Workforce & Vocational Training

Immigrant workers are expected to play a key role in helping U.S. and other advanced economies weather the historic reshaping of their workforces as the baby boom retires. With a significant share of foreign-born workers at the bottom of the skill spectrum, the limited response of the workforce system to the needs of low-skilled immigrant workers is a pressing issue, raising the need for more workforce, vocational, and language training. Access to such programs is also key for mid- and high-skilled migrants who face difficulties in obtaining recognition for their foreign qualifications and work experience.

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs February 2021 Rewiring Migrant Returns and Reintegration after the COVID-19 Shock By Camille Le Coz and Kathleen Newland	Articles January 14, 2021 International Students in the United States By Emma Israel and Jeanne Batalova
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	Articles September 3, 2020 The Digital Divide Hits U.S. Immigrant Households Disproportionately during the COVID-19 Pandemic By Alexis Cherewka
Reports May 2020 European Cities on the Front Line: New and Emerging Governance Models for Migrant Inclusion By Liam Patuzzi	Multimedia January 23, 2020 Employment Services for Refugees: Leveraging Mainstream U.S. Systems and Funding
Articles January 23, 2020 Global Demand for Medical Professionals Drives Indians Abroad Despite Acute Domestic Health-Care Worker Shortages By Margaret Walton-Roberts and S. Irudaya Rajan	Reports January 2020 Rebuilding Community after Crisis: Striking a New Social Contract for Diverse Societies (Transatlantic Council Statement) By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Meghan Benton

Pages

Fact Sheets March 2019 Immigrant-Origin Adults without Postsecondary Credentials: A 50-State Profile By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix	Reports March 2019 Credentials for the Future: Mapping the Potential for Immigrant-Origin Adults in the United States By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix
Reports February 2019 Exploring New Legal Migration Pathways: Lessons from Pilot Projects By Kate Hooper	Reports January 2019 Breaking New Ground: Ten Ideas to Revamp Integration Policy in Europe By Meghan Benton and Aliyyah Ahad
Reports January 2019 Sustainable Reintegration: Strategies to Support Migrants Returning to Mexico and Central America By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas, Luis Argueta and Randy Capps	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
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	Reports October 2018 Tech Jobs for Refugees: Assessing the Potential of Coding Schools for Refugee Integration in Germany By Ben Mason

Pages

EventPH 2015.6.18 Rethinking the age of superdiversity flickr street sellars, ferrara

Video, Audio

June 18, 2015

Rethinking Integration for the Age of Superdiversity: How to Adapt Public Services?

Covering the findings of the UPSTREAM project, this MPI Europe event explores how a coordinated approach to integration may create more effective and inclusive approaches to diversity across the policy-making spectrum.

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.

Recent Activity

Reports

March 2017

Rebuilding after Crisis: Embedding Refugee Integration in Migration Management Systems (Council Statement)

This Transatlantic Council Statement explores the integration questions that the recent refugee and migration crisis in Europe has brought to the fore and their effect on broader governance structures for managing migration. As the immediate pressures have abated, policymakers have refocused their energies on preventing the next crisis and ensuring that newcomers—and the communities in which they settle—have the tools to thrive.

Reports

March 2017

Strengthening Local Education Systems for Newly Arrived Adults and Children: Empowering Cities through Better Use of EU Instruments

This MPI Europe report examines the challenges that cities across the European Union are facing when helping new arrivals access education and training, including limited funding and need for better monitoring of program outcomes. It also highlights innovative ways municipalities support newly arrived migrants as they enter the education system and local labor force, including two-generation and co-located services as well as "whole-place" approaches.

Video, Audio, Webinars

February 28, 2017

Reducing Integration Barriers Facing Foreign-Trained Immigrants: Policy and Practice Lessons from Across the United States

Marking the release of a report on the barriers foreign-trained high-skilled immigrants face in the United States, this webinar examines programs and initiatives that assist with credential recognition, employment, and relicensure, as well as recent policy developments. Discussants review recommendations for community-based organizations, employers, and policymakers to expand successful efforts aimed at preventing brain waste.

Reports

February 2017

Unlocking Skills: Successful Initiatives for Integrating Foreign-Trained Immigrant Professionals

Nearly 2 million college-educated immigrants in the United States, more than half coming with academic and professional credentials, are unable to fully utilize their professional skills and instead are stuck in low-skilled work or are unemployed. This report explores a range of programs and policies that are providing cutting-edge career navigation, relicensing, gap filling, and job search assistance to remedy this brain waste.

Video, Audio

January 27, 2017

Hanging in the Balance: The Future of DACA and the Dreamers

As the Trump administration assumes office and the DACA program faces an uncertain future, University of California President Janet Napolitano; Donald Graham, cofounder of TheDream.Us; and Ike Brannon, Visiting Fellow at the CATO Institute join MPI's Doris Meissner for a discussion on the possible impacts of rescinding DACA, particularly in the areas of higher education, philanthropy, and the economy.

Commentaries

December 2016

New Data Resources Can Help Improve Targeting of State Early Childhood and Parent-Focused Programs

As states work to build high-quality early childhood systems and implement the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), having detailed knowledge of the characteristics of immigrant parents can help maximize the effectiveness of programs that seek to improve child and family outcomes, as this commentary explains.

Fact Sheets

December 2016

State Sociodemographic Portraits of Immigrant and U.S.-Born Parents of Young Children

These fact sheets provide a sociodemographic sketch of parents with children ages 0 to 8 in the 30 states with the largest number of immigrant families, offering data and analysis of some of the key parental characteristics to help stakeholders identify populations that could be targets for early childhood and parent-focused programs working to improve child and parent outcomes.

Video, Expert Q&A

December 6, 2016

Brain Waste: Researchers Discuss Economic Costs of Skill Underutilization among Highly Skilled Immigrants

Nearly 2 million college-educated immigrants in the United States are stuck in low-skilled jobs or are unemployed—a phenomenon known as brain waste. In this brief video, MPI researchers discuss their key findings on immigrant skill underutilization and the resulting billions of dollars in unrealized wages and forgone federal, state, and local tax receipts.

Programs

Topics see all >

Regions see all >

Data

Featured Publication

Programs

You are here

Workforce & Vocational Training

Recent Activity

Pages

Pages

Pages

Recent Activity

Pages