Learning Pathways Advisor

A learning pathways advisor is a key person in connecting learners with needed resources, people, and opportunities to progress down their meaningful learning pathways. A learning pathways advisor helps a learner create and sustain a learning plan as a central part of this progression.

What does a learning pathways advisor do?

A learning pathways advisor meets with learners who express the need to become students and access formal learning or training. An advisor meets with educational organizations to explore possible learning pathways and creates a dynamic and shared learning pathways catalog.

With the student, the advisor creates a learning plan for completion of a learning pathway based on learner goals, abilities, and circumstances. The learning pathways advisor will conduct interviews with the learner and help them complete needs assessments. To make this plan actionable and sustainable, this advisor maintains connections with support groups, funding sources, and government agencies to help learners complete and continue.

The learning pathways advisor will be an advocate for the learner and educational organizations in advancing adult learning. The advisor will connect innovative programs to current job market trends. The learning pathways advisor will promote the importance of learning pathways and adult education funding for the support of economic, personal, social, and community development.

The work of a learning pathways advisor will be hybrid, tapping into the advantage of the flexibility of remote work and the presence of work at a personal office at the local learning and testing centre.

What knowledge, skills, and attitude make for a successful learning pathways advisor?

A learning pathways advisor should have working knowledge of the local higher education, literacy, and foundational learning environment, with a willingness to learn more. The advisor should be skilled in creating positive customer relationships through open and regular dialogue. Being able to work with productivity and customer relationship management apps online would be of great benefit. Dealing with learners, educational organizations, and other stakeholders will require the ability to manage bookings and keep deadlines. In general, a learning pathways advisor is someone who will take initiative, seek to work with others, and solve problems collaboratively.

What previous education and experience would be recommended for a successful learning pathways advisor?

A learning pathways advisor should have some post-secondary education as evidenced by a credential. Training or studies in adult education or advising would be an asset. Previous experience in coaching, advising, tutoring, or teaching would bring needed perspective, network, and talents to the work of a learning pathways advisor. Leadership roles in an educational, community, or government organization would provide further direction in carrying out the implementation of learning pathways. Work dealing with grant writing, fundraising, or finances would be an added benefit for making learning plan supports.

What would be the compensation for a learning pathways advisor with Foundational Learning?

A learning pathways advisor would initially be on contract until such time as Foundational Learning has established a sustainable student base in the community. The wage for the contract would be based on education and experience, ranging from $40 - $50 hour Canadian. The contract would have a minimum length of 6 months with the option to extend. A learning pathways advisor on contract would be given first consideration when the position becomes salaried. References would be available upon request.

Who is Foundational Learning?

Foundational Learning is an organization established to create access for adult learners and educators to quality learning resources and opportunities as a primary means to support economic, personal, social, and community development across Canada.

The landscape of foundational learning across Canada continues to shift. Funding of programs and students continues to diminish amid rising costs of housing and unemployment. In the wake of these shifts, work continues to be done across educational organizations, support services, and government agencies to adapt and collaborate. A new national high school equivalency diploma program, Canadian Adult Education Credential, has been created and is being implemented to give adult learners a needed foundational credential.

As part of this work, the Foundational Learning organization came to be working to establish community supports and action to sustain foundational learning as a critical societal building block. The Foundational Learning has hosted a Foundational Learning Conference to bring together stakeholders. It is rolling out a student-facing web app, Passcaec.com, to help students complete their Canadian Adult Education Credential, with educational organizations, support services, and government agencies. It has created partnerships to create a learning and testing centre in a municipality in need of foundational learning and continued training opportunities.