Brooksby Village & North Shore Community College Recognized at Event in Boston

BOSTON, MA –  English for New Bostonians (ENB), and its English Works Campaign, held the event “Raising Our Voices: Recognizing ESOL Leadership in Business and the Community” to honor 20 businesses and labor management partnerships that have joined together with government and the non-profit sector to offer their immigrant workers the chance to learn English. Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Rachel Kaprielian, joined ENB for the event at Northeastern University that included an audience of more than 200 state officials; business, labor and community leaders; and ESOL students. ENB also announced 26 new grants to ESOL programs in Boston.

"The City of Boston is a proud city of immigrants, and it is work by community partners, like English for New Bostonians, that makes Boston a more inclusive community," said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. "We must continue to work collaboratively to increase the number of high-quality English language classes offered in Boston. By working with local programs and businesses, we will continue to increase economic opportunities, grow our workforce and promote Boston as a welcoming world-class city."

ENB and the English Works Campaign selected the 20 business partnerships that were nominated for their leadership in making English classes available for workers on the job. “We are pleased there were so many good examples to choose from,” said Claudia Green, Executive Director of ENB. “We commend the leadership by Massachusetts businesses who support training for all workers, including lower-skilled and limited English proficient workers.”

As a result of the 20 partnerships, a total of 869 workers have received an average of 131 hours of ESOL instruction each, customized to their particular industries and work responsibilities. The businesses recognized include health care, hospitality, grocery chains, manufacturing and others.

Brooksby Village, in partnership with North Shore Community College, has been offering ESOL classes as a benefit to employees since 2006.

“More than 50 employees have taken ESOL classes here over the years so we are honored to be receiving this award this year” said Helen Lanagan, Executive Director, Brooksby Village.

The businesses honored stressed the great impact the English classes are having on their employees and their business operations.

English for New Bostonians (ENB) also recognized the 26 community ESOL programs in Boston who were recently selected to receive an ENB grant to provide ESOL classes for adult immigrants. Last year, ENB programs served 1,266 students hailing from more than 50 countries.

According to the Investing in English Skills, a recent report by The Brookings Institution, there are 315,770 limited English proficient people, ages 16-64, just in Greater Boston; 75% of them are active in the workforce. The English Works Campaign offers a model to serve these workers by creating public-private partnerships and opportunities to learn at work.

"The Patrick Administration has made record investments in innovation, infrastructure and education such as these English language programs so that no worker is left behind in the economic development of the Commonwealth,” said Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Rachel Kaprielian.  “Employers who participate in these workplace programs connect immigrants with good jobs that not only strengthen their workforce but also help make our economy grow.”

Awardees:

1. 1199SEIU Training & Upgrading Fund – Labor/Management Healthcare Workforce Partnership (Boston, Lawrence, Malden, Springfield)
2. Accutech Packaging (Foxboro) in partnership with Bristol Community College
3. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston) in partnership with JVS
4. Boston Children's Hospital (Boston) in partnership with JVS 
5. Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston) in partnership with JVS
6. Brooksby Village (Peabody) in partnership with North Shore Community College
7. Cambridge Health Alliance (Cambridge) in partnership with Cambridge Community Learning Center
8. Churchill Linen Services (Brockton) in partnership with Massasoit Community College
9. East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (Boston) in partnership with YMCA International Learning Center
10. Egleston and Hyde Jackson Square Main Streets (Boston) in partnership with YMCA International Learning Center
11. Greater Boston Hospitality Employers and UNITE HERE Local 26 Partnership (Greater Boston) in partnership with BEST Corp. Hospitality Training Center
12. Kam Man Food (Quincy) in partnership with Quincy Asian Resources, Inc.
13. Kayem Foods, Inc. (Chelsea and Woburn)
14. Legal Sea Foods (Boston) in partnership with JVS
15. MultiGrains, Inc. (Lawrence) in partnership with Northern Essex Community College
16. Nypro, Inc. (Clinton) in partnership with Clinton Adult Learning Center
17. Royal Hospitality Services, Inc. (Somerville) in partnership with Worker Education Program
18. South End Community Health Center (Boston) in partnership with United South End Settlements
19. Stop and Compare Supermarkets (Chelsea and Lynn) in partnership with Mujeres Unidas Avanzando
20. Whole Foods Market North Atlantic Kitchen (Everett) in partnership with JVS

Photo Caption:  MA Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Rachel Kaprielian and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh present English Works Certificate of Recognition and citation from Governor Deval Patrick to Brooksby Village; Leah Cole, State Representative for Peabody, presents an official citation to Brooksby Village.

English for New Bostonians’ mission is to increase access to high-quality English language learning opportunities for adult immigrants. English Works is a statewide, multi-stakeholder campaign calling upon business, labor, community and government leaders to dedicate the needed public and private resources to create a sustainable, high-quality English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) system that addresses the needs of immigrants, their employers and the Commonwealth.