In today’s competitive environment, companies need skilled employees. Many U.S. workers do not read, write, do math, solve problems, and communicate at levels high enough to do their jobs effectively. Small and medium sized firms report 35% of their hourly workers—more than 10 million employees—have basic skills and language problems that impair work performance (Southport Institute for Policy Analysis).

      Employees who can't read manuals or warning signs can seriously injure themselves or others, damage equipment, or make costly production and shipping errors. Because many workers lack basic English skills, they also lack the flexibility to adjust to change, contributing to poor employee retention rates. Thirty percent of manufacturers report they cannot reorganize work activities because employees are not able to learn new jobs (National Association of Manufacturers).

       With American businesses losing $60 billion per year due to literacy and language obstacles, OLC is committed to helping improve English skills in the workplace. As a partner to companies in Washington County, OLC provides career development assistance, ESL instruction and job-specific vocabulary instruction to employees. In addition, adults who are unemployed benefit from an OLC curriculum that teaches and improves job seeking skills such as interviewing, completing applications, providing references, and other critical elements of finding a job.

The solution

         Ozark Literacy Council is dedicated to improving lives through literacy and improved language skills. One of the ways we work to accomplish this is through the development of projects such as our Workplace Literacy Program.

        We have been working very closely with area businesses and industries to address the issues of literacy and English language learning among their workers. We are helping these companies to identify the need for literacy and language education among their employees and how their businesses can benefit from literacy skills improvement programs. We are helping these companies to set up classes that workers can attend to improve skills that will improve their performance on the job and in their opportunities for advancement.

        We also provide in-house consultation to our current students who wish to achieve or improve job placement.

The outcome: success!

       When an employee is able to share suggestions or solve problems in English with a work team, apply for a supervisory or management position, or invest in a company's 401k plan because he now understands what he reads, everyone benefits. The employee’s family participates more in the community by buying a home, maintaining a bank account, and taking part in their children’s education.The company benefits with more skilled labor, less turnover, and higher productivity.

If you or your company would like to learn more about how to help your workers help you, call or email Ozark Literacy Council at 479-521-8250 or ozarklc@swbell.net .