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The decision to invest in workplace training, though complex, ultimately relates to the expected return on investment. Part of the challenge for employers and policymakers is that there are few high quality studies that have reliably measured the effects of literacy training or adequately measured its return on investment for employers, employees, and government. In an effort to fill this knowledge gap, the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills sponsored a large-scale, multiyear research project called UPSKILL to evaluate workplace essential skills training. The project resulted in important new evidence that helps establish the business case for workplace essential skills training.

A total of 88 firms in the accommodations and food services sector, primarily hotels, were randomly assigned to a program group where employees were offered a maximum of 40 hours of literacy and essential skills training on-site during working hours, or to a control group whose employees did not receive the training. As a result of the training delivered through the UPSKILL program, firms experienced gains in revenue, cost savings from increased productivity, and reductions in hiring costs that amounted to about $4,600 per participant. When firms are assumed to bear the full costs of training and release time for workers, their net benefit is $577 per participant, for an average return on investment of 23 per cent. Employees also experienced a substantial positive return on investment from UPSKILL training, as they bear few costs under the workplace delivery model. Earnings gains from increased job retention were significantly larger than the modest investment of personal time that participants devoted to complement the on-site training outside of working hours.

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