Find A Community
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:
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.
I'm a job seeker who wants to know more about a career with Erickson Living
To speak directly to someone in one of our communities, please use the contact links below