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WES Gathers National Experts to Maximize Talents of New York City’s Skilled Immigrants World Education Services underlines the need to win the war for immigrant talent; calls for strategies to better integrate highly-qualified newcomers into public and private sector New York, NY, November 12 - Economists, business leaders, policymakers, and educators from across North America converged at a strategy session today on the importance of leveraging the untapped talents of today’s highly-educated immigrants. The session was hosted by World Education Services (WES), a nonprofit that has evaluated over 750,000 immigrants’ academic credentials and advises policymakers on how to work with skilled newcomers. Yet the talents of one in five skilled immigrants to the U.S. remains untapped– a number totaling 1.3 million, according to a 2008 study by the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, DC think tank focused on immigration policy issues. Fifteen percent (over six million) of the nation's roughly 32 million immigrants hold a Bachelor's Degree or higher, yet many work as dishwashers, security guards, or taxi drivers. Others simply fail to find work despite their qualifications. New York City has even higher levels of skilled immigrants: over one in three immigrant New Yorkers holds at least a Bachelor's Degree, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute. "At a time when the New York economy is struggling, we can't afford to leave any potential for economic growth on the table," noted David Dyssegaard Kallick, Director of the Immigration Research Initiative of the Fiscal Policy Institute and author of Working for a Better Life, a comprehensive study of the role of immigrants in the city and state economy. "Immigrants play a crucial role at virtually every level and in every part of the New York City economy. Foreign-born doctors working as health aides or accountants working as cab drivers are real missed economic opportunities for the city," he continued. The U.S. faces a grave shortage of workers, particularly those with college degrees or higher. Economists agree the country will increasingly depend on immigrants to meet its future labor needs, notably for skilled positions in technology, engineering and health care. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 60 percent of the jobs in the 21st century will require skills possessed by only 20 percent of the native-born talent pool.
"Educated immigrants in this country are a pool of global talent ready and waiting to be tapped. If we point them in the right direction and connect them with the right resources, they will do the rest." said Mariam Assefa, WES Executive Director. "What we need are strategies to welcome skilled immigrants into the workforce," she noted. Despite advanced credentials in such fields as finance, health care, and engineering, immigrants often encounter significant barriers to maximizing their potential and reaching their professional goals in the U.S. According to a recent survey conducted by Harvard University’s Labor and Worklife Program, nearly three out of four immigrant students polled, many with training in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, believe they will have to return to their home countries to fully reach their professional goals. Almost 75 percent of these students, who are the future of US innovation, fear they will not be able to find jobs in their field – and believe they must return to their home countries to apply their training and talents. Skilled immigrant candidates often assume their training and professional experience will not be recognized in the US, and believe they must accept jobs for which they are overqualified. "This translates to lost earnings for immigrants and uncaptured tax revenue for the city," said Nicole Cicerani, Executive Director of Upwardly Global, an organization that helps skilled immigrant jobseekers and engages employers to recognize the value of immigrant talent. "Upwardly Global's work with immigrant candidates has added over $9 million to New York City's tax base and immigrant families' incomes in the last three years alone," she continued. "As employers search for ways to emerge out of the recession, we must continue to leverage immigrant talent." "When I arrived in the U.S., I had no idea I didn’t have to start from scratch," said Jean-Pierre Kamwa, an immigrant from Cameroon. Once he had his credentials evaluated by WES, Kamwa went on to get a Master's Degree from Hunter College; founded his own organization, Espoir, that helps immigrants in detention; and recently completed an immigrant leadership development program. "Employers are often unfamiliar with international credentials, and qualified immigrant candidates may be overlooked," said Carlos Monteagudo, Recruiting Manager of Chase Retail Financial Services. "In a city like New York, multilingual skills and a global perspective are assets to businesses," he continued. "I work with my colleagues at Chase to increase their awareness and help them understand the value of an international degree and employment credentials. It's in employers' best interest to constantly diversify their talent." |
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