Weston College: ESOL Learners Progressing Into Work

Success Story

Some ESOL learners need more than language teaching to move into work, study and life in the UK.

Weston College used our Living and Working in the UK qualification (Entry 1 to Level 1) to give learners practical workplace communication and the confidence to use it, with learners progressing into Functional Skills English and, for some, into more responsible roles at work.

If you support ESOL learners who aren’t yet ready for Functional Skills English, or who need more than language to progress, get in touch.

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At a glance

Centre

Weston College (FE college, with employer Yeo Valley)

Qualification

Living and Working in the UK, Entry 1 to Level 1

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The challenge

ESOL learners who need more than language to progress into work and study

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The solution

Embed Living and Working in the UK alongside ESOL support, then bridge into Functional Skills English

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The result

Progression into Functional Skills English, some to Level 2, and supervisory roles ay Yeo Valley

If I have an idea for a programme, I can go to Gateway Qualifications and say, this is who it is for, and this is what we want to achieve. They will work with me to shape it properly, so it works for our learners and our employers.

Debbie Sinclair, Lead Internal Quality Assurer at Weston College

The challenge: when ESOL alone isn’t enough to reach work

For some ESOL learners, language classes alone are not enough to step into work and life in the UK.

Weston College began working with Yeo Valley after the employer recruited a number of staff whose first language was not English.

Many were already in factory roles but were struggling with workplace communication, confidence and progression because of language barriers and unfamiliarity with working life in the UK. Some were highly qualified in their home countries but had taken lower skilled roles to secure employment; others were brand new to the UK.

While Functional Skills English was the longer term goal, many were not ready to access it when they joined the programme.

They were working, they were committed, but the language barrier was huge.
Some had never stepped foot in the UK before, and it was a big culture shock for them.
Others were highly qualified in their own country but were doing lower skilled work just to get into employment.

Debbie Sinclair, Lead Internal Quality Assurer at Weston College

The solution: Weston College chose our Living and Working in the UK qualification

Weston College introduced the Living and Working in the UK qualification alongside ESOL support, to give learners a more supportive starting point. It built practical English for the workplace, confidence in speaking and listening, and an understanding of everyday working life in the UK, and it provided a bridge into Functional Skills English rather than expecting learners to move straight into formal assessment.

Delivery was shaped around factory shift patterns: sessions on site, at times that suited the employer, kept short and focused.

Safeguarding and wellbeing ran alongside the learning.

It was about developing their speaking and listening in a way that made sense for their jobs and helping them understand how things work here. Once that foundation is there, Functional Skills becomes much more achievable.

Debbie Sinclair, Lead Internal Quality Assurer at Weston College

The results: ESOL learners progressing into Functional Skills English and work

Learners progressed from Living and Working in the UK into Functional Skills English, and some have since achieved Level 2, which would not have been realistic at the start of their learning journey.

As their communication and confidence improved, some moved into more responsible or supervisory roles with Yeo Valley.

The relationship between Weston College and Yeo Valley has grown beyond this programme into wider training, including leadership and management.

What this could mean for your learners

The learners at Weston did not just improve English. They built confidence to use it, gained practical skills for working life, and found a real route on into Functional Skills English and work. That happened because the provision was shaped around them, not the other way round, and the same is possible for very different learners, in very different settings. If you’d like to explore what it could look like for yours, we’re here whenever you’d like to talk.