St. Cloud, Minn. – Career Solutions, a partner of CareerForce- St. Cloud has been recognized by the Minnesota Association of Workforce Boards (MAWB) with a Promising Practices award for their Immigrant Services provided to job seekers and employers!
Career Solutions has expanded their Immigrant Services to include services for Jobseekers as well as Immigrant Services for Businesses. They want to ensure that their goals are being met:
- Educate employers to remove barriers to hiring the immigrant population
- Assist job seekers in obtaining employment
- Increase workplace diversity
- Address workforce issues in the community, a continued effort to solve a problem
- Create meaningful connections with workers and businesses
The Central Minnesota immigrant population has several barriers to obtaining employment. One of the largest barriers for them is transportation. Because of this barrier, the Career Solutions multilingual staff take their services into the community. Career Solutions provides services in multiple locations throughout the community. Sites include La Cruz Community, Community Outpost, Quarryview Education Center and the Islamic Center.
Career Solutions can provide assistance to immigrants looking for a job or a better job. These job seekers can learn about:
- Resume & Cover Letters
- Resume Review
- Online & Paper Job Applications
- Employer Research
- Interviewing Techniques & Practice
- Navigate Job Search Websites
- Community Resources & Services
Career Solutions staff also provide Immigrant Services to employers to help with business expansion and retention. Career Solutions assists businesses with recruitment, training and retention needs. These services to businesses include:
Recruitment
- Remove barriers and tap into immigrant populations to fill open positions
- Increase workplace diversity
- Access the Employer Immigrant Resource Guide with hiring resources and contacts
Cultural Training
- Development of cultural competency training for supervisors and management to create cultural awareness with immigrant employees
- Development of training for immigrant employees to create an understanding of the company’s culture, responsibilities and expectations
- Resolve employer issues related to cultural misunderstandings
Retention: Liaison / Communication Services
- Suggestions and solutions to ease communication barriers
- Mediation services for employees to help with retention
- Guidance and recommendations regarding translation for human resources policies and procedures
- Assistance with meaningful connections between employers and job seekers
- Connect with the Immigrant Employment Connection Group
Ahmed Mohidin
Career Solutions Career Planner Ahmed Mohidin stated “It is so important to us to bridge the gap between businesses and the immigrant population. We’ve achieved great milestones in the past few years by developing a unique model of integrating immigrants into the workforce. I’m glad that our agency’s work is recognized by MAWB and I’m excited that our agency received MAWB’s 2020 Promising Practices award!”
Tammy Biery
According to Career Solutions Executive Director Tammy Biery, “We are thrilled to receive this Promising Practices award for our work with immigrants. It is definitely a team effort. We are grateful for our multilingual staff who can provide the outreach to our job seekers and employers. They are amazing. Word travels fast, and the community is learning who they can go to for this type of help. It has been exciting to grow our immigrant services and resources and successfully connect workers with employers. We are hoping to continue to grow and expand these much needed services.”
Interested job seekers and businesses can contact Career Solutions to obtain a brochure about our Immigrant Services and speak to one of career planners about their needs.
The MAWB has published this promising practice to promote the development and implementation of similar programs in Workforce Service Areas in other regions across the State of Minnesota.
About Career Solutions:
The Local Workforce Development Board, along with the Joint Powers Board, is responsible for the policy guidance and oversight of all job training and job placement activities in Stearns and Benton Counties. Since its beginning in 1988 as
Stearns-Benton Employment & Training Council, Career Solutions has provided quality employment and training services to youth and adults and is dedicated to increasing the economic vitality of the Central Minnesota Area. Career Solutions provides assistance in building a skilled workforce – workers who can do the jobs of today and learn the jobs of tomorrow. Visit www.CareerSolutionsJobs.org
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Tammy Biery, Executive Director, Career Solutions
320.308.5702 Tammy.Biery@CSJobs.org