Welcoming Communities in Action

World Education Services (WES) is excited to announce a new name for the SIIP program, reflecting its growing impact and ongoing commitment to fostering inclusion and opportunity. Formerly standing for Skilled Immigrant Integration Program, SIIP will now stand for Strengthening Immigrant Inclusion Program. This change aligns with WES’ evolving strategy to support the educational, economic, […]

In June 2021, Colorado’s General Assembly took a vital step forward by passing HB21-1150 with bipartisan support, creating the Colorado Office of New Americans (ONA). In creating the office, the state recognized the importance of the social and economic inclusion of its immigrant population, which comprises nearly 10 percent of the state’s population. Leveraging the […]

In 2019, a network of Texas-based adult educators led by the Texas Workforce Commission’s Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) program joined the Skilled Immigrant Integration Program (SIIP) to ensure that the state’s adult education system was providing optimized support for its 894,000 college-educated immigrants and refugees, an estimated 21% of whom are unemployed or underemployed […]

In April 2024, the United States Department of Labor released the Bridging the Gap for New Americans Final Report, which analyzes barriers to economic inclusion as well as strategies for overcoming them. In its analysis of currently available resources, the report highlights the need for additional data on internationally trained immigrant and refugee job seekers. […]

St. Louis has one of the country’s fastest-growing immigrant and refugee populations, yet the city misses out on $57 million in taxable earnings each year due to their systemic underemployment and unemployment. In 2018, the International Institute of St. Louis (IISTL) joined the Skilled Immigrant Integration Program (SIIP) to address the barriers driving this disparity.  […]

In 2012, World Education Services – long known as the leading North American provider of academic credential evaluations for international students and immigrants seeking to work and study in the United States and Canada – made its first foray into systems-change social impact work with the official launch of WES Global Talent Bridge.   Our original […]

For many immigrants and refugees entering the United States, the first priority is often survival. But Eduardo Esquivel and the New Mexico Dream Team go much further—engaging and educating their communities, pushing for policy and systems change, and helping undocumented and mixed-status families thrive.  Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, a 7-year-old Eduardo immigrated with his family […]

Grappling with an aging population and acute labor shortages, the Portland Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) joined the Skilled Immigrant Integration Program (SIIP) in 2018 with the goal of bolstering the local workforce through immigrant and refugee economic inclusion.   For years, business leaders in Portland and throughout Maine had been sounding the alarm on a […]

Immigrants and refugees make up nearly 20% of Nevada’s population, and a full quarter of the state’s workforce. Yet of the state’s 87,200 immigrant and refugee workers with a four-year degree or higher, nearly 40% are unemployed or underemployed – the result of systemic barriers like limited credential recognition and uneven access to career navigation […]

When a cohort of Louisville-based organizations joined the Skilled Immigrant Integration Program (SIIP) in 2017, the region had 30,000 open jobs – 9,000 requiring post-secondary training – and not enough workers to fill them. Local leaders from the Louisville Metro Government Office for Globalization (now called the Louisville Metro Government’s Office for Immigrant Affairs), KentuckianaWorks, […]

Written by Shevani Khatri, U.S. Program Associate Enver Latifzade, a key volunteer and leader for the community-based nonprofit RUSA LGBTQ+ (RUSA), came to New York City in 2014 from Uzbekistan seeking asylum as a result of increased homophobia in his home country. RUSA’s mission is to support New York City’s Eurasian LGBTQ+ population. While he was […]

Written by: Ani Gurtsishvili, Canada Program Associate South Vancouver Neighbourhood House (SVNH) is a community-based organization offering programs and services in the South Vancouver catchment. Despite its rich cultural tapestry, South Vancouver has historically lacked equitable resource allocation and representation. With more than 80 percent of its residents being racialized individuals and families, SVNH saw an urgency […]