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Get 'Em Young Close the Language Gap: Learn Spanish, Teach English Builders can improve construction quality, employee loyalty, and jobsite safety by communicating better with Latino workers. ¿Habla Español? If you don't, it's time to learnor face safety infractions, injury lawsuits, and incredibly high employee turnover. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Hispanics represent nearly 30 percent of construction laborers. That national figure often jumps higher on the job. "Eighty percent of our construction force are Spanish speakers," says Ricardo Gonzalez, a superintendent with Shea Homes in San Diego. Such diversity presents obvious challenges for builders, who must somehow communicate technical directions, safety information, and more, without the benefit of a common language. The obvious solution? Teach your employees Spanish, as Shea Homes San Diego plans to do beginning in 2002, or employ bilingual workers. For those who don't have the resources for a company-wide initiative, local HBAs such as the HBA of Metro Denver or the Greater Atlanta HBA offer "construction Spanish" classes that teach builders the basics ("¿Dondè està tu casco?" or, "Where is your hard hat?"). | |
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