The Aspen Institute has recently published a resource which documents the lessons from seven collaborations between immigrant-serving organizations and community colleges.
Working Together to Strengthen America’s Immigrant Workforce: Partnerships Between Community Colleges and Immigrant-Serving Organizations is focused on the motivations for partnerships, factors that enable these types of collaborations, and strategies for funding and sustaining partnerships.
According to Aspen, "America’s workforce was 16.7 percent foreign-born in 2015 (26.3 million people). Immigrant workers are a key segment of our workforce and economy. However, immigrant and workforce organizations are challenged to effectively meet their education, skill-building and employment needs. To help expand immigrants’ access to skill-building and career-advancement opportunities, one approach is the formation of partnerships between immigrant-serving organizations — such as worker centers and community-based organizations — and community colleges. Such partnerships are rare, and pioneering organizations are just beginning to work together, but early partnerships show promising potential".
This resource outlines the value of partnerships to more effectively meet shared goals, by documenting what partners have said it takes to develop and maintain effective partnerships, and providing real world examples. It also explores considerations for future research and development.
Comments
MICHAEL, thank you very much for this report. I am re-posting it on a report concerning forming Networks and Alliances as part of the NonFormal Micro-group.
From Michael Cruse, Moderator - Career Pathways: The Aspen Institute has recently published a resource which documents the lessons from seven collaborations between immigrant-serving organizations and community colleges.
Working Together to Strengthen America’s Immigrant Workforce: Partnerships Between Community Colleges and Immigrant-Serving Organizations is focused on the motivations for partnerships, factors that enable these types of collaborations, and strategies for funding and sustaining partnerships.
According to Aspen, "America’s workforce was 16.7 percent foreign-born in 2015 (26.3 million people). Immigrant workers are a key segment of our workforce and economy. However, immigrant and workforce organizations are challenged to effectively meet their education, skill-building and employment needs. To help expand immigrants’ access to skill-building and career-advancement opportunities, one approach is the formation of partnerships between immigrant-serving organizations — such as worker centers and community-based organizations — and community colleges. Such partnerships are rare, and pioneering organizations are just beginning to work together, but early partnerships show promising potential".
This resource outlines the value of partnerships to more effectively meet shared goals, by documenting what partners have said it takes to develop and maintain effective partnerships, and providing real world examples. It also explores considerations for future research and development.
INDEX
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Why Partner? What Is the Value of Partnership? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
What Is the Value to Community Colleges in Partnering with Immigrant-Serving Organizations? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
What Is the Value to Immigrant-Serving Organizations in Partnering with Community Colleges? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
What Does It Take to Build, Manage, and Maintain Strong Partnerships Between Immigrant-serving Organizations and Community Colleges? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Funding the Early Development of Partnerships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Areas for Further Consideration and Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Appendix: Snapshots of BCPIW Partnerships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Pasadena Community Job Center and Pasadena City College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
International Institute of Minnesota and Saint Paul College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Centro Laboral de Graton and Santa Rosa Junior College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Neighbors Link Northern Westchester and Westchester Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Community Campus Partnership, The Learning Source, Community College of Aurora, and the Aurora Welcome Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Jewish Vocational Service and Skyline College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Bluegrass Community and Technical College and Kentucky Dream Coalition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29