English for the construction industry is about more than creating mutual understanding. Which is vitally important in any industry. The desire for understanding and to be understood is a basic human instinct, and there is no minimizing that. When we are talking specifically about the construction industry, English training is primarily about safety.
According to the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) - one of the U.S. construction industry's trade associations - immigrant workers account for nearly 25% of the entire construction workforce, and average 30% of all construction trades. Additionally, a 2019 report from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) shows that the construction industry has the largest gap between skilled workers who speak English as a Second Language (ESL) and managers who can speak those languages. And the gap has been widening ever since.
For those who own or manage a construction business, ensuring that your worksite and workers remain safe is a top priority. Making Rosetta Stone part of your onboarding experience can definitely help to reduce language barriers, but it doesn't necessarily always translate to the particulars of a day-to-day construction job... because they don't go far enough. That's where we come in.
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