WES Blog

Last week, Philanthropy New York published a piece by WES Mariam Assefa Fund Senior Director Monica Munn. The post shares insights and recommended actions funders can take to help ensure an economy that is more inclusive of immigrants and refugees. Since the onset of COVID-19, immigrant women like Leonor Albarran, a janitor in Santa Monica, […]

Today, we are thrilled to announce the 20 semi-finalists of the Opportunity Challenge: $1 Million to Uplift Immigrant Communities. Each one of these organizations is leading crucial initiatives that support the success of immigrants and refugees and strive toward building an economy that works for all.  While much of the country was going into lockdown, the Opportunity Challenge launched in March  as a joint grantmaking initiative […]

On July 14, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement retracted guidance that would have required international students in the U.S. to attend in-person classes or face deportation. Despite the federal government’s decision to withdraw the policy, international students outside the U.S. remain unable to obtain visas if their school […]

Many people have had to put their education and plans on hold, due to the global pandemic and government restrictions. For example, you might have postponed your English proficiency test. That’s because many English tests, like the IELTS, are traditionally completed in person, in a group classroom setting. Therefore, IELTS partners introduced a new solution […]

We know that applicants have a lot of questions about how the pandemic has affected business operations at WES. In this blog post, we have compiled some of your most frequently asked questions about our credential evaluation process and provided the latest answers. For example, you can learn about current timelines for processing mail, as […]

Immigrants and refugees play vital roles on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19 and will continue playing essential roles to keep the U.S. moving forward. The need to address longstanding barriers to economic mobility faced by many immigrants and refugees today is therefore clear. As we look to rebuild the economy, we must ensure that the needs of immigrant and refugee workers are addressed and […]

At the end of May, the application portal closed for the Opportunity Challenge: $1 Million to Uplift Immigrant Communities. This was the first open grant challenge for both the WES Mariam Assefa Fund and the Tarsadia Foundation. The Opportunity Challenge was jointly launched in response to the resounding need to surface and expand impactful community-led […]

Ziad Ajweh is a Building Safety Code Officer at the City of Edmonton. He moved to Canada as an international student nearly a decade ago, and obtained a Master of Science in construction engineering and management here. Ziad recently received the title of Professional Engineer (P.Eng.).     This blog post traces Ziad’s immigration story and the challenges he overcame as a newcomer to enter a regulated profession in a new country.   Despite COVID-19, Ziad remains […]

The WES Mariam Assefa Fund, the philanthropic arm of World Education Services (WES), today announced the award of $1.35 million in grants to enable immigrant and refugee workers to advance in the workforce of today and tomorrow and build strong careers that support their families and themselves. The three grant recipients are Building Skills Partnership […]

The Stories of Immigrants Project began as a way for employees at World Education Services (WES) to become more involved with the company’s mission and learn more about the immigrants and refugees who we work to support every day. Over the course of a year, the project blossomed into something more meaningful than we could […]

Even though you may not be able to go on in-person college visits now, there are many things you can do at home to determine if a prospective school is a good fit for you. For example, you can interact with the school on their website, via email, and on social media not only to […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the existing strains on the U.S. health care system and underscored the critical need to integrate qualified immigrants and refugees into the health workforce.  Across the country, an estimated 263,000 immigrants and refugees with health care training are unable to obtain licensure in the U.S.  Of these, 165,000 people earned their credentials outside the U.S. but must meet onerous, time-consuming, and costly requirements, including […]

On May 21, over 100 contributors joined the launch of the #ImmigrantsWork campaign through a Twitter chat. The #ImmigrantsWork campaign aims to raise awareness of the meaningful contributions immigrants have made to the Canadian economy, as well as their continued impact in Canada’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The launch convened influential voices on the […]

One essential piece of advice for immigrants is to build a network in their new home countries. When you develop professional contacts, socialize with neighbors, and make friends, you begin to absorb cultural information and mutually exchange ideas. Establishing a network will help you feel more comfortable and happier in your new environment. It can […]

Earlier this week, World Education Services (WES) CEO Esther Benjamin expressed our organization’s solidarity with Black lives and protests following the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police. As the philanthropic arm of WES, we want to share our thoughts and commitments as a funder in the fight for racial justice. The WES Mariam Assefa Fund stands alongside our partners, many […]

Many applicants can now upload copies of degree certificates and translations in My Account. This is not a requirement for all applications, so you can disregard this post if you have already submitted your degree certificates and translations or if they are not listed in your Required Documents. Note: This feature is for degree certificates […]

The Stories of Immigrants Project began as a way for employees at World Education Services (WES) to become more involved with the company’s mission and learn more about the immigrants and refugees who we work to support every day. Over the course of a year, the project blossomed into something more meaningful than we could […]

WES Ambassador Maddy Lavoie is an international student at Delta State University. In this blog post, she shares her tips for students who may be struggling and want to manage their stress in healthful ways. Everyone is under greater stress now because of COVID-19—students included, and perhaps international students in particular. It is, of course, […]

Welcome back to our three-part series on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). In part one, we gave you an overview of the IELTS and answered some popular questions. In part two, we answer more questions and dive into the steps that will help you succeed on your test. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has […]

“Immigrant workers have always been essential,” Erica Cuevas and Laura Roberts of grantee partner JFF write in an opinion piece for RealClear Policy.  COVID-19 has introduced the term “essential worker,” and of the almost 49 million essential workers on the front lines of the pandemic, nearly 6 million are immigrants. “It’s hard to deny that immigrant workers […]