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This preliminary report, prepared for the OECD as part of the ‘Study on skills upgrading for the low qualified’, examines some initiatives undertaken in Canada to promote skill development opportunities for less-skilled workers to uncover the conditions that contribute to success in such endeavours. The case studies, which focus on employers collaborating with community colleges to develop tools to upgrade the skills of their workforce, include a range of initiatives that aim to reinforce the need and importance of basic skills in the workplace. The report is presented in six main sections: the first section provides an overview of the Canadian labour market, highlighting macroeconomic, employment and education indicators; the second section discusses the adult education and training policy in Canada, both at the federal and provincial/territorial levels; section three provides a brief overview of the labour markets of the two main case study regions, the northern part of the Province of Alberta and the Northwest Territories; section four presents and describes the case studies; section five highlights the lessons learned from this study; and the final section contains the conclusions. Lessons learned from the Canadian study include: partnership and collaboration were key factors in the development and implementation of many of the initiatives and each of the players (employers, educators, communities and students) made a valuable contribution; flexibility and customisation were key features of many of the programs; and paid work-release time to train was crucial in the success of many of the case studies.