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Redundant employees learn professional Swedish with Lingio

#vitecherupp
Edtech-the company Lingio offers digital training in vocational Swedish for 25 different professional roles and three courses in general Swedish. This spring, the Lingio an offer to dismissed employees to free access to all digital language courses. Since April when Lingio were first involved in #vitecherupp, language training is now in full swing and around 100 people are learning professional Swedish.   

When Lingio first launched its free language training initiative, it targeted the hospitality industry. The hospitality industry was one of the first sectors to be hit hard by the spread of the coronavirus and Lingio started working with major hotel chains such as Scandic Hotels, Nordic Choice, BWH Hotel Group, Stureplansgruppen, Radisson Hotels and Winn Hotel Group. Moa Göransdotter, Sales and Marketing Manager at Lingio, explains how this happened.

- We noticed early on how quickly and severely the hospitality industry was affected by corona and contacted the major hotel chains to offer their laid-off employees to take our courses in professional Swedish free of charge. In the hotel industry, as many as 40% of employees are foreign-born and the hope is that improved language skills will help more people get back to their jobs faster, or prepare to change jobs. About a hundred people signed up for various courses in professional Swedish and it feels really good to be able to support so many people.

The courses are now in full swing and the engagement of the language learners is very high. The courses are based on AI technology with digital language coaches and exercises that work like small games where students chase stars, which is very rewarding and helps with language development.

- Many participants show incredible commitment and have already played over 600 games. Each game takes five to ten minutes to complete, so the participants spend a lot of time practicing. It says a lot about the drive these people have," says Moa Göransdotter.

Participants from the hotel industry have chosen slightly different types of language courses. These include catering, health and social care, baking, bus driving, construction and civil engineering, while some have chosen to study general Swedish. The course started in mid-May and is based on a six-month curriculum. If you practice a lot and have a good command of the language, you can complete the course more quickly. Of those who started in May, some have already finished and the response from the hotel chains has been very good.

- Everyone has been incredibly grateful. I feel that everyone does so much for their employees and you really want to be able to rehire the people you have had to give notice or lay off. For example, one of the hotel chains we work with has had digital meetings online as a kind of digital employment agency. In a tough time like this, it's great to see how much they care about their employees," says Moa Göransdotter.