VESL Work Readiness & Communication Skills

The VESL Work Readiness & Communication Skills Program is designed for intermediate-advanced ESL students looking for employment or exploring careers.

The VESL Work Readiness and Communication Skills program prepares advanced students (ESLN Level 5 or higher) to enter a career pathway, whether through direct entry into the workforce or entry into a noncredit or credit CTE (Career Technical Education) or academic program. The program focuses on career exploration, the job search and application process, developing hard and soft skills, and U.S. workplace culture. You will improve your communication skills in English while learning and practicing effective strategies for finding, starting, and keeping a job.

Skills Taught:

  1. Demonstrate effective career planning skills including self-evaluation and career/occupational research.
  2. Model appropriate language and cultural skills for successfully applying for jobs, at the job search, application, and interview stages.
  3. Demonstrate effective on-the-job communication and cultural competency skills in interactions with employers, co-workers, and clients/customers.
  4. Successfully engage in activities involving soft skills such as communication, teamwork, critical thinking, problem solving, and conflict resolution.
  5. Read, interpret, explain, and complete common workplace documents and forms.
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Complete the following courses to earn a certificate!

Required Courses:

  • ESLV 5000 - VESL: Work Readiness and Communication Skills, Module A
  • ESLV 5001 - VESL: Work Readiness and Communication Skills, Module B

This program is recommended for students in ESLN Level 5 or higher. If you are a new student, we recommend that you register for the CASAS placement test to determine your ESLN level. After the test, you will participate in a brief orientation session. You can also complete our online orientation and talk to a counselor if you have any questions about which courses to take.

Assessment/Placement tests are recommended for Adult High School, GED Preparation, and ESL and VESL courses. 

Note:  Adult High School and GED placement test scores are valid for 2 years.  You do not need to retake tests if your scores are still valid.

A Certificate of Competency is awarded upon successful completion of all required courses. 

Request Your Certificate

If you have completed and passed all of the required courses in each program, submit the petition form “Petition for Certificate of Competency.”

Petition for Certificate of Competency

Steps to Get Started

Use the guide below to start taking classes in the VESL Work Readiness & Communication Skills Program. For more detailed instructions, go to How to Take Noncredit Classes. 

  1. Check course availability in Schedule of Classes

    To find VESL Work Readiness & Communication Skills courses in the class schedule, look for the subject “ESL Vocational Noncredit”.

    Go to Class Schedule

  2. Choose which type of student you are:

    Follow these steps if you are new to PCC OR returning after an absence of 1 or more major semester(s):

    1. Apply to Noncredit

      • Create an OpenCCC account if you don’t have one already.

    2. Receive Welcome Letter via email

    3. Activate your LancerPoint account

    4. Check your Registration Status Date in LancerPoint

    5. Register for classes in LancerPoint using CRN# 

    Follow these steps if you are a current or continuing PCC student (noncredit or credit):

    1. Check your Registration Status Date in LancerPoint

    2. Register for classes in LancerPoint using CRN#