Bradford White Corporation and the Michigan Language Center have partnered to combat language barriers in the workplace. While also meeting safety and quality standards, this initiative aims to provide growth pathways and investment to staff members through workplace ESL classes.
Communication Barriers to Career Pathways
Working in any environment, but especially a manufacturing plant, it is crucial to have clear, interpersonal communication. Bradford White leadership recognized that English language skills were a barrier to staff communication and knew they needed to invest in a solution. With the help of MLC’s weekly onsite English classes, confident communication was no longer an issue.
The Michigan Language Center’s classes with the Bradford White team cover a range of topics, including grammar and syntax (contractions, possessive adjectives, subject pronouns, etc.) as well as general greetings, personal information, and numbers. Students used a textbook and completed in-class activities every week to support understanding and learning. Students also completed a speaking or workbook activity weekly, serving as an in-class quiz.
In addition to communication, English language skills also yield a sense of safety, both within the comfort level of an employee and the safety standards of a manufacturing plant. Language barriers can often prohibit participation, and therefore, advancement within a company. By investing in its staff with this partnership, Bradford White paves a clear pathway to career growth.
Education for All
This program, being heavily intertwined with corporate leadership, also had local UAW union support. Travis Raab, Vice President of UAW Local 1002 in Middleville, MI, helped to advocate for this partnership specifically.
Everyone benefits from education. A good foundation for success starts with solid communication. We genuinely believe that these classes will continue to help our members both in and out of the workplace. Only through effective communication can we achieve better relationships with one another as well as providing a quality product and a safer work environment for all.”
– Travis Raab, Vice President, UAW Local 1002
The educational team had great experiences working with this group of students. Students responded individually and had an NPS satisfaction score of 100.00. As an instructor notes,
Everyone in the classes was very kind and willing to work together to help one another accomplish learning goals, something that I enjoy most about working with adult learners in a classroom setting. The diversity in ages and cultures also provided a new layer to the learning environment, which really helped to enrich our experience together in both classes”
– Sara Mannschreck, ESL Instructor
As this initiative progresses, Sara hopes these students are able to continue their growth both in their language skills and their career. Sara says, “Overall I’ve become very invested in the individuals I had the opportunity to work with, and I look forward to working together again in the future to help them work toward their language-learning goals.”
Leveraging this partnership between Bradford White and the Michigan Language Center to ensure safety, quality, employee investment, and growth opportunities in the workplace proves to be a blueprint for companies wanting to invest in their people and performance.
About Bradford White Corporation
Bradford White is a full-line manufacturer of residential, commercial, and industrial water heating, space heating, combination heating and storage products. The company maintains corporate headquarters in Ambler, PA, and has manufacturing facilities in Middleville and Niles, MI; Monticello, MN; Uxbridge, MA; Rochester, NH; and Princeton and Madison, WI. FloLogic’s assembly operation is in Morrisville, NC and Bradford White Corporation’s Canadian headquarters, distribution center and training facilities are in Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada. For more information, visit www.bradfordwhite.com.