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How Two Immigrant-Led Organizations Are Harnessing an Opportunity to Create a More Inclusive Health Care Workforce

Trevor Shealy | April 1, 2024

The United States faces growing health care workforce shortages, which are only expected to increase in the coming decade with projections estimating a national shortfall of over 900,000 nurses and up to 124,000 physicians by the year 2030. To address this issue, analysts and policymakers have begun looking to immigrants and refugees with health […]

Immigrants working in a corporate setting

Serving Internationally Trained Professionals in AEFLA-Funded Programs

Jessie Stadd | July 12, 2023

Internationally trained professionals (ITPs) – a population that has long been served by adult education programs – bring many assets that range from credentials earned in other countries to fluency and literacy in multiple languages, professional work experience, and experience with building social capital. How can adult education programs best support and leverage these unique […]

Immigrant woman with quote text: "We must recognize refugees with empathy and compassion to better understand diversity, and commit to a journey of long-term solidarity."

How One Non-Profit Champions the Voices of Refugees

WES Global Talent Bridge | June 20, 2023

On World Refugee Day, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) calls on us to “champion [the right of refugees] to seek safety, build support for their economic and social inclusion, and advocate for solutions to their plight.” We recently sat down with Chris Khoury and Cheri Chan from Voice of Refugees, a referral […]

8 Immigrant Success Stories and What They Teach about the Benefits of Fellowships

Mikaela Santos | February 28, 2023

The African Bridge Network (ABN), a non-profit in the Greater Boston, Massachusetts, area, seeks to create a supportive community that values the credentials and experiences of immigrants. ABN achieves its goal by supporting internationally trained workers through career coaching, networking opportunities, job placement, and more. In 2018, ABN participated in WES Global Talent Bridge’s Skilled […]

Momentum for Reform: More than 130 Groups Call for a More Inclusive Economy

Ngoc Nguyen | January 31, 2023

This week, the IMPRINT Coalition concluded the #UntappedTalent campaign – IMPRINT’s first national awareness-raising initiative to advance policy reforms that are inclusive of immigrant and refugee workers in the United States. Since September 2021, the campaign has received overwhelming support from more than 130 organizations, including 23 international, 30 U.S. national, and 78 local organizations […]

Advancing the Economic Inclusion of Immigrants and Refugees: State Policy Priorities for 2023

Natalie Torres | January 30, 2023

As 2023 state legislative sessions begin across the United States, policymakers have the opportunity to promote economic inclusion and open career pathways for immigrants and refugees. Immigrants and refugees have education, credentials, and experience that could help meet immediate workforce needs and bolster the nation’s long-term economic vitality. Policy reforms that ensure an inclusive workforce […]

SIIP Convening 2022: Strengthening Partnerships and Programs

Kelly Acheson | November 29, 2022

In late October, a diverse group of organizations working on behalf of internationally trained immigrants and refugees gathered in Washington, D.C. at the fifth annual Skilled Immigrant Integration Program (SIIP) convening. The convening was attended by nearly 100 participants representing 33 out of 40 total SIIP communities—including SIIP alumni and members of the current 2022-2023 […]

Historic Bipartisan Legislation Poised to Advance Workforce Inclusion

Fatima Sanz | October 18, 2022

[An earlier version of this blogpost was published on October 10, 2022.] When Lubab Al-Quarishi was forced to flee Baghdad with her family in 2014, she had been a practicing, licensed pathologist for 18 years in Iraq. Since her resettlement in the United States, Lubab has worked in food service and as a pharmacy technician. […]

Advancing an Inclusive Economic Recovery: Top Five Policy Priorities for 2022

Sara McElmurry and Fatima Sanz | January 24, 2022

The year 2022 brings a renewed call for policy reforms that ensure an inclusive workforce and equal opportunity for all so that immigrants, refugees, and international students no longer face barriers to advancing in their careers in the United States. Immigrants and refugees make up 17 percent of the U.S. labor force, and nearly half […]

‘Improving Opportunities’ Legislation Passes House with Bipartisan Support

Jacki Esposito | September 29, 2021

Last week, bipartisan legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives, putting the United States a step closer to envisioning a workforce that works for all. First introduced in August 2020 as a stand-alone bill with bipartisan support, the Improving Opportunities for New Americans Act was reintroduced in June 2021 with six bipartisan co-sponsors. The legislation […]

How Buffalo’s Commitment to Immigrant Inclusion Reversed Decades of Decline

Sara McElmurry | August 31, 2021

The 2020 census revealed a trend that city leaders in Buffalo, New York, had not seen in seven decades: growth. As of last year, the city was home to 278,349 residents, a 6.5 percent increase since 2010. The growth, the first recorded in Buffalo since the 1950 census, is the result of a dedicated effort […]

Advancing Inclusion From Capitol Hill to Local Economies

Sara McElmurry | August 6, 2021

WES Global Talent Bridge is publishing a series of blog posts that highlight the critical work and unique perspectives of IMPRINT network members. This month, WES Global Talent Bridge communications and policy consultant Sara McElmurry connected with Jina Krause-Vilmar, president and CEO of Upwardly Global, a national non-profit that eliminates employment barriers for immigrant and […]

Skill Underutilization

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