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INVEST IN WORKPLACE ENGLISH SKILLS FOR BUSINESS AND SOCIAL BENEFITS, SAY EMPLOYERS
10 December 2007
Top businesses and employers today revealed how their investment in workplace English language skills brings about significant business and social benefits. Employers as diverse as DHL, University College Hospital London and Tesco say their English language programmes for migrant employees have improved business performance, customer service and community integration.
Bill Rammell, Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education, joined with Frances O’Grady (Deputy General Secretary, TUC) and John Cridland (Deputy Director General, CBI) to launch English Language at Work, a new publication highlighting employer investment in English language training. It sets out both the bottom-line business benefits and wider social and economic advantages employers have realised through investing in English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) for their staff.
Bill Rammell said:
“Good English language skills are crucial for life, work and strong communities, so it’s excellent to see businesses, unions and employers promoting the benefits they have realised from investing in English skills.
“Their best practice reinforces the point that we need a two-way approach to integration. In other words, just as employers, whether in the public, private or voluntary sector, need clear information on the impacts of ESOL at work, and choice, relevance and flexibility in options for contribution; so too do learners, whose skills, aspirations and abilities bring shared benefits to us all.”
The publication has been produced by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills in partnership with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and Confederation of British Industry (CBI), with support from Business in the Community. It showcases the achievements of a wide range of employers, unions and providers who have facilitated English language learning opportunities for their employees; across a range of sectors and industries, and in a variety of ways.
The case studies reveal the important role of improved English language skills in meeting both social and economic needs. Employers who have invested in ESOL are seeing meaningful returns from the cost savings linked with improved morale, team-work and retention, to enhanced customer care, competitiveness and productivity. There is also clear evidence that providing this type of training maximises an individual’s ability to integrate and progress in life and work in the UK, with wider gains for a cohesive society.
The English Language at Work publication forms part of a wider Government drive to engage employers in addressing the particular English language needs of workers and those seeking employment in the UK. As such, the publication complements the recently launched ESOL for Work qualifications, which provide work-focused English language skills on shorter and more flexible courses. This follows the prioritisation of general ESOL funding to meet the needs of the most socially disadvantaged in August 2007.
Ends
Notes to editors
1. English Language at Work: Work-based English for Speakers of Other Languages can be viewed and downloaded by clicking here.
2. Further background on the recent changes to ESOL policy, including information on the new ESOL for Work qualifications, can be found on the following links:
ESOL for Work press notice - click here
ESOL background - click here
ESOL Race Equality Impact Assessment - click here.
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