help with hiring." TOWES deals with workplace-related questions, and assumes those taking it are going back to work. "It helps companies grow, which if done effectively, adds to the bottom line."

TOWES differs from other tests partially because it uses authentic documents such as order forms, labels, catalogues and the like as source material. Questions mirror real workplace tasks. TOWES creators have also developed curriculum and training plans designed to address skill gaps.

The Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council (CTHRC) has embraced the TOWES assessment process as well, in the form of two customized TOWES assessments. One is for Professional Drivers, and the other for Dispatchers, Professional Driver Trainers, and Transportation Safety Professionals. The tests fit well with CTHRC's National Essential Skills Strategy that involves activities linked to assessment, upgrading, partnerships and awareness. "Our goal," says Linda Gauthier, Executive Director of CTHRC, "is to have the trucking industry fully integrate the essential skills assessment and upgrading into its human resource plans for recruitment, training and retention."

TOWES has generated interest across Canada. According to Gary Cronkwright, Director of CON*NECT, "TOWES is the most effective way to ensure that your current and potential workforce has the skills that are needed to thrive safely in their work environment. Ontario will benefit greatly from this standard."

Beautiful, isn't it?