Employees line up for workplace literacy program
By David Ramos, Published February 4, 2010

Private partner companies are taking advantage of intense workplace literacy training at the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing (IAM) at South Texas College (STC).

More than 100 employees from several maquiladora manufacturing companies are attending English and Spanish-language classes at STC, whose institute is part of the North American Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education Initiative.

The IAM program consists of three levels of English and Spanish language classes that help participants refine their oral, written and listening skills and gain an understanding of commonly-used terms to enhance their job productivity.

“Our program is experiencing phenomenal growth with three new English and Spanish classes starting each week this year,” said Raul Ruiz, project training specialist for STC’s IAM.

Classes begin as early at 9 a.m. and are offered throughout the day until 9 p.m.

“We customize each class to suit our private partners’ needs and we hope that more companies will take part in this unique professional development opportunity,” Ruiz said.

Employees from ALPS Automotive, JVC, AM-MEX, Rio Grande Pak Foods, Corning Cable Systems, Coca-Cola and GE Engine Services have already taken the classes. Partner companies that have participated are realizing the benefits of the program.

“We have more than 4,300 employees at our Reynosa plant and an additional 50 U.S.-based employees,” said Maurice Rodriguez, human resource director for Corning Cable Systems. “We are very appreciative of the offerings, given that 25 percent of our team is working hard to improve their Spanish-language skills to help them with day-to-day communications.” 

Ramos is a training specialist for South Texas College’s Institute for Advanced Manufacturing.