Help Welcome the World to Eugene and Your Business!
This July, 30-50,000 international visitors will be coming to the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene. This is the first time the games will be on American soil and its happening right here in Oregon July 15-24!
Eugene-based Avant Assessment and the Global Seal of Biliteracy are teaming up to help local businesses literally say “welcome” to the world at the Eugene Airport, Eugene Riverfront Festival, and through language assistance via an online community hub within the Discord app.
Identify who among your employees has bilingual or multilingual skills.
The Global Seal Experience is looking for volunteers to participate in a visitor language assistance program for way-finding during the games. Business owners can take advantage of FREE language proficiency testing with the Avant STAMP assessment (an $80 value!) of Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking skills.
Participants achieving an Intermediate-Mid level of proficiency will have the opportunity to earn the internationally recognized Global Seal of Biliteracy credential. Earners will receive a verifiable, serial-numbered certificate, medal, and digital badge to display on email signatures and social media profiles.
As a business owner, seeing this badge on a resume shows you that the person applying for your position has the skills to help customers!
Why Identify your Multilingual Employees?
Here’s what businesses say in a 2018 survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs
Nine out of 10 U.S. employers report a reliance on U.S.-based employees with language skills other than English, with one-third (32 percent) reporting a high dependency.
Nearly one in four employers surveyed overall acknowledges losing or being unable to pursue a business opportunity over the singular lack of foreign language skills.
65 million U.S. residents speak a language other than English (40 percent with limited or no English proficiency) and 96 percent of the world’s consumers and two-thirds of its purchasing power reside outside U.S. borders.
Euros, the European Job Portal’s research suggests that people who speak one or more foreign languages are better at solving problems, and they are more creative and empathetic.
LOCALLY, in Eugene, in the 2017 City of Eugene Language Plan, city data reports that more than 9,000 Eugene households speak another language.