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File - Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks at Al-Aqsa Islamic Society in Philadelphia on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Carmen Russell-Sluchansky/WHYY)
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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:
To qualify for the pay incentive, workers must meet minimum requirements established by the Department of Labor and Industry for verbal and/or written Spanish proficiency.
One of the big reasons for the program is an increase in the commonwealth’s Hispanic population. Between 2010 and 2022, Pennsylvania gained roughly 394,000 new residents, according to the Pew Research Center. The United States Census Bureau shows nearly 6% of Pennsylvanians speak Spanish in their households.
“We want to make sure that Pennsylvanians can access services from the Commonwealth that meet them where they are in language and accessibility,” Office of Administration Secretary Neil Weaver said. “The pilot will allow us to explore potential incentives to increase the number of bilingual employees in positions with high demand for this skill.”
The pilot program is connected to Shapiro’s Hire, Improve, Recruit, Empower Committee, which was created through an executive order he signed in May 2023.
