FMUMP Leads Texas Delegation at the White House Convening Addresses Credentialing and Licensing for Refugees

On June 29,2016 the White House Task Force on New Americans hosted the first-ever National Skills and Credential Institute.

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FMUMP led a delegation of seven integration leaders from Texas to join 17 other state delegations in the opportunity to share current best practices and to develop tools and resources to address credentialing and licensing issues that skilled immigrant and refugee professionals confront when seeking to enter the

workforce.

 

Representing Texas were Laurie Larrea, President Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas, Olivia Cassidy from Upwardly Global’s Texas Expansion Team, Shawn and Rosha Jamali President and CEO of the Austin Career Institute, Carrie Perkins an academic from SMU who helped work on the FMUMP research and report, and Faith and David Nibbs from FMUMP.

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We were joined by 113 experts from research organizations, government, private industry and CBOs who presented, facilitated, and participated in working sessions. Topics covered included: career pathways, bridge programs, occupational licensing, contextualized ESL, and more.

 

The all day event generated dynamic conversations that helped the delegations gain practical knowledge, identify partners for ongoing support, and develop strategies for strengthening the professional integration of skilled immigrants in their communities. FMUMP’s Moving in the Fastlane research report was handed out to all participants and was highlighted in a detailed follow-up email to stakeholders from the White House as a best practice and resource from the Institute.

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In order to help sustain the Institutes work, FMUMP will be holding stakeholder workshops in 15 more cities across the US between August and December 2016. The workshops are built around our research findings. These high-energy events are designed to help facilitate stakeholders in developing strategies to help newcomer’s career-ladder earlier on in the resettlement process. Look for further details on our website under our workshop schedule.