WES Blog

“The COVID-19 pandemic is getting worse, not better, for marginalized workers,” said Deena Ladd, executive director of Workers Action Centre (WAC) in Ontario, at a recent emergency town hall. WAC, a grantee partner of the WES Mariam Assefa Fund, is addressing many of the challenges immigrant workers face on the front lines of COVID-19 and […]

World Education Services (WES) believes in the power of storytelling and shared resources. In 2019, we reached out to immigrants across North America. We asked about their reasons for leaving home, their challenges along the way, and the advice they would like to share with other newcomers. In this new blog series, we are now […]

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 […]

Happy New Year! As we kick off 2022, the WES Mariam Assefa Fund team is reflecting on the remarkable organizations, leaders, and efforts that inspired us last year amid many challenges, and looking ahead to what we’re excited about in the new year. In 2021, our community of grantee and investee partners grew exponentially – […]

Canada is a popular place for international students to pursue higher education, whether they’re studying abroad to gain experience and credentials or completing an entire degree program. In this post, we go into detail and discuss the many reasons why Canada is popular with international students pursuing undergraduate and graduate credentials. Skip Ahead Get a […]

Each year, individuals from all over the world travel to the United States to earn academic credentials, attain degrees, and graduate from renowned universities. Some people are attracted to the campus culture of American schools, while others are interested in the cachet of attending specific programs that are globally respected in their prospective career field.  […]

A physician with 25 years’ experience as head of a government clinic in Afghanistan’s Herat province came to the United States in 2019. He holds a degree from an Afghan medical college along with nearly 30 health-related trainings and certifications. However, to support his family, he has taken a job stocking shelves at a big-box […]

The World Education Services (WES) Mariam Assefa Fund today announced two new impact investments totaling US$900,000 aimed at supporting economic mobility and expanding shared ownership models among workers and entrepreneurs from historically excluded communities. These impact investments, in Apis & Heritage Capital Partners and ETF@JFFLabs, align with the Fund’s mission of building a more inclusive economy […]

Support will focus on health care and agricultural sectors, employer collaboration, and worker organizing and power-building The WES Mariam Assefa Fund today announced the award of US$1.8 million in grants to 12 U.S. and Canadian organizations working to improve the economic mobility of immigrants and refugees. Each of these new grantee partners, selected through an […]

This piece was originally published on Future of Good, written by Neha Chollangi.  The WES Mariam Assefa Fund is partnering with Future of Good on a series of digital stories to highlight its first-ever participatory grantmaking project in Peel region, Ontario facilitated by the Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement. Back in 1970 when Najma Iqbal […]

World Education Services (WES) believes in the power of storytelling and shared resources. In 2019, we reached out to immigrants across North America. We asked about their reasons for leaving home, their challenges along the way, and the advice they would like to share with other newcomers. In this new blog series, we are now […]

In February 2021, the WES Mariam Assefa Fund kicked off its second annual Fund Ambassadors program, which is a corporate philanthropy and professional development initiative. The program engages staff from across WES to learn about philanthropy and identify mission-aligned organizations to receive donations. Now, at the end of 2021, the Fund Ambassadors have officially awarded […]

Growing up in both Mexicali, a border town in Mexico, and Salinas, California, Luis Sandoval couldn’t help but take notice of the barriers that prevented him and other immigrants from accessing career and educational opportunities. Inspired by his personal experience of growing up in a family of workers in property and cleaning services, construction, and […]

WES Global Talent Bridge is publishing a series of blog posts that highlight the critical work and unique perspectives of the IMPRINT Coalition. The New Mainers Resource Center (NMRC) is a Portland Adult Education program serving immigrants, refugees, and employers in the Greater Portland area. The NMRC’s Program Coordinator, Sally Sutton, has been a leader in advancing […]

WES Global Talent Bridge’s Skilled Immigrant Integration Program (SIIP) has been building momentum over the past four years, growing its dynamic network of communities working to promote the workforce inclusion of immigrants and refugees across the nation. Now, the program will deepen its impact through the inaugural SIIP Demonstration opportunity. The opportunity will support selected […]

Prior to 2021, if you studied in Pakistan and wanted to pursue immigration, career, or higher education goals in the United States or Canada, then you might have encountered difficulties with credential recognition.  WES wanted to help more Pakistan-educated individuals achieve success in Canada and the U.S.  And we’re proud to say that our efforts […]

As Canada’s labour market adapts to challenges associated with COVID-19 and to changes in public health measures, there is a spike in demand for talent, especially in sectors that were already facing worker shortages.  According to Statistics Canada, 130,000 people left the workforce after the onset of the pandemic and are no longer seeking employment. While there were 731,900 jobs in the second quarter of 2021 that needed to be filled, some experts project that vacancies will continue […]

This September, the IMPRINT Coalition launched the #UntappedTalent: Inclusive Economies for All campaign to spotlight the need for policy reforms that increase the economic mobility of immigrants and refugees in the United States. The campaign launched last month with the support of 15 partner organizations and has since grown to include 40 additional organizations who […]

The WES Mariam Assefa Fund is excited to announce its partnership with the Tamarack Institute to launch a participatory grantmaking project in the Peel region of Ontario, Canada. Tamarack will engage community stakeholders to identify the needs of immigrants and refugees in the Peel community, to define funding priorities and processes for this project, and […]

Two decades ago, Nevada was home to just over 100,000 immigrants and refugees, or 8.7 percent of its total population of 1.2 million. Yet as of 2020, the number of people in the state has mushroomed to 3.1 million, with immigration driving much of the growth. Nevada’s population is now 20 percent foreign-born, and the […]