Responding to Hispanic Population, English as a Second Language, Business Spanish and Translation Services Offered in Metropolitan DC Area

CHICAGO, IL (October 4, 2007) – Workforce Language Services. Workforce Language Services will now be offering services to the Metropolitan Washington DC area through a new office in Virginia. Services include job-specific English as a Second Language training for immigrant employees of all language backgrounds, customized onsite Business Spanish for companies with a large Spanish-speaking staff and/or customer base, translation and interpretation services, diversity training and harassment prevention.

“With a majority of new jobs in the US being filled by Spanish-speaking immigrants, companies now realize the importance of training their management and staff to be more linguistically and culturally aware”, says Jill Kushner Bishop, PhD, founder and president of Workforce Language Services, LLC. In addition to a growing Spanish-speaking workforce, the current annual purchasing power of the Latino community exceeds $700 billion, which, according to Bishop, means that companies that can accommodate the linguistic needs of the Latino market will also be best positioned to win their business and customer loyalty.

From 1980 to 2006, that Hispanic population in Virginia grew almost 6 times its size from 79,868 to 470,871. The Metropolitan DC area (including Washington, Arlington and Alexandria) is in the top 10 US metro areas for growth in the Hispanic population from 2000 to 2006, exceeding the growth of both Metropolitan Miami and Chicago. Additionally, Manassas Park, Virginia, has a population that is more than 50 percent minority - one of 8 cities or counties in the U.S. that made the push into minority-majority status this year.

From an internal perspective, offering employees onsite ESL helps improve job performance, decrease accidents, increase morale and loyalty and increase the number of internal promotions. When managers learn Spanish, Spanish-speaking employees feel valued and understood. From an external perspective, organizations that reach out to their customers and community members in linguistically and culturally relevant ways will be better positioned to meet their needs and gain their loyalty.

About Workforce Language Services
Workforce Language Services, LLC, a Chicago-based, woman-owned company, is dedicated to bridging language and culture in the workplace, thereby enhancing overall business profitability, creating opportunities for employee advancement, increasing respect across cultures and strengthening our communities. Services include onsite Spanish and English as a Second Language training, diversity training, harassment prevention training, translation/interpretation and consulting. Additional information is available at www.workforcelang.com.

Contact Jill Bishop, President and Founder, at 773.292.5500 or jill@workforcelang.com.