Literacy Works

On-the-Job English Classes, Customized for the Work Site

Employers: take advantage of our proven program to boost the English skills of your employees! Read more in our flyer.

Free classes now available for new customers!

Call 206.448.0474, ext. 3030 for more information.

In partnership with community-based organizations and area businesses, the WDC provides a much-needed, practical and flexible solution for the thousands of workers whose limited English skills keep them in low-wage, entry-level positions. Literacy Works addresses several key barriers that prevent non-native English speakers from accessing traditional English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. The Literacy Works project not only helps improve the work-related literacy skills of participants, but also has a positive impact by providing greater opportunities for promotion and career advancement. Moreover, employers experience a host of benefits – from improved communication between staff and management to improved workplace morale.

Literacy Works achieves the following goals:

Improve the job-related English of workers with limited English skills, leading to greater job retention, job promotion and wage increases;
Reduce employee turnover, increase productivity, and improve communication, safety, attendance and morale among employees;
Foster cross-cultural awareness and understanding among employers and supervisors of refugee and immigrant workers, and;
Strengthen King County’s workforce development system by promoting self-sufficiency in limited English speakers and improving services for small businesses.

Literacy Works was recently recognized, along with just five other programs, in a U.S. Department of Education study of noteworthy workplace education programs across the country. Click Here to read the report (starting on page 20).

The Office of Vocational and Adult Education website is an excellent source for information on work-based education. Click here to visit their site.

During our first year pilot project, Literacy Works had the following impact:

227 limited-English-proficient working adults were served (50 percent more than planned).
25 classes completed at the work sites of 21 participating employers – including manufacturing companies, nursing homes/retirement facilities, hotels, warehouse/production companies and one restaurant.
94 percent of participants had achieved all or most of their literacy goals (each participant set three "functional" literacy goals that were assessed at the end of the class cycle); 86 percent reached all of their goals and 8 percent reached two out of three goals.
70 percent of employers noted an improvement in morale; 63 percent noted better labor-management relations, and 59 percent noted a reduced error rate.

Each Literacy Work class begins with an assessment of the needs of workers and the company – based on both the employer’s assessment and the observations of the coordinator/instructor. The instructor develops a curriculum based on these needs and establishes with the employer a class schedule and an appropriate length for the program (from six to 12 weeks depending on the employees’ schedules and literacy needs). Classes are held either at the worksite or another nearby location, such as a library or community center. Each individual who participates has an Individual Learning Plan that identifies job-related literacy skills the person has identified as areas for skill improvement – including skills needed to perform his or her job tasks and communicate in the workplace. Literacy Works no only provides essential workplace literacy classes, but also serves as a link to the WDC’s ancillary services (such as child care and transportation assistance) that also aid in breaking down barriers to job retention and advancement.

The WDC has begun to integrate Literacy Works into our larger workforce development efforts, as an essential component of our system-wide work. Over the last two years, the WDC has connected employers with workforce development resources and convened various stakeholders to address challenges in particular industries. Literacy Works is a value-added component that fits into our industry sector initiatives. Through Literacy Works we are able to link classes to larger strategic efforts so that their impact on industries and the workforce is magnified.
An example of this integration is that the WDC’s health care panel, composed of various hospital administrators, union representatives, hospital associations, and community and technical colleges, identified workplace literacy as a key factor to meeting staffing shortages in healthcare. Last fall, the WDC launched an initiative to place "career specialists" on site at local hospitals to provide workers with career counseling and connect them with various training opportunities so that they can move into high-demand, skilled positions. Career Pathways focuses not only on current healthcare employees, but also on the administrative and support staff, many of which are limited-English-proficient (LEP). Currently, Literacy Works classes at several hospitals are helping to increase general work-related English skills and to help LEP workers pass the written test required for entry into Nursing Assistant Certification courses. The career path that we are putting LEP workers on leads to higher wages, and greater self-sufficiency. We will be expanding Literacy Works in the Healthcare industry in the coming year.