Day 3 - Promoting Greater Latino Participation in the Labor Market and Career Pathways

Welcome to the third day of our discussion on “Promoting Greater Latino Participation in the Labor Market and Career Pathways.” 

We have been sharing excellent ideas and best practices to address the disproportionate lack of participation of Latinos in middle- to higher-level occupations and career pathways. Are we making a difference? Everything is pointing in that direction. What do you think?

If you are joining the discussion for the first time today or have comments to add to earlier conversations exchanged on Monday and Tuesday of this week, please feel free to post  in those discussions as well.

On this third day, we would like to address the following question:

How can Latinos and other diverse minority populations best learn about and access career pathways as stepping stones to robust middle-skill careers?

Let the discussion continue!!!

Leecy Wise, Diversity and Literacy Moderator
Mike Cruse, Career Pathways Moderator

Comments

The LINCS Learner Center's Get Job Skills  page offers a host of resources for learners to learn about and access career pathways as stepping stones to robust middle-skill careers.

I specifically want to point out two resources, My Next Move and Mi Proximo Paso.  These are the English and Spanish versions of the same resource, produced by the U.S. Department of Labor and the American Job Center.  Using these resources, learners are able to search careers by keywords, industry or complete career interest assessments, in order to generate a list of careers to explore.  

Each career listed in O-NET's career database includes information on the career's knowledge, skills and abilities, educational requirements, national and state level job outlook, and active job openings posted in My Skills My Future.  These are both excellent portals for learners to explore career pathways, and for Latinos to do so in the language they feel most comfortable with, at the present time.

Mike Cruse

Career Pathways Moderator

michaelcruse74@gmail.com

 

Michael, this is an excellent resource, and I am sure that we eventually will have a great list of all resources. But one issue is the fact that this information needs to be communicated to people in the Latino community. How can we do this?  

Here the role of non-profit agencies is important. There would have to be a concerted effort to conduct a lot of publicity and outreach to these agencies, especially those that include various classes such as ESL and Citizenship.

I assume that community colleges would be the coordinators of this information, so they would have to build working relationships with the community in a pro-active way.

From this information centers can be established, and additional publicity can be conducted via Spanish language community based radio, TV and newspapers.

I think, as we discuss the need or benefit of various ideas, we also need to delve into how we can effectively put the ideas into practice.

Paul

 

 

Hi, Paul -

I agree, communication is key to these resources reaching those communities and learners who will benefit from them the most.  Our hope with events like this one is that everyone will use their personal and professional networks to share this information in their communities.  Hopefully, by doing so, we may also gain the attention of larger media outlets in helping to spread the word.  

In the meantime, we hope that each one reading this will teach at least one other person how these resources can make a difference for learners in their program and classrooms.

Mike Cruse

Career Pathways Moderator

michaelcruse74@gmail.com

Michael, yes spreading the word is an important ingredient in the mix, but at the same time we can be catalysts in organizing the type of information centers that I am advocating.

Who can do the organizing better than those of us who are working on the issue on a day-to-day basis?

Well, I consider my own role to consist of discussing ideas and looking for ways to put these ideas into practice as soon as possible. Along these lines I will be advocating not only for my own program but also for the importance of the information centers which I outlined before.  Funding is a key point, of course, and it appears as if there is already an interest among funders other than the government in communities’ organizing along educational and job related ‘grass-roots’ efforts. I am very interested in meeting like-minded people in this endeavor.

Onward and Upward!

Paul

In order to collect and disseminate the information needed by the members of the Latino community in the area of job training and employment, we need to create organizations that for the time being I would call Latino Information Centers.

These would look like the job search centers located at unemployment offices where there are computers for people to do job searches..

I assume that this type of agency is very fundable through grants from both the government and from non-profit foundations. I suspect it would be supported by the local business community as well.

Through this type of center all the community based centers in any given county could become connected in an ever-expanding  network.

I would like to elaborate on my answer to the question: “How can Latinos and other diverse minority populations best learn about and access career pathways as stepping stones to robust middle-skill careers?”

First, at a minimum, educators and representatives from community colleges could sponsor forums open to the public and in Spanish that provide the necessary information concerning the resources and help available.

Part of this effort could also be dedicated to producing PSAs (Public Service Announcements), in this case in Spanish, 30 minute programs on Public Access Television, and advertisements in local Spanish language newspapers.

Second, from these forums, etc., there would emerge a working network of all the non-profit NGOs in the county (the Nonformal sector).

Third, as the interest and usefulness of this type of approach grows and develops, we then would plan on setting up an actual information center.

Paul

Hello Paul, Michael and others,

Paul, I admire your work in using technology in the classroom, and as a tech enthusiast, perhaps even junkie, myself, I am always looking for innovative ways to integrate technology in my classroom.  I was thrilled to learn that we would have the luxury of having access to a mobile computer lab this year, and began planning several project, my google classroom, and updating my web-based resources for students to use (Pumarosa included!!!).  However, I was naive in thinking that I could dive right into computer use without a large amount of Computer 101 instruction.  I was even blamed for my students changing background wallpapers to random pictures, and chuckled at the thought, since most of my class did not even know how to turn the laptops on - this is the level of computer literacy I encountered.

