E.g., 04/23/2024
E.g., 04/23/2024
NCIIP: Employment and Workforce

NCIIP: Employment and Workforce

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Policy Briefs
October 2023

Leveraging Data to Ensure Equitable and Effective Adult Skills Programming for Immigrants

Adult immigrant students work together in an English class
iStock.com/shironosov

Immigrants make significant contributions to the U.S. economy and social fabric, but many also face barriers to integration. Adult education and workforce development programs offer services intended to help address such challenges yet can be mismatched to immigrants' needs. This issue brief sketches a profile of U.S.-born and immigrant adults, highlighting key similarities and differences relevant to the design of adult skills programs.

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Commentaries
November 2022

Apprenticeship Programs Are a Promising Solution to Bring More Multilingual Workers into Early Childhood Field

Photo of a preschool teacher reading to students.
Allison Shelley/EDUimages

Shortages of workers continue to plague early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems across the United States. With the field already struggling to effectively serve young children in families that speak languages other than English, apprenticeship programs offer a promising solution to bring more—and more multilingual—workers into early childhood careers.

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Reports
February 2022

The IELCE Program: Understanding Its Design and Challenges in Meeting Immigrant Learners’ Needs

Immigrant adults working together at a long table in a classroom
iStock.com/lisegagne

U.S. adult education systems have undergone significant changes, including to programs supporting immigrant integration. The creation of the Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) program has sparked the development of innovative initiatives, but also raised concerns about their accessibility and ability to meet immigrant adults’ diverse learning goals and needs.

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Policy Briefs
December 2021

The Invisible Work of Family, Friend, and Neighbor Caregivers and Its Importance for Immigrant and Dual Language Learner Families

A grandmother and young grandchild painting at home
iStock.com/ideasRojas

Child care provided informally by relatives, friends, and neighbors is the most common form of U.S. child care, and it is particularly prevalent among immigrant and Dual Language Learner families. Yet it is frequently overlooked in child-care policy conversations. This brief explores the importance of this type of care and highlights promising practices for increasing support for care providers and the families they serve.

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Commentaries
November 2021

Narrowing the Skills Gap: Equipping Immigrant-Origin Workers with Postsecondary Credentials

Photo of woman walking around a school campus.
iStock.com/RyanJLane

The number of U.S. adults who could benefit from efforts to boost postsecondary credential attainment is strikingly large. Nearly 96 million working-age adults lack a postsecondary credential, 28 million of them of immigrant origin, MPI estimates. This commentary examines how enabling immigrant-origin adults to attain credentials beyond a high school diploma is vital to both building a skilled workforce and closing equity gaps.

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Fact Sheets
April 2021

Immigrant and U.S.-Born Parents of Young and Elementary-School-Age Children: Key Sociodemographic Characteristics

Parents and their children sit in a library for Princeton Children's Book Festival 2018
Princeton Public Library

Parents play an important role in supporting their children’s education, but certain factors—such as limited English proficiency, low levels of formal education, and digital access barriers—can make it difficult to do so. This fact sheet series looks at the characteristics of immigrant and U.S.-born parents of young and elementary-school-age children in 31 states and nationwide, and discusses how taking a two-generation approach to services can benefit entire families.

