Building Skills Partnership A non-profit training collaboration between the SEIU–USWW union and responsible businesses

San Francisco/East Bay: (510) 437-8144

Peninsula/South Bay: (408) 280-5329

www.BuildingSkills.org info@buildingskills.org

Increasing Opportunities, Bridging Divides in Silicon Valley

About Building Skills Partnership

In 1994, Hewlett Packard partnered with the Service Employees Union (SEIU) to

pilot Vocational English as a Second Language (ESL) classes for janitors on its

campus and helped recruit other Silicon Valley companies to host classes on-site.

This training collaboration has grown in the past 15 years into the Building Skills

Partnership (BSP), a statewide non-profit led by many of California’s leading

corporations, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) and SEIU.

BSP helps close deep language and computer divides by training janitors in ESL,

computer literacy, vocational and other life skills. Classes are held on Saturdays

and other non-traditional hours across the state, from San Diego to Sacramento.

In Silicon Valley, over 300 janitors are trained at a time in six-month classes held

at over 15 leading companies including Adobe, Google, Apple, Genentech,

Applied Materials, and Stanford University.

With access to training, janitors and other primarily immigrant service workers

can advance to higher paid jobs with career pathways. They can also contribute

more to the economy, participate more in their communities, and strengthen the

future of the Valley by better supporting their families’ financial stability, health

and education.

“Microsoft is pleased to partner with

Building Skills Partnership to support

their efforts in workforce training and

skills development. These efforts are

aligned with Microsoft’s global effort

to support improvement in the quality

and access to education. With

unemployment rates at alarmingly high

levels, we all need to work together to

arm people with the skills they need to

succeed in today’s changing economy.”

- Sid Espinosa, Director of Citizenship

Microsoft

Graduation at Adobe English class at Apple

"With some fluency, a janitor can get off the night shift and onto days;

an immigrant can try to pass the citizenship test. Meanwhile,

the tutoring provides a sense of purpose and human connection that

cannot be taught.”

-New York Times

Article on BSP training at Stanford

Need for Immigrant Workforce Development

There is a pressing need in the Valley for Vocational ESL & Job Skills Training:

36% of Santa Clara county's 1.7 million residents are born outside of the U.S.

Low English language proficiency is highest among Spanish speaking

immigrants and has been increasing, from 24% in 1990 to 34%. (United Way

Silicon Valley: Democratic & Economic Trends).

One of the most pressing needs of this

growing population of Latino, immigrant

workers is to learn English in order to fully

participate in their jobs, in their children’s

schools, and to become actively involved

in their community (Joint Venture’s “Index

of Silicon Valley 2005”).

Fewer than 20% of BSP participants can use a computer though they live and

work in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Training is not accessible to most immigrant workers:

Funding shortfalls, uncoordinated

programming and resource deficits

among ESL providers mean long

waiting periods for enrollment,

overcrowded classrooms and a

lack of updated materials and

equipment. (Silicon Valley Community Foundation’s Immigrant Integration in

Silicon Valley).

Many immigrant workers cannot attend ESL or vocational classes due to

their work schedules. Santa Clara County and community should support

educational providers that offer on-site vocational training and Vocational

ESL. (Santa Clara County’s Summit on Immigrant Needs and Contributions).

Tutoring program at Stanford

Graduation at Yahoo!

Reduce language, job skills, and digital divides in Silicon Valley by

helping to train over 500 low-wage immigrant service workers in

2011 in Vocational English, computer literacy and other job skills.

Building Skills Partners are building owners, facilities management

and service companies, and other corporations and community

organizations who agree on the importance of:

Providing classroom space in their buildings so BSP

training can be held on-site, making it possible for

immigrant service workers who often juggle multiple jobs or

lack childcare or transportation to further their educations.

Encouraging janitorial companies or other service

contractors to provide release or flex time to enable

service workers to attend classes at their place of work.

Recruiting corporate

employees to volunteer

as tutors or teaching

assistants within BSP

Vocational ESL or

computer programs.

Helping fund BSP’s work to close language, digital and skills

divides in the Valley by providing an annual membership

contribution of:

Copper: $1,000-9,999

Bronze: $10,000-24,999

Silver: $25,000-49,999

Gold: $50,000-74,999

Platinum: $75,000+

Become a Building Skills Partner

BSP has received contributions/commitments at

the following levels from:

Platinum: Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Gold: Microsoft

Copper: Adobe Google

Employers who provide core funding and offered

worksite training in the Bay Area in 2010 include:

Able Building Maintenance American Building Maintenance Brilliant General Maintenance

GCA Services Group Pacific Maintenance Company

For more information contact:

Alison Ascher Webber BSP Associate Director

alison@buildingskills.org 510-816-1585

BSP is a statewide 501(c)3 with offices throughout

the state. Bay Area offices are located in San Jose

and Oakland. Federal Tax ID number: 26-1254255

Class leaders at Applied Materials

2010 graduation at Google