English Skills Are Workforce Skills: What 6,000 Workers Told Us About English Upskilling

By Katie Brown, PhD, Founder & Chief Education Officer, EnGen 

Here’s a statistic that might surprise you: One in every 10 working-age adults in the U.S.—about 19 million people—is an English learner. 

These individuals bring valuable credentials, real-world experience, and in-demand skills to the table. And yet millions are unemployed or underemployed, held back by a solvable issue: access to English instruction. 

Our workforce system too often overlooks English as a core workforce skill. Instead of integrating language learning into training and upskilling efforts, it treats English proficiency as a prerequisite, shutting out a massive talent pool before the training even begins. It’s time to fill the gap. 

 

Rethinking Workforce Readiness 

Today’s employers face growing workforce shortages and widening skills gaps. At the same time, a high-potential talent pool is sitting on the sidelines of our economy. We must ensure that our approach to workforce development fully integrates English skills. 

• English can be learned on the job. Just like learning how to code, operate machinery, or follow safety procedures, English can be taught on the job—in fact, it should be. For too long, the U.S. one-size-fits-all approach to language instruction has focused on decontextualized vocabulary and one-size-fits-none instruction in brick-and-mortor classrooms. But we know that adults learn best when what they learn is relevant to their daily lives and work. English lessons can be customized, contextualized, and designed for today’s workplace.
•  Multilingualism is a superpower. English learners are often viewed in terms of what they lack. Instead of focusing on “limited” English proficiency, let’s focus on their potential. Workers who speak Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, and other high-demand languages bring incredible value to workplaces and communities. Upskilling this workforce with English skills gives them a superpower: multilingualism. 

 

English Upskilling in Action

There is good news: An innovative approach to English instruction is emerging as a high-impact, highly scalable workforce development strategy. English upskilling—powered by AI, tailored to real-world careers and workplace needs, and delivered on-demand from a tablet or smartphone—is being rapidly adopted by employers, community colleges, nonprofits, and local governments. EnGen’s approach includes live, online group classes—taught by a qualified teacher—and 1:1 sessions with a multilingual coach. The solution leverages technology for what computers do best so that people can do what humans do best. 

And the results speak for themselves. 

EnGen’s latest national survey, fielded in 2025, captured responses from more than 6,000 workers who access English upskilling through their jobs or local workforce development programs. Here’s what we found: 

• 94% of workers felt more confident speaking English at work as a result of English upskilling.
  
• 93% saved time on the job.
  
• 90% boosted their digital literacy.
  
• 92% enhanced their job-related skills.
  
• 84% said they’re more likely to stay with their current employer because English upskilling is offered as an employee benefit.
  
• 79% reached a key career milestone, like a raise or promotion.

English upskilling is about more than learning English—it’s powering workforces, career mobility, and bottom lines. 

 

Build Stronger Talent Pipelines 

English upskilling builds career-ready workforces, strengthens talent pipelines, and drives retention, productivity, and growth. It’s time to think of English skills not as a barrier, but as a pathway to opportunity.

Join us for a free webinar, “English Skills are Workforce Skills,” on June 25 at 1:00 p.m. ET featuring EnGen’s Dr. Katie Brown. Learn how AI-powered English learning is powering future-ready workforces and workforce development. Register here!