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Recent Activity

Cover image for Immigrants’ U.S. Labor Market Disadvantage in the COVID-19 Economy: The Role of Geography and Industries of Employment
Policy Briefs
September 2021
Immigrants’ U.S. Labor Market Disadvantage in the COVID-19 Economy: The Role of Geography and Industries of Employment
By  Randy Capps, Jeanne Batalova and Julia Gelatt
Cover image for Immigrant and Other U.S. Workers a Year into the Pandemic: A Focus on Top Immigrant States
Policy Briefs
June 2021
Immigrant and Other U.S. Workers a Year into the Pandemic: A Focus on Top Immigrant States
By  Julia Gelatt, Jeanne Batalova and Christopher Levesque
Multimedia
June 24, 2021
Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in the United States: A Persistent Problem with Increasing Costs
Bhutanese refugee sits on bed in family's apartment in New York
Commentaries
June 2021
A Solvable Challenge: Improving Asylee Access to Health and Other Benefits
By  Essey Workie, Mark Greenberg and Lillie Hinkle
Cover for Leaving Money on the Table: Persistence of Brain Waste among College-Educated Immigrants
Reports
June 2021
Leaving Money on the Table: The Persistence of Brain Waste among College-Educated Immigrants
By  Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix
The Integration of Immigrant Health Professionals: Looking beyond the COVID-19 Crisis
Policy Briefs
April 2021
The Integration of Immigrant Health Professionals: Looking beyond the COVID-19 Crisis
By  Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix and José Ramón Fernández-Peña
Immigrant and U.S.-Born Parents of Young and Elementary-School-Age Children in the United States: Key Sociodemographic Characteristics
Fact Sheets
April 2021
Immigrant and U.S.-Born Parents of Young and Elementary-School-Age Children: Key Sociodemographic Characteristics
By  Jacob Hofstetter and Margie McHugh
Commentaries
February 2021
A Deeper Look at the DREAMers Who Could Feature in the Legalization Debate in Congress
By  Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix

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Reports
October 2020
Navigating the Future of Work: The Role of Immigrant-Origin Workers in the Changing U.S. Economy
By  Julia Gelatt, Jeanne Batalova and Randy Capps
Stethoscope sitting on a medical textbook
Fact Sheets
July 2020
Brain Waste among U.S. Immigrants with Health Degrees: A Multi-State Profile
By  Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix and Sarah Pierce
COVID-19 and Unemployment: Assessing the Early Fallout for Immigrants and Other U.S. Workers
Fact Sheets
June 2020
COVID-19 and Unemployment: Assessing the Early Fallout for Immigrants and Other U.S. Workers
By  Randy Capps, Jeanne Batalova and Julia Gelatt
Fact Sheets
May 2019
A Profile of Highly Skilled Mexican Immigrants in Texas and the United States
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Andrew Selee
Coverthumb MPIPostsecondaryCredentials FactSheet
Fact Sheets
March 2019
Immigrant-Origin Adults without Postsecondary Credentials: A 50-State Profile
By  Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix
Coverthumb_MPI ImmigrantOriginAdultsPSC
Reports
March 2019
Credentials for the Future: Mapping the Potential for Immigrant-Origin Adults in the United States
By  Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix
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Reports
December 2018
Promoting Refugee Integration in Challenging Times: The Potential of Two-Generation Strategies
By  Mark Greenberg, Julia Gelatt, Jessica Bolter, Essey Workie and Isabelle Charo
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Policy Briefs
October 2018
English Plus Integration: Shifting the Instructional Paradigm for Immigrant Adult Learners to Support Integration Success
By  Margie McHugh and Catrina Doxsee

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Video, Audio
September 28, 2015

Overcoming WIOA’s Barriers to Immigrant and Refugee Adult Learners

This webinar examines the implementation at state and local levels of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and how it may limit immigrant integration, along with a discussion on strategies that may help ensure more equitable access to services.  

EventPH 2015.4.28 Ready to Meet the Needs of All Children A Closer Look at Diversity in the Early Childhood Workforce
Video, Audio
April 28, 2015

Ready to Meet the Needs of All Children? A Closer Look at Diversity in the Early Childhood Workforce

On this webinar, MPI analysts present the findings from their report Immigrant and Refugee Workers in the Early Childhood Field: Taking a Closer Look, and discuss the issue with a leading expert in the field of child-care worker employment.

EventPH 2015.3.18 Cross Cutting Needs and Opportunities flickrNewYorkPublicLibrary
Video, Audio
March 18, 2015

Cross-Cutting Needs and Opportunities: Language Access, Funding, Multi-Level Partnerships, and Planning for the Long Term

Part of a series exploring issues likely to be addressed by the new National Integration Plan, this webinar, with perspectives from the cities of New York and Seattle and others examines possible recommendations on federal coordination of local government immigrant integration initiatives, including language access. 

