The Roadmap for Growth is a multi-year initiative of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce to engage Mayor Jim Kenney and City Council in a shared agenda to promote economic growth and job creation in the City of Philadelphia.
Guest Commentator: Peter Gonzales, President and CEO, Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians
How can we create a more welcoming environment for immigrant businesses so that they will thrive, increase economic activity, and create jobs?
With 100% growth in the foreign-born population over the past 25 years, immigrants now make up more than 13% of the total population, or just over 200,000 Philadelphians. While we can celebrate how immigrants are helping make our region become a more vibrant, creative and dynamic competitor in today’s global economy, there are many talented newcomers today whose skills are not being put to use. Meanwhile, our region’s employers are facing critical challenges in filling high-skilled jobs.
The Migration Policy Institute estimates that 20% of the foreign-educated immigrant population aged 25 or older in the workforce are unemployed or underemployed. Trained as engineers, scientists, doctors, and accountants in their home countries, their skills are often an excellent match for Pennsylvania’s officially designated High-Priority Occupations, but this knowledge and talent is wasted as many face challenges overcoming barriers to obtaining professional level employment. Without specialized assistance, these individuals are at risk for failing to become fully integrated into the labor market, leading to long-term decreased earnings and associated negative outcomes for themselves and their families.
Immigrant professionals face numerous challenges, which include finding immediate employment for survival, learning or improving English language skills to function at a professional level in the workforce, obtaining educational transcripts from their home countries (nearly impossible to get from countries in conflict), complexities of recognition of professional experience, as well as the time-consuming and often expensive practice of first gathering information about what the requirements are for re-licensure and then taking professional courses for credit and sitting for exams to qualify. The full re-credentialing process typically takes several years. Additionally, establishing professional networks and navigating the job search process can impose additional barriers to success.
City officials who oversee our local workforce development system and want to help employers fill gaps in high-skilled labor, should support initiatives that accelerate the integration of immigrant professionals into the workforce. A collaborative effort is underway between the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians and the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce to try and meet employers’ needs for high-skilled labor. What we need from government officials is an investment in programs that build social capital, improve English language skills, and facilitate workplace enculturation to foster economic success.
Discuss these and other Questions for the Roadmap at the upcoming policy forum: Educating our Future Workforce on Tuesday, May 24, 2016.
