WES Blog

In April, the U.S. Department of Labor released its Bridging the Gap for New Americans study of the barriers and opportunities facing internationally educated immigrants and refugees seeking to resume their careers in the United States. The study provides needed guidance for local, state, and federal stakeholders to further strengthen the inclusion of these workers […]

In the United States, key regulated industries like education, engineering, and health care face significant labor shortages that are predicted to deepen in the coming years. Experts in the health care area alone project a shortfall of over 900,000 nurses by 2030 and up to 86,000 physicians by 2036 as the country’s population ages and […]

Grappling with an aging population and acute labor shortages, the Portland Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) joined the Skilled Immigrant Integration Program (SIIP) in 2018 with the goal of bolstering the local workforce through immigrant and refugee economic inclusion.   For years, business leaders in Portland and throughout Maine had been sounding the alarm on a […]

Navigating the job market with an international degree can be challenging. Employers in the United States and Canada might not understand the value of your education. The most objective thing to do this is to obtain a credential evaluation from a reputable credential evaluation provider, like WES.  This article discusses how a credential evaluation can […]

In most cases, translation is not necessary for a WES credential evaluation. However, if you have been requested to provide translated documents, you might be an exception.   Keep reading to learn more about document translation requirements for a WES credential evaluation.  Why does WES require translated documents?  Translations support required documents and facilitate the evaluation process, ensuring the accuracy […]

Asare is a teacher in Ghana, but his ambitions to pursue advanced degrees and deepen his professional connections in education may soon be taking him to the United States.  As a child, Asare had hoped to follow his father’s path and become a pastor and address important community issues. He recalls his father’s collaborative efforts […]

How might a new philanthropy with $30 million in seed funding build on years of experience working with refugee, immigrant, and international student communities? How can philanthropic capital be more strategically allocated to unlock economic opportunity among underserved populations? How could a new grantmaking organization operate in an intentional way to disrupt power imbalances between grantors […]

Immigrants and refugees make up nearly 20% of Nevada’s population, and a full quarter of the state’s workforce. Yet of the state’s 87,200 immigrant and refugee workers with a four-year degree or higher, nearly 40% are unemployed or underemployed – the result of systemic barriers like limited credential recognition and uneven access to career navigation […]

Planning to order a WES credential evaluation? If you’re looking to pursue the next chapter in your life in the United States or Canada, a WES credential evaluation report will support your post-secondary school and job applications. Keep reading to get answers to frequently asked questions about WES credential evaluations:   What is a WES reference number? How do I obtain one?  A WES reference number is generated once you submit your application along with full […]

When a cohort of Louisville-based organizations joined the Skilled Immigrant Integration Program (SIIP) in 2017, the region had 30,000 open jobs – 9,000 requiring post-secondary training – and not enough workers to fill them. Local leaders from the Louisville Metro Government Office for Globalization (now called the Louisville Metro Government’s Office for Immigrant Affairs), KentuckianaWorks, […]

Written by Shevani Khatri, U.S. Program Associate Enver Latifzade, a key volunteer and leader for the community-based nonprofit RUSA LGBTQ+ (RUSA), came to New York City in 2014 from Uzbekistan seeking asylum as a result of increased homophobia in his home country. RUSA’s mission is to support New York City’s Eurasian LGBTQ+ population. While he was […]

Let’s talk about why a credential evaluation report could be a useful tool. A credential evaluation can help you make full use of the skills, training, and education you received in the Philippines.  It allows organizations such as academic institutions, licensing boards, and employers to compare your degree and credentials to U.S. or Canadian educational […]

Written by: Ani Gurtsishvili, Canada Program Associate South Vancouver Neighbourhood House (SVNH) is a community-based organization offering programs and services in the South Vancouver catchment. Despite its rich cultural tapestry, South Vancouver has historically lacked equitable resource allocation and representation. With more than 80 percent of its residents being racialized individuals and families, SVNH saw an urgency […]

World Education Services (WES) today announced an investment in 8B Education Investments, a social fintech company specializing in supporting African students to attend global universities. 8B facilitates fair student loan financing and support services.    WES’ catalytic investment will help 8B unlock additional student loan capital from its banking partners to bring education finance to African students at scale. […]

Have you ever wondered how the credential evaluation process works? In this article, we’ll explain what happens once we receive your documents for evaluation. Stage 1: Document Imaging  When your documents arrive at WES, they are carefully reviewed and scanned into our system. In many cases, we can accept electronic documents directly from your academic […]

Nebraska has a long history as a leading refugee resettlement state, and the recent years have been no exception. In 2019, Lincoln’s New Americans Task Force (NATF) and Employ LNK partnered to join the Skilled Immigrant Integration Program (SIIP) with the goal of expanding and building systems to better support the inclusion of individuals with […]

FAQs: After You Receive Your WES Credential Evaluation  Have you received a notification that your credential evaluation is complete? Congratulations! Now you are ready to start sharing your report with your future school, employer, or licensing board.   After you receive your WES credential evaluation, you might wonder how you can make full use of it […]

In 2009, Dr. Islam moved to New York City from Bangladesh. Straightaway, he was struck by the lack of opportunities to work in medicine or in a health care role that made use of his skills and experience. Despite graduating from one of the top medical schools in Bangladesh and working there as a physician, he became […]

Written by Lei Ma, U.S. Senior Program Associate  Since the WES Mariam Assefa Fund launched in 2019 with a mission to catalyze economic and social inclusion for immigrants and refugees, we knew that our work needed to adopt an intersectional lens, as people’s multiple identities interconnect and can compound the effects of racism and inequity. […]

Continuing a 100-year legacy of championing local immigrants and refugees, the International Institute of Buffalo (IIB) joined the Skilled Immigrant Integration Program (SIIP) in 2019 with a goal to better serve a growing yet largely underserved community: immigrants and refugees with education, training, and credentials earned in other countries.    As of the 2020 Census, Buffalo’s […]