Barriers and Strategies to Employment for Refugees Heartland - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Barriers and Strategies to Employment for Refugees

Heartland Alliance Refugee Community Services

Overview of Presentation

 Refugee Resettlement 101  Barriers that Heartland’s participants face when

seeking employment and strategies for

• vercoming them

 Examples of how we implement these strategies

in the Hospitality and Food Service Programs at Heartland

Refugee Resettlement 101

 What is a refugee?  Basic overview of resettlement process  Work authorized when they arrive as refugees

Barriers: Strength-based approach to overcoming barriers

 Trauma  Language Barriers  Cultural Differences  Discrimination  Low-skill levels or skill set in seemingly unrelated fields  Low confidence levels

Strategies

 Trauma: Mental Health support and providing community support

within the office setting and Trauma-informed care

 Language Barriers: ESL classes and Trainings (and community

support within the office setting…more opportunity to practice English and feel less inhibited to speak the language)

 Cultural differences: Classes and Trainings  Discrimination: Partner with companies that see their value  Low Skills Levels: More trainings AND more partnerships with

companies that see the value of transferable skills

 Low confidence levels: Group trainings and strength based

teaching approach. And providing community support in our office

Example of barriers and strategies through Hospitality and Food Training

 Trauma: maintaining a safe environment in the classroom where people

can feel hopeful and not judged. Referring ppts to mental health services if needed

 Language Barriers: create a fun and safe classroom where people will not

feel judged by their English levels. Positive approach!

 Cultural Differences: discussing cultural differences consistently and often!

Used as a teaching moment vs. a judgmental moment

 Discrimination: working with companies that value different languages,

cultures and backgrounds

 Low-skill levels or skill set in seemingly unrelated fields: working with

partners who are able to see how our ppts’ tranferable skills will benefit the team

 Low confidence levels: creating a safe environment in the classroom.

Showing students the gains they’ve made as the class progresses, and marking the end of the training with a celebratory event.

Program in Action!

Takeaway: how to effectively serve refugee job seekers

 Collaborate with the participant’s resettlement agency  Refer participant to ESL and training programs  Focus on transferable skills  Understand the refugee’s strengths and qualities so that you

can effectively highlight this to employers

 Be trauma-informed  Understand the complex reality and barriers that refugees

face

Contact information

Jay Landau Director of Education and Program Development jlandau@heartlandalliance.org Soren Larsen-Ravenfeather Youth Case Manager sravenfeather@heartlandalliance.org Nancy Joyce Callahan Vocational Hospitality Training Coordinator ncallahan@heartlandalliance.org