Rising market for bilingual speakers addresses Hispanic presence

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Southwest Missouri's Hispanic population is a growing customer base, and that means companies need employees who can surmount the barriers of language and culture.|ret||ret||tab|

There's a real resistance from area businesses to get past the mentality that since Hispanics have moved here, they need to speak English, said Merica Clinkenbeard, owner of Hispanic Connections. She has consulted with area businesses and taught Spanish to local employees, some of whom may be exiting the area to work in Mexico or other Latin American countries. |ret||ret||tab|

Businesses like manufacturers and construction companies, which regularly employ Hispanics, should have supervisors or coordinators in place who know Spanish and can relate culturally to these workers, Clinkenbeard said. This would decrease work-related injuries due to miscommunication or misunderstanding, she added. |ret||ret||tab|

There's a need for bilingual speakers to interpret for Hispanics in area hospitals and health-related businesses, said Yolanda Lorge, president of Grupo Latinoameri-cano. These skills are not easily learned, especially when the position requires knowing medical terminology, she added.|ret||ret||tab|

Lorge said area schools don't teach the Spanish most applicable to business purposes. Rather the Spanish taught is from Spain, while 65 percent of Spanish speakers in the United States are either from Mexico or of Mexican ancestry. Only 1 percent are from Spain. "NAFTA is with Mexico, not with Spain," she said. |ret||ret||tab|

Lorge said the classes she offers through Grupo Latino-americano specifically focus on Latin American Spanish.|ret||ret||tab|

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Media outreach|ret||ret||tab|

Spanish-language newspapers are one means of bringing area businesses and the Hispanic community together.|ret||ret||tab|

El Norte, a bi-monthly Hispanic paper, produced in Joplin "is striking a chord with (Hispanic) communities," said Blake Spivak advertising director. It provides a forum for businesses to target customers and reach potential employees through the 7,500 copies it distributes throughout southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas. |ret||ret||tab|

Firms that have sought bilingual employees through El Norte are Bank One, U.S. Bank, Anderson Western Wear in Joplin, Tyson Foods and EFCO in Monett, said Francisco Soriano, editor.|ret||ret||tab|

Since January 2001 Soriano has leased weekend time from KQMO 97.7 FM, an Aurora station, to do "La M Grande," a Spanish music and news program. The program airs noon-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; he broadcasts from Monett.|ret||ret||tab|

Carlos Martinez, managing editor of El Tiempo, a weekly Hispanic paper produced in Pineville, said its 11,000 copies are distributed throughout towns in southwest Missouri, northwest Arkansas, Miami, Okla., Jefferson City and Columbia. |ret||ret||tab|

While a variety of retail and service businesses utilize the paper, it's "a big problem for them," Martinez said. "Many businesses advertise with us, but it's hard for them to find bilingual people (for sales positions.) So, many times they run jobs ads."|ret||ret||tab|

Hispanics are this country's largest minority group at 42.6 million with an annual domestic purchasing power of $630 billion, including Puerto Rico, according to the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility's Web site.|ret||ret||tab|

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Filling the need|ret||ret||tab|

Aware of the increasing numbers of Hispanics moving to the Ozarks, Todd Dalzell, director of human resources and compliance for Mid-Missouri Bancshares, posted a notice in the Nov. 7 issue of El Norte seeking an interpreter fluent in Spanish and English. |ret||ret||tab|

"There is a huge need for this service, probably in a lot of areas, but particularly in banking," Dalzell said. The reason: when banks deny someone, they must justify their actions "based on underwriting decisions, not because we couldn't communicate with these people."|ret||ret||tab|

Steve Anderson, owner of 49-year-old Anderson Western Wear in Joplin, said he is eager to hire a bilingual sales employee. Sales of western merchandise have "become huge in the Hispanic sector." He said jobs with poultry operations have been the drawing card attracting many Hispanics to the area.|ret||ret||tab|

Anderson said that since he has hasn't directly targeted the Hispanic population and because no one on staff knows Spanish, sales are "not near what they should be." To address this problem, he is considering having his five employees take Spanish classes.|ret||ret||tab|

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