Federal jobs program in Lincoln helps employees gain more skills [Video]

Ramiro Aguado Avalos immigrated from Mexico to the United States three years ago, leaving a community that had been too dangerous for his family in search of something better.

He settled in California, then came to Lincoln two years ago, where he landed a job at Kawasaki, becoming among 20% of the company’s workforce whose primary language is Spanish. He took — and passed — a series of career advancement classes offered by the company despite limited English proficiency.

Then Avalos — who had earned a degree in Mexico similar to a mechanical engineering degree from a U.S. college — took English classes offered through a federally funded program at the city-administered American Job Center.

He’s among 22 Kawasaki employees who’ve gotten promotions after participating in the English language programs, one of three to reach the level of quality control inspector and among 573 people from Lincoln businesses who have …