Hope Network Industries is an industrial packaging company that has a greater mission of job training for those with barriers to employment such as a disability, returning from the prison system, or being a refugee which makes up the largest segment of the HNI workforce.
“We have about 25 different countries represented on our work floor right now in about 15 or 16 different languages. A lot of people that come as refugees or immigrants into the Grand Rapids area don't have experience with English language.”
Jerry Downs is the Vice President of Social Determinants of Health for Hope Network. He explains a state grant allowed HNI to bring “English as a Second Language” classes right into the workplace – 15 weeks, 60 hours, scheduled to overlap at shift change.
“We have people on both shifts that attend these classes so what we’ve done is work around the schedule to allow them an hour off of each shift. It's a two-hour class, but the second shift will come in an hour early and the first shift will stay over an hour late. That allows us to get everybody into the same class.”
Downs sees it already building confidence and opening opportunities.
“More opportunities for this workforce to be able to advance within Hope Network Industries so that they can have higher paying and more career positions whether it be quality control, inventory control, warehousing, supervision, these types of things. So it's very rewarding when they get promoted.”
HNI is partnering with the Literacy Center of West Michigan which tailors workplace English classes to companies in Kent and Ottawa Counties.
