Profesiones sin Barreras(TM) Is a New Bilingual Vocational School From
Lexicon(R) Marketing Group That Will Increase the Job Skills of the Hispanic
Workforce
Bilingual Vocational School Dedicated To Helping The Hispanic Community
Overcome Education And Employment Barriers
LOS ANGELES, March 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Since 1974, the marketing giant
Lexicon Marketing has been helping its Hispanic customers achieve the American
dream through their pioneering English language learning product -- Ingles sin
Barreras(R). Today, it announced the launch of its new, bilingual vocational
school, Profesiones sin Barreras(TM), to help Hispanics realize yet another
significant part of that dream -- job advancement.
Profesiones sin Barreras is a distance-learning institution dedicated to
serving the vocational training needs of the adult Spanish-speaking community
in the U.S. Approved and regulated by the Colorado Department of Higher
Education, Private Occupational School Board, Profesiones sin Barreras offers
bilingual diploma programs for careers in the most in-demand industries.
Profesiones sin Barreras is committed to broadening the professional and
financial opportunities available to the Spanish-speaking members of the
American workforce. The School achieves its mission by appreciating the unique
needs of its students and by offering programs that reflect current employment
trends to ensure that its self-directed, distance-learning courses equip
students with job skills essential for success. Profesiones sin Barreras'
initial course offerings include Medical Office Assistant, Start Your Own
Business, Construction, and Sales and Customer Service. Students can enroll
over the phone or online and pursue their courses at their own pace.
"This company was founded on the belief that by providing Hispanics with
the right tools and education, they can succeed and achieve their dreams for a
better future," said Valeria Rico, President of Lexicon Marketing and
Profesiones sin Barreras. "We are pleased to be able to offer our market a
trustworthy, distance-learning school, that provides our students with a 100%
bilingual choice for their educational needs."
Profesiones sin Barreras provides students with dedicated support from
academic advisors, tutors, and course instructors, all of whom are readily
available to respond to any questions and concerns. Learning materials are
created in bilingual, engaging, and accessible formats specially tailored to
the needs of working adults.
Profesiones sin Barreras will address a significant educational problem in
the US by offering alternative solutions to the roughly 2M Hispanic youths who
are high school dropouts in addition to the millions of Hispanic adults in the
workforce who lack the skills to apply for the jobs most in demand. According
to the US Department of Education, in October 2005 approximately 3.5 million
16 to 24-year-olds were not enrolled in high school and had not earned a high
school diploma or GED. These dropouts accounted for 9.4% of the 16 to 24-
year-old population. The percentage of Hispanics ages 16 to 24 who were
dropouts is consistently higher than that of Whites or Blacks throughout their
33-year longitudinal study. While Hispanics born outside the US had the
largest percentage dropout rate (36.5%), first and second generation Hispanic
youth are also much more likely to be dropouts than were non-Hispanic youth
(13.9% and 11.6%, respectively).(1)
Although Hispanic workers have seen significant gains in employment over
the past two years, the concentration of these jobs has been in relatively
low-skill occupations. In 2004, 81% of new jobs for foreign-born Latinos and
76% of new jobs for native-born Latinos were in occupations requiring minimal
formal education. In contrast, 64% of new jobs for native-born white workers
were in occupations requiring a college degree or more. The average income of
those aged 18-65 who have not completed high school was roughly $20,100 in
2005 v. $29,700 for those who had completed their high school education
including those with a GED. This difference in earnings potential and
disparity in educational outcome foresees a long term widening of the gap
between Hispanics and other ethnic groups in terms of earnings potential.
Industries with Highest Growth: Employment Distribution
(in thousands)
Employment
Hispanics 2004 % of Total
Eating, Drinking, Lodging 1,810 10%
Construction 1,766 10%
Wholesale/Retail 1,506 8%
Manufacturing 797 4%
Educational Services 688 4%
Other 11,384 63%
Total 17,951 100%
Non-Hispanics
Prof Services 14,682 12%
Educational Services 10,821 9%
Hospitals and Health Svcs 11,074 9%
Construction 8,030 7%
Other 76,350 63%
Total 120,957 100%
Source: Pew Hispanic Center, Latino Labor Report, 2004.
Education Cluster of Hispanic Workers (in thousands)
Employment 2004
Total % Native % Foreign %
Hispanic Distribution Born Distribution Born Distribution
Education
Level
High School 5,341 30% 1,134 14% 4,207 43%
High School/
Some College 7,886 44% 3,957 49% 3,929 40%
High School/
Some College/
College 2,574 14% 1,589 20% 985 10%
Some College/
College 1,158 6% 791 10% 367 4%
College 992 6% 666 8% 326 3%
Total 17,951 100% 8,137 100% 9,814 100%
Source: Pew Hispanic Center, Latino Labor Report, 2004.
Given these statistics, there is a clear need to provide educational
resources to Spanish speakers to help enhance their earnings potential and
move them into higher-skill and higher paying occupations. One avenue of
career enhancement or career change for many is post-secondary vocational
education. While readily available in the general English-speaking market,
there has been no major provider of such services to Spanish dominant or
bilingual learners. Profesiones sin Barreras will fill that gap with
culturally relevant, easy to use, state of the art learning materials to help
Hispanics achieve their goals.
Profesiones sin Barreras is headquartered in Westminster, Colorado. For
more information, contact Ian Creager at (303) 428-4977.
ABOUT LEXICON MARKETING
Lexicon Marketing Group is the developer and marketer of Ingles sin
Barreras(R), the world's best selling video-based English learning program.
Ingles sin Barreras is Spanish for "English without Barriers" which summarizes
our approach to the Hispanic market. Our mission is to enrich the lives of
Hispanic families by offering opportunities in the areas of education, well-
being and financial prosperity. Our current product and service portfolio
includes: Ingles sin Barreras, THE English language learning product for
Spanish speakers; Disney's World of English, a children's literacy and English
language course; Olympia(TM) Housewares and Bienestar sin Barreras(TM), a
healthy, cookware system that comes with an educational course on wellness and
nutrition; Computacion sin Barreras(TM), a computer learning course that is
sold along with a computer; Viva sin Barreras(R), a catalog of products to
enhance the lives of Hispanic families; Seguros sin Barreras(R), offering
quality insurance products; and Credito sin Barreras(R), offering innovative
financing products to meet our customers needs. Today, Lexicon continues to
eliminate barriers and contribute to the advancement and achievement of
Hispanics in the United States and abroad both through our businesses as well
as through our non-profit foundation, the Sin Barreras Foundation(TM). For
more information about Lexicon visit http://www.lexiconmarketing.com.
Contact:
Karissa Price
Vice President, Growth Initiatives
Lexicon Marketing
kprice@lexiconmarketing.com
(323) 782-7543
(1) Laird, J., DeBell, M., Kienzl, G., and Chapman, C. (2007). Dropout
Rates in the United States: 2005 (NCES 2007-059). U.S. Department of
Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Retrieved January 31, 2008 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
SOURCE Lexicon Marketing
Karissa Price, Vice President, Growth Initiatives, Lexicon Marketing,
+1-323-782-7543, kprice@lexiconmarketing.com
