Why should we care? What can we achieve together?

1. 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

2. Changing work, Changing workers

3. Changing work

4. Changing Work21st Century Jobs Source - U.S. Department of Commerce - 21st. Century Skills for 21st. Century Jobs Source - U.S. Department of Commerce - 21st. Century Skills for 21st. Century Jobs

5. 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

6. Changing Work Customer Service Expectations • 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

7. 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

8. Changing workforce

9. Changing WorkforceNews We Must Act On First and second-generation immigrants together are projected to account for all U.S. labor force growth between 2010 and 2030. Lowell, B., Gelatt, J., Batalova, J., 2006

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

11. Changing WorkforceThe Elevator Speech The New Texas Challenge, Steve Murdock et al. 2003.

12. 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 2006.(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 2000. (Migration Policy Institute, 2008)

13. Changing Workforce ExampleLEP Residents with Bachelor Degrees Texas State Demographer, Karl Eshenbach, personal communication.

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

15. Changing WorkforceThe 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.

16. 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

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