ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the political and policy context within which workplace literacy provision was expanded in the early 2000s. The effectiveness of workplace learning depends on a host of factors, many specific to the workplace concerned. But whether such learning is subsidized depends on government policies, and the beliefs that underpin them; and subsidies drive the scale of provision. Policies influence not only what is subsidized but the way that money is spent, down to very detailed aspects of provision. In the case of workplace literacy provision, government beliefs about economic growth, its preoccupation with international rankings, and its general management philosophy had farreaching effects.
