As the Legislature and governor craft the budget, and a new commissioner of education takes the helm, it is time to rethink how the commonwealth educates and trains workers with limited basic skills.
For Massachusetts to recruit, train and retain the work force it needs to compete in the global marketplace, we need to bolster and significantly improve our adult education system.
According to the Northeastern University Center for Labor Market Studies, were it not for immigration, the state's labor force would have actually declined over the past decade, and several leading industries are now experiencing labor shortages in key occupations. According to the Massachusetts Institute for a new Commonwealth, 70 percent of Massachusetts immigrants lack the necessary skills to fully participate in their workplaces.
Soon after arriving in Boston, Medaly Silva, a mother of three from El Salvador, found employment in Massachusetts General Hospital's Environmental Services Department. Medaly enrolled in a workplace English class taught at MGH by Jewish Vocational Service, a nonprofit work force developer. She ascended three levels of English, pursued nursing assistant training, and moved into the Operating Nursing Department. It was a win-win for the hospital and the employee.
Despite the obvious advantages of providing education at the workplace, where employees can access education while working and raising families, the resources for such programs are scarce. Waiting lists are the hallmark of adult English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs, leaving many immigrants with professional credentials doing manual labor and other workers piecing together two or three low-wage jobs to make ends meet, leaving no time to learn English and improve job skills.
A recently released report from Gov. Deval Patrick's Workforce Investment Board details three challenges to creating effective adult education for Massachusetts immigrants: resources, service delivery and program capacity. Despite the commonwealth's long-standing support of adult basic education (ABE), less than 5 percent of our ABE and ESOL resources are available for workplace education. The demand for workplace education far exceeds the available resources. Much of the state's adult ESOL funding is available only at limited times, and for very limited periods, making it difficult for employers and providers to plan and deliver consistent quality services that allow students and employees to make gains along educational and career ladders.
Creating a dedicated, permanent, predictable and flexible funding resource for workplace education is a critical investment. Several labor unions have established labor-management funds and have developed high-quality workplace education programs, as have nonprofits and community colleges, but they can't meet the enormous demand for their services.
Additional support for community-based evening ABE/ESOL classes is also necessary, both to increase access for those workers whose employers can't or won't sponsor workplace education, and to help reduce waiting lists. Employer incentives for private investment in workplace education are another logical option.
Any systematic reform should more closely link adult ESOL services with occupational skills, career pathways, and connections to post-secondary education. State resources should allow for flexible delivery of quality education to reflect the realities of the business environment. And adult education should be paired with case management and career-academic coaching services that workers need to navigate the challenges and opportunities of their careers.
High quality delivery of ABE and ESOL, particularly at the workplace, is also limited by provider capacity. While there are capable workplace education organizations, they tend to be geographically concentrated and limited in number. And there is a serious shortage of trained and experienced workplace instructors.
The commonwealth should encourage its higher educational institutions to help educate and train more workplace educators. It should explore investments in online and distance learning technology that can extend capacity and accelerate learning for working students. The state should also support investments in tools that can increase efficient delivery, such as high-quality workplace curriculum, assessment tools and educational materials that can be used by multiple providers.
Massachusetts has the dubious distinction of being a state that consistently loses population. Strategic investments in effective systems that support immigrant workers - and serve the needs of all workers - will pay dividends for decades to come. The cost of inaction will be great.
Jerry Rubin is the president and CEO of Jewish Vocational Service, and is chairman of the Adult Basic Education ESOL Sub-Committee of the Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board. Ali Noorani is executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition and is a member of the Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board and the ABE/ESOL Sub-Committee.
