Limited English Proficient Workers and the Workforce Investment Act: Challenges and Opportunities

In Limited English Proficient Workers and the Workforce Investment Act: Challenges and Opportunities,  Chhandasi Pandya of the Migration Policy Institute writes that, to better equip them with the language and workforce skills to move into middle-skilled jobs, Limited English Proficient immigrant workers are offered services through the Workforce Investment Act. As the US Congress considers reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998, policymakers and immigrant advocates are pushing for a variety of changes meant to better help Limited English Proficient (LEP) immigrants access the employment and training services necessary to enter into or advance within the US labor market. With a number of proposals floated to rethink the WIA-funded workforce and adult education systems, the debate highlights the challenges LEP workers face in earning family-sustaining wages and effectively participating in a changing labor market.

WIA represents one of the most important immigrant integration programs at the federal level both in size and scope, and its reauthorization has key implications for the integration of immigrant workers into the US economy and society more broadly.

KJ