Every week the Illinois State Library honors a recipient of one of the literacy grants awarded by Secretary of State Jesse White and the Illinois State Library Literacy Office. This week they shine the spotlight on the Adult Learning Resource Center’s Workplace Skills Enhancement Grant with Indian Lakes Resort.

One of the populations served by State Library Adult Literacy grants are citizens who are employed but have limited English proficiency or limited literacy skills. This category of literacy instruction, called the Workplace Skills Enhancement grant, takes place on paid work time at a business site, making it accessible for a full-time employee. This year one of those projects is taking place at Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale. Recently, in the face of difficult economic times, the company had to lay off employees. The company evaluated staff using criteria such as seniority and other job related skills. One of the criteria on which staff were evaluated was their English proficiency.

Employees who had attended the English as a Second Language classes had an advantage. All of the housekeepers and groundskeepers who had participated were able to retain their jobs because they rated well in English proficiency. Additionally, the housekeeping department saw an increase in customer satisfaction scores which they attributed to increased positive interactions by hotel guests with maids who had obtained improved language skills. The project is a three way success; good for the employees, good for the customers of Indian Lakes Resort, and good for the business itself.