workforce ny 2008 spring conference june 12, 2008 presentation by tara colton, deputy director,...
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Workforce NY 2008 Spring Conference
June 12, 2008
Presentation by Tara Colton, Deputy Director, Center for an Urban Future
Kevin Smith, Executive Director, Literacy New York
Lost in Translation: Strengthening English Language Skills as a Workforce
and Economic Development Strategy
Presentation Overview• Introduction, session goals and participants• Data: Immigration and English proficiency in New
York State • Literacy and ESOL in New York State, capacity of
adult education system• Limited English proficiency: economic impact and
workforce development potential• Intersection of WIA Title I and II• Best practice: I-BEST• Possibilities and next steps
Literacy in New York State• The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) report was
released by the United States Department of Education — the first update of adult literacy skills in the U.S. in more than 10 years.
• One of only six states that opted to perform a detailed state assessment, a 2003 New York State Assessment of Adult Literacy (SAAL) was conducted to assess the prose, document, and quantitative literacy of New York’s adults.
• The SAAL report indicates that New York is still lagging behind the nation in almost all aspects of literacy skills. The report serves as a reminder that New York State must give adult literacy more attention and support despite being one of the top contributors to adult literacy in the nation.
• The national literacy system is serving below 2% of those considered to be in need of literacy and language development. New York has a competent adult education system that can and should expand its capacity to meet a larger demand.
Literacy in New York State• A higher percentage of adults in New York were below basic prose
literacy compared with the national average • Average prose literacy level of Black and Asian/Pacific Islander adults
in New York was significantly lower than that of the same population nationally
• The average literacy of women in New York was significantly lower than the average literacy among women nationally in each of the three literacy scales.
• Across the literacy scales, adults with whom English is a second language accounted for the largest percentage of adults below basic prose literacy.
• More than half of the adults in New York who did not graduate from high school had below basic prose literacy
• Without proper funding for literacy services, many people will not learn the skills to find employment, succeed in school and perform basic social functions such as writing a check or reading a drug prescription
Growing demand for ESOL in New York State
• In 2006, 1.75 million working-age adults in New York State had limited English proficiency but just 86,948 seats in state-run ESOL programs – serving just 5.0 percent of the need
• More than one in four adult New Yorkers are now foreign-born – huge spikes in immigration all over the state
• Demand for ESOL continues to increase throughout the state but supply of state-funded ESOL hasn’t kept pace with growing demand. Total funding about $74 million.
For more details & county-level dataLost in Translation (2006 report)www.nycfuture.org/images_pdfs/pdfs/LostInTranslation.pdf
Still Lost in Translation (2007 updated statistics)www.nycfuture.org/images_pdfs/pdfs/StillLostInTranslation.pdf
Developing New York’s New Workforce: Could Enhancing English-Language Programs Boost the State’s Economic Competitiveness (Transcript of 2007 conference)http://www.nycfuture.org/images_pdfs/pdfs/NewWorkforceTranscript.pdf
Why is learning English a workforce development issue?
• Workers with limited English skills often can’t advance beyond the entry level
• In today’s “knowledge economy,” workers need English to communicate with employers, co-workers and customers
• They can’t access a career ladder unless they can communicate in English
• This leaves thousands of immigrants – with strong work ethics and valuable technical skills – stuck in dead-end jobs because of their limited English skills
Larger economic impacts
• Limited English skills among the immigrant workforce means that businesses looking to relocate or expand may go elsewhere
• It also reduces productivity, increases turnover and makes it hard for businesses to grow their jobs
• Businesses can’t promote their entry-level staff and have to spend time and money finding and training replacements
An example: Karp Associates
• 50-year-old company in Queens, New York that manufactures access doors
• 100 employees, many are immigrants who came to America with advanced technical abilities but speak little English
• “Right now, our company is handicapped. Our growth is limited by the language and labor skills that we need. It’s absolutely the biggest issue we’re dealing with.”
Funding challenges
• Largest funding pot (EPE) isn’t available to many providers; has outdated formula; can’t roll over funds from one year to the next
• Adult Literacy Education (ALE) funding hasn’t kept pace with inflation
• Hard to link WIA Title I and II • Attempted cuts at the federal level• Businesses, chambers of commerce and
foundations can play a larger role
Intersection of WIA Title I and II
• WIA Title I administered by State DOL, Title II by State DOE
• Title I can be used for ESOL, but it’s not easy and blending the funding streams presents obstacles
• “Workplace ESOL is the most common training request from [New York] city businesses. But providing such training through existing Workforce 1 [WIA Title IB funds] funding streams alone, while not impossible, is difficult”
Best practice: I-BEST • Washington State’s non-English speaking population more
than doubled from 1990 to 2000• State leaders created the Integrated Basic Education and Skills
Training initiative (I-BEST) at the state’s community and technical colleges
• Pairs an ESOL or ABE instructor with a vocational instructor• Fields like commercial driving, nursing, early childhood
education, construction• Impressive outcomes:
Students in the pilot earned 5 times as many college credits than traditional ESOL students
15 times more likely to complete workforce training 33 of the state’s colleges now offer I-BEST, expansion planned
Looking forward - recommendations
• Make adult education and ESOL a higher priority for the city and state This is a workforce and economic development issue Return on investment/makes economic sense
• Expand funding for ESOL, at the city, state and federal level
• Reform outdated funding streams in NYS • Tap into workforce funding streams for ESOL,
improve connection between WIA Title I and II• Increase involvement from the private sector –
funding for programs, small business pooling, release time, wage gains, promotions
Contact us
Tara Colton
Deputy Director, Center for an Urban Future
Phone: (212) 479-3341
Email: tcolton@nycfuture.org
Kevin Smith
Executive Director, Literacy New York
Phone: (716) 631-5282
Email: ksmith1@aol.com
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