Immigrants and Refugees Seeking New Opportunities in Colorado
Last week, I received a?note?from Heidi Henkel, a member of the Broomfield City Council who also serves as the Director of the?Broomfield Resettlement Task Force. Councilmember Henkel has been a staunch advocate for refugees, having joined with her husband Scott, an Army Veteran, to ensure the Afghan interpreter who was by Scott’s side during the war in Afghanistan was able to?escape?and safely?reestablish?his family in Colorado. In Heidi’s words, she asked me if I “...knew of experts in the higher education field who can help with choices for our refugees…some in their third year of medical school in Afghanistan, another a single mom who was a lawyer in Ukraine and another, a young adult getting an IT degree in India…I need help assisting these refugees with credential transfer, higher education funding and understanding academic pathways.” A lump formed in my throat. And so, my Boundless Potential network and friends, I come to you. If you are able to assist Councilmember Henkel in support for any of these learners who now call Colorado home,?please let me know.
Unfortunately, immigrants and refugees are often a forgotten population when an organization launches their diversity-in-recruiting and hiring initiatives. That is why Tent Partnership for Refugees, founded by Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya,?assists organizations and their human resources teams with onboarding immigrants “to ensure that immigrant populations are included in the national push towards diversity, equity and inclusion.” Tent’s February 2022?white paper, released in partnership with national nonprofit Jobs for the Future (JFF), provides employers with actionable outlines how companies can implement solutions to overcome language barriers to help local language learners–including refugees–get into jobs faster as they work towards proficiency.?
But even with added support and resources, immigrants face language barriers in the workforce. A recent?white paper?from?EnGen, a language learning platform that supports employers and postsecondary education institutions teach learners the English they need to achieve economic mobility, points to the need for drastic changes in English-language learning (ELL). Employers such as Chobani and Amazon and postsecondary education institutions, such as the Community College of Denver and Emily Griffith Technical College in Colorado, are partnering with EnGen to ensure their employees and learners have access to more robust ELL supports and services.?
We know the pandemic impacted learners at all levels of education and across all sectors of the economy, but ELLs were?disproportionately?affected with the move to online learning. From struggling to remotely assess students' language skills to being unable to practice communicating with peers, ELLs faced new obstacles. Many of the consequences and impacts are still unknown, as there have been few studies on this specific learner group.?
The Community College of Denver is not only?connecting?coursework to high-demand jobs in Colorado, but they have also aligned their English as a second language (ESL) program to the language students need for specific career paths. Adults working as nurses, landscapers,?and childcare teachers attend CCD’s?non-credit ESL classes?to quickly learn the English relevant to current and future careers. For example, nursing students can learn dozens of new words a week from a combination of a subject specific certified nursing lesson book and an online platform, which supplements class instruction. Learners can immediately apply to jobs in hospitals and medical offices with a new confidence and command of the English language.
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Spotlight on Colorado Education and Workforce
The Colorado legislative session has come to a close and marked an exciting time for postsecondary education and workforce development! The Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE)?highlighted?the General Assembly’s work to pass three of CDHE’s legislative priorities that charge the Department with?the creation of a task force to better address the needs of students with disabilities (HB22-1255), provide free tuition for Colorado resident students in foster care (SB22-008), and cover the cost of Single Stop centers so institutions can better connect students to public benefit programs across Colorado (SB22-182). Another bill we have watched closely is the Improving Students’ Postsecondary Options (HB22-1366) bill that passed the Colorado Senate this month and would establish a number of new programs geared towards increasing education and career options for students. For a more in depth overview of what was passed, or is still on the table for future sessions, check out the Colorado Workforce Development Council’s?legislative tracker?and?The Colorado Sun’s?summary of the?top 100 bills?discussed this year.
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