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Pennsylvania is launching a six-month pilot program to recruit more than a thousand bilingual workers to the state’s workforce.
The pilot program will focus on recruiting workers to help connect residents to employment services and unemployment compensation benefits and services.
A relationship between the commonwealth and Service Employees International Union Local 668 will allow roughly 1,100 employees — who speak and can write in Spanish — to be eligible for an additional $1 per hour, equaling roughly $1,000 over the six-month pilot.
“There should be no wrong door for Pennsylvanians who want to contact state government and access the information and services they deserve,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a release. “Hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians speak a language other than English — and I want them to be able to reach out to their state government and receive efficient, effective service just the same as anyone else.”
The additional $1 per hour will be available for the following positions:
- Unemployment compensation intake interviewers
- UC claims supervisors
- UC claims examiners
- Pa. CareerLink program supervisors
- Disabled veterans outreach program specialists
- Local veterans employment representatives
