Day 5 - Promoting Greater Latino Participation in the Labor Market and Career Pathways

This week has gone by quickly. The discussions have provided a feast for thought and application relating to increasing the number of Latinos in middle-skill occupations!

On this last day, you are invited to address the following:

  1. Take a few minutes to reflect on suggestions, resources and best practices that you have considered most helpful this week, and share those with all of us.
  2. Mention one item that you will either implement or encourage others to implement in your programs.
  3. Leave us with one thought/question that you would like to have addressed in your programs or here in our LINCS Communities of Practice.

Thank you in advance for your participation in this panel event and for the excellent ideas and resources that we exchanged! Hopefully, we will keep the ball rolling on this field, with occasional goals scored as we continue to work together.

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

Comments

It's been a pleasure to take part in this panel discussion.  The week has flown by!

I think the one idea that has meant the most to me is the idea of one-to-one connection.  Perhaps my fondness for this point stems from what I feel I can do: connect with my struggling students in more ways than those I always utilize to help them with their reading and writing skills.  In order for the availability of money or services to be effective, any program needs to get the word out and motivate the intended recipients of the benefits to try something different,  Without that one-to-one connection which allows a greater understanding of an individual's personal needs, any agencies set up to help them will be similar to banquets without attendees.

I connect with my students; I always have.  However, my focus has always been on the skills I am trying to get them to develop.  I think I would like to add a more personal dimension from now on.  In addition, I would also like to influence their goals so that success is not reserved for their children for whom so many of our students strive against all odds.  Without a personal vision of success, what these hard-working persons are modeling is an always distant "for my children" goal with no actualization for either themselves or their children.  How cruel is that?

I want to thank the organizers of this discussion.  It's been illuminating to say the least.

Vicky

Hi Vicky:

Thank you so much for taking part in the discussion, Vicky.  Your comments made me think back several years when transition into postsecondary education was just becoming part of our discussion with adult learners.  At one program, we were talking about "college knowledge" (e.g., types of financial aid, academic calendars, etc).  Most of the participants were adults with families, who now found themselves sitting at the kitchen table doing homework along side their children.  We counted up how many family members and friends each student thought they might influence about college and career education:  12 students, most with at least 4 family members or friends influenced (our most conservative estimate), for a grand total of 48 people in their community.  Supporting adults to continue their education and career pathway can have a big ripple effect.

I wonder if others have ever "counted up" the influence.

 

Cynthia

Cynthia Zafft, Postsecondary Completion Moderator

It has been a pleasure interacting with like-minded individuals and reconnecting with some of my ex EPCC colleagues!  I'm on my way back from the DREAM conference and it was refreshing to see that many of the issues discussed and sessions held revolved around the vey issues raised in some of these discussions.  With as much work that has been done, the key takeaway for me is the need to pull employers in to this dialogue with students.  We can connect with employers as institutions, but linking individual students to employers and having employers at the table in developing and refining our pathways will yield much better results.

Thanks to all who made this dialogue possible and to my colleagues that have participated!

For those who may be interested in learning more about funding for programs aimed at supporting Latino (and other non-native) English Language Learners in career pathways programs, this announcement by The Community College Consortium for Immigrant Education (CCCIE) will be of interest.

The following is excerpted from the full announcement, which can be accessed here.  

CCCIE has joined with leadership of the National Immigration Forum, Miami Dade College, and the Walmart Foundation to develop an innovative new program, Skills and Opportunity for the New American Workforce, to increase the English language skills among retail workers for whom English is a second language. The program is being made possible by a one-year, $1.2 million grant from the Walmart Foundation. Working together, the Forum, Miami Dade College and CCCIE, a national network of community colleges which is hosted and led by Westchester Community College in Valhalla, New York, will design and implement a contextualized English language learning program, utilizing online and worksite training methods. The program will be piloted in Houston, Miami and the New York metro area, with a range of retail businesses. 

Best,

Mike Cruse

Career Pathways Moderator

michaelcruse74@gmail.com

As a follow-up to our event on last winter Promoting Greater Latino Participation in the Labor Market and Career Pathways, I want to share the following report by the National Skills Coalition.   Upskilling the New American Workforce highlights seven program models serving immigrant workers in the U.S.  The report is a practical resource for policymakers, funders, and advocates, with examples illustrating effective approaches to serving immigrant jobseekers and adult English language learners.

These programs help immigrants gain academic and technical skills needed for middle-skill jobs, leading to family-sustaining wages. They include:

  • An electronics assembly training program that prepares refugees to work in the aeronautics industry
  • A green janitorial program that equips immigrant janitors to work in LEED-certified buildings
  • A vocational English as a Second Language (VESL) program targeted at immigrant day laborers

Advocates interested in launching similar programs in their own communities can draw on the lessons from this report, including:

  • The importance of evidence-based training programs that prepare employees for jobs needed by local employers
  • The availability of federal financial resources, including: SNAP Employment & Training, WIOA, and Community Development Block Grants 
  • The opportunity to capitalize on state policies to serve immigrant workers

I encourage you to read the report and share what you find helpful, that may also help others working to create greater economic opportunity for immigrant learners.

Best,

Mike Cruse

Career Pathways Moderator

michaelcruse74@gmail.com