English Skills: A Hidden Driver of Regional Economic Development

By Dr. Katie Brown
Founder and chief education officer, EnGen

What if one of the most effective strategies for strengthening regional economies, expanding labor force participation, and improving credential attainment is still too often viewed as “just” language instruction?

The statistics are sobering: Across the U.S., 1 in 10 working-age adults has limited English skills, yet less than 5% can currently access federally funded English instruction. In practice, this means that a significant share of local talent works in roles below their skill levels—or is completely sidelined from local economies.

English skills are workforce skills—and the access gap in English instruction is a significant, structural constraint on local economic growth. When large segments of the workforce cannot fully participate in training and credential pathways, regions operate well below their capacity.

A new approach to English instruction, called English upskilling, offers a promising solution. By integrating English instruction directly into workforce and education pathways, English upskilling can unlock underemployed talent, strengthen regional employment pipelines, and better align education and workforce systems. At scale, it helps regions expand opportunity and reach their full economic potential.

This systems-level approach is the central premise of our new playbook, which outlines promising practices for embedding English upskilling directly into credential pathways, apprenticeships, and workforce-aligned education strategies.

From Isolated Instruction to Integrated Pathways

Across the country, postsecondary institutions are putting English upskilling into practice, redesigning how English instruction is delivered within workforce and education systems.

Learners are given workforce-aligned language instruction that focuses on the vocabulary, communication skills, and real-world language used in in-demand fields like healthcare, manufacturing, and skilled trades.

Rather than offering English as a separate, stand-alone sequence, many institutions are embedding English upskilling directly into credit-bearing programs and workforce training. The approach allows learners to build English skills while simultaneously progressing through academic and occupational coursework.

Successful programs are often supported by flexible, technology-enabled platforms that extend learning beyond the classroom and better serve working adults balancing jobs, families, and training responsibilities.

Across nearly 6,000 participants in English upskilling programs, we see consistent gains tied to workforce readiness and mobility:

• 94% report increased confidence using English
• 92% report improved job-related skills
• 90% report improved digital skills
• 79% report achieving a career goal such as a promotion or wage increase

Regional Models for Success

When these outcomes are scaled across postsecondary institutions and workforce systems, they expand regional capacity, accelerating progress through training pathways and opening access to skilled talent for employers.

Our playbook highlights several examples of how this work is taking shape across the country:

• In Maine, community colleges and employers are embedding English upskilling into healthcare pre-apprenticeship programs, combining language development with digital skills, occupational training, and credential completion. The integrated approach accelerates learner progress and strengthens local healthcare talent pipelines.
• In Colorado, a cross-sector state initiative provides no-cost English upskilling to workforce centers, community colleges, and nonprofits. Thousands of local workers and job seekers have met real-world goals such as new employment or wage gains.
• In Michigan, state and nonprofit agencies are coordinating funding and support to embed English upskilling into existing adult education and training programs. Local participants report stronger job and digital skills alongside improved confidence in using English.

Across these efforts, a clear pattern is emerging: Equipping multilingual learners and workers with English skills is most effective when it connects systems that have traditionally operated separately—education, workforce training, and employer needs—into more continuous pathways for learners.

Advancing Regional Economic Mobility at Scale

Forward-looking workforce leaders are not just expanding access to English instruction. Instead, they are redesigning systems so that language development, credential attainment, and workforce participation are fully aligned.

English upskilling helps regions unlock the talent already within their communities—and turn it into stronger careers, stronger employers, and stronger local economies.

Dr. Katie Brown is founder and chief education officer of EnGen, a platform delivering accessible language, literacy, and workforce learning. EnGen partners with postsecondary institutions, workforce organizations, employers, and government agencies to expand access to career pathways and workforce mobility. Download EnGen’s playbook on scaling English upskilling, developed with World Education Services (WES), here.