MA Workforce Board Recommends Changes to ABE/ESOL System
The English Works Campaign is pleased to share that on September 10th the MA Workforce Investment Board’s Sub-Committee on Adult Basic Education/English for Speakers of Other Languages presented a report to Governor Patrick, recommending significant changes to the Commonwealth’s ABE/ESOL system. The full MWIB, which is the Governor's key workforce policy advisor, voted to support the recommendations, including the establishment of a dedicated fund for workplace ABE and ESOL. The Governor has already approved the creation of a coordinating body with state-level policy-making authority to undertake the tasks laid out in the report. Other recommendations are to increase provider capacity and improve linkages to post-secondary education, training and employment. When implemented, these changes stand to open significant new opportunities to immigrants in the labor force who are in need of English language classes. To see the full report, click here.
Publications
Reports and publications related to ESOL and ABE.
Invest in English, invest in the future
As published in Metro Boston
April 25, 2007
By Thomas Keown
Nothing stands taller in the list of factors governing an individual's succes in this country than the ability to speak the English language. That ability opens doors, climbs stairs, scales buildings and a host more metaphors that wouldn't otherwise be possible.
So highly does the federal government regard English proficiency that is is a prerequisite for obtaining U.S. citizenship. So importantly does Congress view it that it has been a requirement in every comprehensive immigration reform bill produced in the last two years. So relevant does the state of Massachusetts consider it that on April 12 our House budget reduced funding for adult English classes. Quite a short-sighted move in a state populated by immigrants from a hundred nations and where one in four Boston residents is foreign-born.
Typically, you want to maximize your return on what resources you possess. Well, since 2000 the Massachusetts labor force has grown by just 1 percent. Without immigration, it would have shrunk. As people leave high rents and low temperatures in search of the opposite, newcomers eager to work are the most precious resource we have. Our economy depends on them. We should be wooing them, nurturing them, enticing them to stay here, work here, buy houses here and start businesses here.
But there are almost 20,000 adults on waiting lists for English classes in Boston alone. Waits of six months to two years are common. The Irish Immigration Center started offering classes last year because, well, because nearly 20,000 adults that Massachusetts needs to be as productive as possible were waiting for them.
Not every immigrant is going to learn English and become governor of California. But every enhanced contribution improves our state. Immigrants who speak only English at home earn 2.5 times more than immigrants who don't - so they also pay more taxes. Mothers enrolled in ESOL classes spend more time talking with their kids about school and about doing homework and meeting with teachers than those who aren't. This is not only about this generation; it knocks on to the next.
State Reps. Daniel Bosley and Denise Provost have filed amendments to increase the budget for Adult Basic Education (ABE) - Bosley to restore it to last year's level and Provost to increase it by $7.5 million to $40 million. Helping newcomers learn English is a small investment in a high-yield product. These amendments should be supported.
Somali Development Center
Clearing language barriers
As published in the Boston Globe
October 3, 2006
By James E. Rooney and Rocio Saenz
EDGARD SANDOVAL, Lenita Farias, and Juan Ortiz -- all of whom work at the Massachusetts Convention Center -- are the new face of Boston. It is these workers, and 89,000 other immigrant Bostonians in our city's labor force, who carry out the essential jobs that make Boston and its businesses work.
Employers in Greater Boston can support future success for new residents and businesses alike by ensuring that everyone who lives in the area has a shot at a good job. Boston must call on its rich history -- and the experiences of generations of immigrants -- to provide the basic skills that workers need. The most crucial skill is English. For all the controversy over immigration, at both the federal and state level, there's been too little attention paid to teaching the language to the thousands of non-English speakers who are working in all sectors of Boston's economy.
Employers can play a vital role. Communication in the workplace is critical to any company's success. Add a language barrier, and fundamental workplace communication becomes more difficult. As hospitality, healthcare, financial services, and other industries become more and more dependent on new immigrants to staff positions, English for Speakers of Other Languages programs are no longer a goodwill or humanitarian gesture. They are a business necessity.
Since 2005, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority has partnered with its workers and their union to provide English classes. Employees attend class for two hours a week -- half on work time and half on their own time. They learn basic grammar rules and build their vocabulary. Employees have gained confidence in their English, which allows them to work with colleagues more effectively and, in turn, help guests more efficiently.
English classes won't just make businesses stronger. They will also strengthen the families of our employees and union members. Far from not wanting to learn English, our immigrant employees want these opportunities and the time to take classes. Improving their English skills improves their children's prospects in school and boosts their family income. And, learning English is a key step toward US citizenship -- and toward the civic engagement that makes Boston a better place for all.
Thousands of other immigrants in Boston are also enrolled in English classes operated by community-, faith-, and labor-based organizations, many of them funded by the Massachusetts Department of Education and English for New Bostonians initiative. Across the city, in church basements, community rooms, and school buildings, adults are learning English. Dedicated teachers provide everything from ``survival English" to higher-level, media-assisted, and job-related English.
Regardless of the industry, human capital is a precious asset. People need to come to work feeling good, positive, and glad to be there. Employers have long complained that the challenge of embarking on an English-education program is dealing with the high degree of employee turnover. As with all training programs, there is a risk to employers who invest in employees' language skills, only to see them move on a short time later.
But there are solutions. A living-wage job with training and education is a job with a future and a job to stay in. An industrywide local or regional training program -- for tourism or healthcare workers, for instance -- can help create a career path for these employees at a lower cost to individual employers. Boston has an opportunity to create a model for the nation with such a program.
Now more than ever, the success of the region's businesses and civic institutions depends on immigrants. Foundations, corporations, unions, universities, and others must step up to support programs, innovation, and public policy that fosters the skills to guarantee our collective wealth.
James E. Rooney is the executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. Rocio Saenz is president of Service Employees International Union Local 615.
