By Emma Oppenheim
Ninety million Americans lack the basic literacy, numeracy, and English language skills needed to qualify for continuing education, training, and jobs. Yet projections hold that employers will respond to continued technological and economic changes by increasingly demanding workers with some college education or vocational certification. The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) recently held its first-ever Workforce Development Conference—“¡Listo! Preparing Latino Workers for the New Economy”—in Chicago to focus on the needs of Latino workers, the fastest-growing segment of the American workforce.
The conference convened NCLR Affiliates, national advocates, state, local, and federal administrators, community colleges, and more to discuss policy and program strategies to help Latino workers succeed in today and tomorrow’s labor market. During the event, NCLR released Learning in Context: Preparing Latino Workers for Careers in Education, a new research report exploring the impact of integrated training programs and their potential for increasing the earnings, education, and language skills of low-skill and limited-English-proficient participants.
Integrated training programs provide vocational training and teach basic skills and/or the English language simultaneously. For the millions of low-skill adults unprepared for the demands of work and continued learning, integrated training programs have emerged as a promising strategy to reach and improve the learning and earning outcomes of participants.
Our research showed, however, that we need to tackle important policy and program issues to ensure that integrated training programs are accessible to Latino and low-skill workers. Our lessons and recommendations to policymakers, program administrators, and funders include the following:
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The integrated training needs of limited-English-proficient learners are different than those of higher-level learners.
- Recommendation: Explore integrated training models that more effectively target the needs of diverse lower-level basic education students and English language learners.
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Training and support for workers with the most barriers falls largely on community-based organizations.
- Recommendation: Increase collaboration with community-based organizations as partners in adult integrated training programs to ensure that workers of all levels can have access to and succeed in learning opportunities.
Representing 14.2% of the workforce, Latinos are the fastest-growing segment of the United States workforce, and preparing them for the jobs of tomorrow will require a better understanding of their learning needs today.