Common Questions from New H-2A Employers: English-speaking workers?
“Will my H-2A workers speak English?”
Answer: Fluency can be hard to come by, given the caliber of recruit that will accept an H-2 position. While we can ask that the worker facilitator do their best to prioritize sourcing workers with some fluency, we cannot guarantee it. It is often challenging to find (outside of hospitality-related work).
However, many of these workers build language skills year after year, typically in the context of the work performed on the job, enabling them to work effectively with their employer. However, a newly recruited worker rarely arrives with English-speaking skills deemed fluent.
However, we’ve seen savvy employers lean on translation apps on their smartphones, have a translator on call (másLabor can help with this), or will train some of their domestic staff to speak enough English to communicate to the newly arrived H-2A workers.
This blog series answers the most common questions we get from first-time H-2A users. másLabor prides itself on not just filing and worker coordination services, but educating businesses entering into H-2A for the first time on how to be successful and compliant users.