The Limited English Proficiency and Hispanic Workforce Initiative (LEPHWI) was a strategic effort of the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to improve access to employment and training services for LEP persons and to better serve Hispanic workers through workforce investment programs that address the specific employment challenges faced by these individuals. The LEPHWI was intended to help Hispanic Americans and other LEP persons simultaneously develop language and occupational skills to prepare them for jobs in high-growth/high-demand industries. Under this initiative, ETA awarded five LEPHWI demonstration project grants in early 2006 to pilot learning strategies that simultaneously teach English language acquisition and occupational skills.

The report discusses the design of the five LEPHWI projects; describes each site’s implementation activities to recruit participants and employers and to develop and deliver training; and it describes partnerships developed to address the needs of LEP individuals during training and placement. The report presents the outcomes for each project and explores the lessons learned from their design, participant engagement, and replicability. To the extent possible, the evaluation also attempts to draw comparisons across all five projects in key program areas and identifies potential promising VESL practices.