Why should we care? What can we achieve together? Work-based Literacy Summit Anson Green Coordinator, Workbased English Solutions Economic and Workforce Development Alamo Community Colleges

Changing work, Changing workers

Changing work

Source - U.S. Department of Commerce - 21st. Century Skills for 21st. Century Jobs In % Professional 60% Unskilled  20% Skilled I In % Professional 15% Unskilled  65% Skilled In % Professional 5% Unskilled  75% Skilled Changing Work 21st Century Jobs Source - U.S. Department of Commerce - 21st. Century Skills for 21st. Century Jobs

Changing Work High demand for culturally and linguistically competent workers 36% of Texans are Hispanic, yet Hispanics are severely underrepresented in Health Services:  9% RNs  7% Nurse Practitioners  11% Physician Assistants Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2003). Border County Health Workforce Profiles: Texas

Changing Work Customer Service Expectation s Frontline employees with limited English are often a direct link to customers. Poor communication skills can have an indelible impression, impacting customers’ overall perception of the quality of a company’s offerings. Source: Levenson, A. 2001

Changing Work Frontline Communication Widespread integration of electronic communication into the everyday workflow has increased the need for good reading skills among frontline workers. Many companies have eliminated middle management and devolved responsibility to frontline workers. Source: Levenson, A. 2001

Changing workforce

Changing Workforce News We Must Act On First and second-generation immigrants together are projected to account for all U.S. labor force growth between 2010 and Lowell, B., Gelatt, J., Batalova, J., 2006

Changing Workforce Labor Pool Immigrants in the U.S. labor force reached an historic high in 2005 (14.7%). In Texas, 15.9%. Migration Policy Institute, 2006

Changing Workforce The Elevator Speech The New Texas Challenge, Steve Murdock et al

Changing Workforce Workforce Diversity Example: San Antonio Workforce 220,000 San Antonio area residents are LEP. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006) 16.4 % growth in the Hispanic population in Bexar County from 2000 to (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008) San Antonio boasts a higher percentage LEP residents with bachelor degrees than the state average. This segment as grown 52% since (Migration Policy Institute, 2008)

Changing Workforce Example LEP Residents with Bachelor Degrees Bachelor's Degree or Higher for Certain Language Groups in 2006 LanguageTexasSan Antonio Spanish426,926 (10.4%)44,520 (17%) Other Indo-European Languages 153,790 (49.5%)6,244 (52%) Speak Asian and Languages 174,758 (47.5%)4,925 (51%) Speak Other Languages 38,625 (45.8%)794 (68%) Texas State Demographer, Karl Eshenbach, personal communication.

Changing Workforce Change Perceptions LEP Skilled and Degreed Professionals While most LEP in Texas have limited education from their home country, many have marketable skills and degrees. Low Educational Attainment

Changing Workforce The Future In 2005–2006, almost half of the Texas public school population were Hispanic. Over 34 percent of these students were LEP. Texas Education Agency, n.d.

Changing Workforce The Future In 2006, only 12 percent of LEP students in the twelfth grade passed the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test and only 8 percent of tenth graders passed all TAKS standards. Scharrer, 2007

What can we achieve together? Why should we care? Anson Green Coordinator, Workbased English Solutions Economic and Workforce Development Alamo Community Colleges