Manitoba
Government of Manitoba
Immigrate to Manitoba, Canada. This is the official Government of Manitoba Immigration website. All information on this site, including application forms for immigration is provided free by the government.
IMPROVE EMPLOYEE ENGLISH 
WHAT IS ENGLISH AT WORK

Would you benefit from English at Work?


Clear communication is essential to the success of any business. If your business employs immigrant workers whose English skills need improvement the Manitoba government's English at Work program can help.

  • Do you have employees with skill and expertise who work below their potential because English is not their first language?
  • Do employees indicate they understand you when you sense that they don't?
  • Have you needed a translator to provide or receive information from staff?
  • Do you have to assign workers to supervisors who share their language?
  • Could misunderstandings or mistakes be avoided with better English proficiencies?


What the program offers


  • trained and experienced Adult English as an Additional Language (EAL) instructors
  • practical, job-specific English language training
  • professional language and communication assessments to identify your workplace needs and assist with development of guidelines for hiring
  • language training designed to complement other workplace training
  • English communication addressed together with Canadian and workplace culture
  • advice for improved overall workplace communication practices
  • shared investment in training costs


Rationale for English at Work


What happens to immigrants who arrive in Canada and go straight to work instead of into English classes?

On the positive side, they get a paycheque. Unfortunately however, the immediate paycheque might also mean diminished opportunities for the future. Without at least a working command of English, many new immigrants remain in entry level positions where their skills and experience are under-utilized.

If newcomers can afford the time it takes to go to full-time English classes before going to work, they receive 25 to 30 hours a week of instruction. If they can manage to stay in class for a full year, that adds up to about 1,200 hours of training. In that time, depending on the background of the learner, they can reasonably expect to advance two CLB levels. Some even advance three or four levels.

What hope is there for the newcomers who go straight to work putting in 40 hours a week or more to earn a subsistence paycheque?

That's where the English at Work program has a role. English at Work has operated in Manitoba since 1985 with two major objectives:

  • to provide access to English language training for working immigrants
  • to deliver language training that is focused and relevant to jobs.

English at Work can't offer 1,200 hours of training; 100 hours in a year is more likely. But without those 100 hours that newcomer will quite likely never take any English classes at all.