The Charlotte Observer

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Charlotte employers seeking more bilingual staff
Th eCharlotte Observer

In yet another sign of Charlotte’s growing immigrant workforce, a new kind of job fair is being held Friday, to recruit only people who speak more than one language.

Organizers believe it may be the first of many to come.

The Bilingual Customer Service Career Fair at the Latin American Coalition on Central Avenue will include such employers as Verizon, Chipotle, Goodwill and the Charlotte Hornets interviewing people for potential jobs.

Coalition officials say the idea for the fair grew from increased demand in the community for people who are bilingual, particularly those who speak Spanish and English.

The job fair comes at a time when recent U.S. Census Bureau data shows Mecklenburg County’s Hispanic growth rate continues to boom. The non-white Hispanic population grew 14.8 percent between 2010 and last year, more than double the white growth rate. Hispanics are now 12.7 percent of the county’s population, an estimated 128,473 people among 1.01 million residents.

Faith Josephs of the Latin American Coalition says the job fair was created in response to companies in the community that are seeking customer service employees who speak multiple languages. Most of the potential jobs require a high school diploma, through college level education is also being sought.

“This is a sign that Charlotte is changing. A career fair of employers seeking bilingual job candidates is unique, but more and more these companies are finding themselves with Spanish speaking customers,” said Josephs. “A lot (of immigrants) don’t realize what a skill it is to speak more than one language professionally, but it’s very highly sought.”

Dans le sud des États-Unis, les méchants red necks sont plus ouverts au bilinguisme que les péquistes…