"In San Jose, Spanish isn't optional. It's essential. Hospitals, banksmost public-facing companiesaren't hiring Spanish-speaking workers for diversity's sake. They're hiring them because they need them. If a large share of your customers only speak Spanish, you need staff who can speak it, too. That's operational reality. But society still treats bilingualism like an add-on, a perk, a resume booster, and not what it really is: a critical part of our regional workforce infrastructure."
"I'm a high school senior who has spent the last year researching how Spanish-English bilingualism affects wages and hiring across the Bay Area. I've spoken with hiring managers, analyzed thousands of job listings and built Bilingual Bay, a job board exclusively for bilingual jobs. What I've found is striking yet intuitive: The demand for bilingualism is everywhere, but our systems aren't designed to meet it."
Spanish is essential for many customer-facing roles in the Bay Area, as employers need staff who can serve large Spanish-speaking customer bases. Employers report Spanish proficiency can fast-track candidates, with many offering bonuses and treating Spanish as effectively required in certain branches. Job postings often list Spanish as preferred without offering pay premiums, reducing incentives. School systems frequently begin foreign language instruction too late, making native-level proficiency unlikely for late starters. Immersion programs and targeted recruitment pipelines could increase bilingual graduate production and properly reward bilingual workers, integrating bilingual skills into regional workforce infrastructure.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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