In April 2007 Lowe Precast received a Heart of Texas Workforce Board Employee Development Grant with Acquire Language Now, Lowe's partner in the training. Classes in English for Limited English Proficiency Speakers in technical English for the workplace and classes in Spanish for the Workplace particularly centering on skills for managers and those in close relationship with Limited English Proficiency Speakers have been held in a twenty-eight module framework establishing a basis for better communication between the ethnic groups represented in the workplace of the southwestern United States. While many other groups focus on life skills as a basis for the curriculum, this intensive program focuses on technical verbiage, communication between managers and production staff, and a variety of other important elements including measurement skills and conversion from metric to American standards.

With the narrow tolerances that the precast industry must adhere to in the construction of small to extremely heavy panels and precast elements, skills such as understanding measurement, giving and taking direction, understanding finishing, design, and production issues are of extreme importance. Acquire Language Now has adapted the courses to that segment of need. Although funded through WIA funds, the need is probably much greater than the funds can allow for. In the grant to Lowe, employees from every sector are able to be trained to further adapted understanding of the needs of the industry by all who are involved. With unemployment in Texas at record lows since 1976, all of those involved in this program, whether on the management side or on the production end are key players.

Lowe Precast is an industry leader in the southwest region of the United States. Even though this is true, there are times when working with varied ethnic groups that communication is of paramount importance. This grant has proven to develop a vital connection which previously had been a missing link in the organization super-structure. Although the participating employees are unable to actually gain fluency on deep levels, the introduction of language to the centers of the brain will, over time, help employees to gain an understanding of at first recognition, then understanding, then speaking, and finally if desired an amount of reading and writing.

The staff at Lowe Precast would like to thank the Heart of Texas Workforce Development Board for choosing Lowe Precast as a recipient of its employee development grant, and is encouraged by the progress of its participating employees. The management at Lowe Precast would like to thank the employees, who are selflessly coming to the classes in order to gain the ability to function in a more capable capacity in their roles at Lowe Precast.