This "Q & A" discusses how employment preparation can be integrated into English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) curriculum, whether in a workplace or standard adult ESL program. It first chronicles the historical link, since federal legislation in 1964, between employment and adult education and the relationship between employment and ESL instruction with the large influx of immigrants since the 1970s. The distinction between workforce and workplace instruction is discussed, noting trends in this area since the 1970s. Research on both linguistic skills and other workplace skills needed in the workplace is reviewed briefly, and five areas of workplace competency identified in a major federal report by the Secretary of Labor's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) are detailed: resource management; information management; social interaction; systems behavior and performance skills; and technology utilization. Ways in which ESL practitioners can teach the SCANS skills are discussed briefly, and other ways in which they can advance workplace ESL instruction are noted. Contains 33 references. (MSE) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education)