Watch highlights from our recent conference on ‘English for employment’ here.

More videos from the conference can be viewed on our You Tube channel. Here are the main links:

• Svetlana Wilson, ESOL Co-ordinator from Co. Limerick VEC here.
• Emily Bryson and Linda Wood here.
• Ester Hoad, Literacy Resource Worker, Sligo VEC here.

ESOL Conference 2012: English for Employment – helping ESOL students prepare for work

The 2012 ESOL Conference was chaired by Esther Hoad, Literacy Resource Worker with Co Sligo VEC. Esther welcomed the large group and outlined the programme of events for the day. She spoke briefly about her own personal experiences in Sligo and looked at why our learners learn, is it sheer motivation or necessity?

Emily Bryson and Linda Wood, ESOL lecturers, City of Glasgow College gave an interesting presentation entitledEmployability: The fifth skill!

The key issues arising from the presentation was the variety of ESOL programmes which have been developed for the workplace, including ESOL into Social Care, Construction and Retail in Scotland.

The key to the success of the programmes is largely due to the partnerships which have been developed with external organisations and the ongoing collaboration between the ESOL provider and local businesses.

Svetlana Wilson, Adult Education Resource Worker and ESOL coordinator, Co Limerick VEC has piloted a new programme working towards a FETAC Major Award in Employability Skills at Level 3 with an intermediate group in Newcastle West, Co Limerick.

Svetlana outlined the challenges faced by learners and tutors in switching the focus from language acquisition to obtaining general employability related skills and working towards a FETAC Award.

The key benefits of the programme are that it is task based and the language is meaningful and relevant to industry.  Learners are also learning language specific to particular modules .e.g. Maths and Information Technology.

In her conclusion, Svetlana emphasised that the programme has brought focus and hope to this pilot group who are currently unemployed.

Stefan Piskorski

In this workshop Stefan looked at factors which effect learners achieving their learning outcomes, he looked at the research of Professor David and discussed relevant factors.

Ways to develop ESOL students’ employability skills – This workshop looked at ways of integrating employability skills into an ESOL curriculum.  Valuable teaching tips and strategies for workplace learning and general ESOL classes were exchanged. Again the importance of effective partnerships was discussed in order to enhance all ESOL courses.

Suggested resources for employability skills were shared with the group.