Holyoke Community College program fuses English lessons with career training
HOLYOKE – For job seekers struggling with English, Holyoke Community College is turning a state grant into a lifeline — offering training that blends language learning with career skills and digital literacy.
A new $300,000 state grant is helping the school rewrite the rules of workforce training — targeting low-income job-seekers whose biggest barrier to employment is limited English, even as federal immigration policies threaten to push many of them out.
The funding is part of a $2.7 million Readiness, Integration, Skills and Employment (RISE) grant package given to eight groups statewide.
Funding will help more than 500 speakers of other languages across Massachusetts take English classes. It will also offer job training, career support and help people find work — all while easing the high demand for English programs, HCC organizers said in a statement .
The college is signing people up for the program, which is expected to start by the end of October.
Over the next year and a half, students will take part in three rounds of 12-week classes, with both in-person and online lessons they can do at their own pace, organizers said.
Ash Aliengena, a literacy specialist with the HCC Adult & Family Education Center teaches an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) class in Holyoke. Oct. 21, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
HCC will team up with three Springfield groups — Wayfinders, Tech Foundry and MassHire Springfield — to train and help place 50 people in jobs.
Local employers, including Baystate Health, Holyoke Medical Center, Adhesive Applications, Pioneer Valley Hotel Group and MGM Springfield, have agreed to interview people who complete the program.
Gov. Maura Healey in a statement last week that awards will help prepare residents to fill open roles in high-demand fields.
"We know that language is a significant barrier to employment, which is why we have focused on connecting workers with the English and skills training they need to succeed in today's economy," Healey said.
The program was created to help people living in emergency shelters, but is now open to other low-income job-seekers, including parents with children under 18.
People who join will get help with basic needs like childcare and food, organizers said.
The grant is focused on people who need to improve their English, but many also face other challenges, said Kermit Dunkelberg, assistant vice president of adult education and workforce development at HCC.
That's why the college is partnering with Wayfinders, Tech Foundry and Mass Hire to help participants gain basic awareness about how to apply for a job, he said.
Ukrainian nurse Tetiana Prudius studies in an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) class at the HCC Adult & Family Education Center. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
The program intends to combine services that usually happen one after the other, Dunkelberg said.
"Now, we're trying to do that in a more integrated way to accelerate people's ability to get into jobs," he said.
Dunkelberg said the classes are designed so people can repeat a cycle or move up to a higher level of English.
Haitian nurse Angelo Francois studies in an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) class at the HCC Adult & Family Education Center. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
"We will also be educating students about other industry-specific training opportunities we offer and jobs that are out there," he said.
Some who finish the program may go on to get more training, in fields like cooking, clean energy or health care. Others might start entry-level jobs at places like Baystate Health or MGM Springfield, he said.
The RISE grants are funded by the state's Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and managed by the Commonwealth Corporation through the Workforce Competitive Trust Fund.
HCC was one of just two schools outside the Boston area to get the grant. Greenfield Community College also received $195,000 to train home health aides.
Haitian nurse Angelo Francois studies in an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) class at the HCC Adult & Family Education Center. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
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