EventPH 2015.3.12 Integration Challenges and Opportunities in the Economic Development and Refugee Resettlement Arenas NDC Ashama
Video, Audio
March 12, 2015

Integration Challenges and Opportunities in the Economic Development and Refugee Resettlement Arenas

This webinar, with perspectives from MPI, the WE Global Network, and Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service, examines the role of economic development initiatives and refugee resettlement programs/infrastructure in immigrant integration.

EventPH 2015.3.5 Adult Education, English and Skills Training Webinar Carlos Rosario ESL group work
Video, Audio
March 5, 2015

Adult Education, English and Skills Training: Opportunities for Action and Investment in the Most Vital Integration Services

This webinar, with perspectives from MPI, the National Partnership for New Americans, and the National Skills Coalition, looks at the role of adult education and English language and skills training in the immigrant integration process.

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Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars
May 9, 2019

A Mirror for the Nation? The Changing Profile of Mexican Immigrants in Texas

At this discussion, experts from MPI and Southern Methodist University’s Texas-Mexico Center offer an overview of trends and key characteristics of highly skilled Mexican adults at the national level and for Texas, including educational levels by legal status and top industries of employment across Texas metro areas. They also discuss the policy implications of these findings.

Fact Sheets
May 2019

A Profile of Highly Skilled Mexican Immigrants in Texas and the United States

U.S. debates about immigration from Mexico often center on the low skilled, but this analysis shows a population in change. Nearly one in five Mexican immigrants arriving between 2013-17 had a college degree, compared to slightly more than 1 in 20 during the 1996-2000 period. Mexicans now make up the fourth-largest group of highly skilled immigrants. This fact sheet explores their characteristics at U.S. and Texas levels.

Fact Sheets
March 2019

Immigrant-Origin Adults without Postsecondary Credentials: A 50-State Profile

With immigrants and their U.S.-born children poised to be the main source of labor-force growth, these adults are an important target for efforts to build the skills of the U.S. workforce to meet the knowledge-based economy of tomorrow. This fact sheet and state data snapshots explore the characteristics of adults without an academic degree or professional credential, by immigrant generation, race/ethnicity, and more.

Commentaries
March 2019

More Than a DREAM (Act), Less Than a Promise

The first bill introduced in the 116th Congress to offer a path to legal status to DREAMers, the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019, could legalize nearly 2.7 million unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States as children, as well as those eligible for Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforced Departure, as this commentary explains.

Video, Audio, Webinars
March 8, 2019

Upskilling the U.S. Labor Force: Mapping the Credentials of Immigrant-Origin Workers

This webinar discusses the first-ever profile of the 30 million immigrant-origin adults in the United States who lack a postsecondary credential and offers analysis of the significant payoff credentials could bring in terms of workforce participation and wages.

Reports
March 2019

Credentials for the Future: Mapping the Potential for Immigrant-Origin Adults in the United States

As the U.S. workforce ages and the economy becomes ever more knowledge-based, policymakers face a key question: Do workers have the skills to meet tomorrow's demands? This report examines how immigrants and their children—the primary source of future labor-market growth—fit into the discussion. The report offers a first-ever profile of the 30 million immigrant-origin adults without a postsecondary credential.

Reports
December 2018

Promoting Refugee Integration in Challenging Times: The Potential of Two-Generation Strategies

At a time when the U.S. refugee resettlement system is facing unprecedented challenges, innovative and cost-effective tools for supporting refugee integration are in demand. This report explores how a two-generation approach to service provision could help all members of refugee families—from young children to working-age adults and the elderly—find their footing.

Video, Audio, Webinars
October 30, 2018

Surviving vs. Thriving: The Need for a Paradigm Shift in Adult Education for Immigrants and Refugees

Taking stock of weaknesses in the WIOA-driven design of most adult basic education programming, MPI analysts draw on research from the integration, adult education, and postsecondary success fields in arguing for the adoption of an “English Plus Integration” (EPI) adult education program model, and discuss strategies for implementation. 

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