That being said, I have now been able to incorporate some web-based language learning programs, and even a Pecha Kucha project.  I want to keep pushing the technological learning curve with introducing my students to using their cellphones, most of which run on Android OS, and their ability to download apps for grammar practice, as well as apps like WhatsApp for building community and additional conversational practice outside of class.  I would love to hear more suggestions on how to implement these, as even their technological savvy on their phones is quite low.

In regards to the question posed... investing in our current students and taking our time to create successful models without rushing, while building community partnerships, will pave a road for success in the future.  I would reiterate that word of mouth from our students themselves is our strongest PR - I have found in my rural setting, that what they learn in class, at least the topics and resources, permeates through to their communities much more so than media outlets.  Once our student's circles know about each of our classes/programs as resources, then we can begin to see more Latinos participating.  A large part of this is trust in the resources and people involved, as well as trust in that their commitment will pay off in the end (with more language proficiency, job training for a better job, etc.).  I'm not sure if this works the same in large metropolitan areas or not?

I also want to share a revelation that happened in class today while we discussed Jobs vs. Careers.  First, students were unaware of the process and multiple pathways into careers.  We discussed that in almost any career field, you can enter as a volunteer or intern, then get paid from low wages as an assistant, move your way up the wage/experience/training ladder as a tech and everything in between, up to a Doctor Specializing in their field.  Most students assumed that to be a nurse, teacher, doctor, lawyer, etc... requires years and years of education, and there is no intermediary step.  So, transparency of the possible options and time frame is a must in teaching this population about advancing their careers.  Secondly, another cultural anecdote, many of my students said that taking a job and fighting tooth and nail as parents would pave the way for their children to have better futures, education, careers - this is their American Dream.  Granted, most of my students are middle-aged and older, but I have to wonder how many Latinos feel this way?

I would say that of my ESL students who were middle-aged and raising families, over 90 percent were working towards their children's futures.  That was their main motivator.  You struck a nerve here, because I don't think I had ever realized how many of them were working not for their future, but for that of their children.

I don't think they really felt that they themselves could change their own lives!  And that attitude may be one of the greatest de-activators of a push for improvement  now.  So the question might become, How do we get those struggling in low-skill positions to focus on the here and now?  This attitude fits in with many others in the culture which motivate through an ever distant future!  A different take, but no more efficient, than Langston Hughes "A Dream Deferred"  (actually titled "Harlem").

Deferring dreams may keep us going now, but, sadly, without active pursuit these parents may well be modeling the same deferral for their children.

Vicky
 

Hi Michael,

These are great resources!  I do want to mention two things.  1) Employers have a huge responsibility here - it isn't just the role of government or local organizations.  It behooves them to diversify their workforce by including the fastest growing demographic in the country and engaging with these local programs to recruit and also to provide feedback in areas such as curriculum development and career exploration.  2) As I think of my own career trajectory and that of other first generation immigrants, a lot of the forward movement can be attributed to personal relationships and the ability to foster relationships and navigate corporate/business culture to get ahead.  I've worked with  companies such as PepsiCo and Shell to identify ways to increase the diversity in their employee pool by recruiting Latinos in GED programs, high schools, and college.  There are a lot of Hispanic employee resource groups (ERG's) that spearhead these efforts and serve as mentors/sponsors to incoming hires of similar backgrounds.  They have helped a lot of our young people connect the dots between where they are now and where they want to be, i.e. Next Steps.

Thanks,

-Ana Hageage

Hi, Ana -

Thanks for your comments and perspective on working with employers to increase employee diversity.  I wonder if you could share one or two examples from your work with Pepsico and Shell that you found most effective in engaging them in the process of recruiting and hiring Latinos enrolled in GED, high school and college programs?

Two additional resources on employer partnerships that are worth taking a look at are the LINCS' website for Tools for Building Employer-Educator Partnerships and a document from the LINCS Resource Collection, highlighting tips and promising practices drawn from programs that are engaging employers in support of adult career pathways

Mike Cruse

Career Pathways Moderator

michaelcruse74@gmail.com

Hi Michael,

 

Sure - one particularly successful relationship was between Shell and a local KIPP school. Shell "adopted" that program in a way and had a presence during graduations and included students in various professional development and networking opportunities.  The ultimate goal being to provide guidance to students who wanted to enroll in STEM fields in college that they could nurture via internships and ultimately hire.  Shell ERG representatives held networking events between employees and potential hires, and provided internships and job shadowing opportunities.  

Similarly, PepsiCo engaged students at their "adopted" program in Austin TX, and was able to provide exposure to the various career trajectories and the ways to access them for youth that had limited knowledge of careers in marketing, merchandising and the like.  

Again it wasn't a quick, or inexpensive, intervention but took at least a 4 year investment to see youth graduate from high school, enter college and then enter the workforce.    

Hi, Ana and Others,

I want to share another resource I found that addresses the unique challenges of Latinos in accessing higher education.  The White House has recognized these institutions serving as benchmark programs of innovation in increasing college participation and completion rates for Hispanic learners

Best,

Mike Cruse

Career Pathways Moderator

michaelcruse74@gmail.com

Ana, you make great points. The finger is often pointed at training or educational institutions. Yet, businesses must get involved in the process of making middle- to high-skill occupations attractive to potential locals. I know that many employers go outside of the US for resources. There has to be a way to get all potential winners in this picture to join in addressing "the fastest growing demographic in the country and engaging with these local programs to recruit and also to provide feedback in areas such as curriculum development and career exploration." Right on. What is the best way to contact business and industry to get them more involved? Ideas anyone! Leecy