Our Work

Upwardly Global works to address the problem in more than one way

Even with U.S unemployment at high levels, we consistently hear of employers having difficulty connecting with the talent they need and cyclically having unfilled positions within health care, engineering, and other growth sectors. At the same time our job seekers with matching backgrounds are unemployed or working in unskilled positions. Upwardly Global acts as a bridge and connects these populations whose success is interdependent.

Our Job Seeker Services Program prepares educated and skilled immigrants, refugees, and asylees to overcome the numerous barriers to professional employment. Our job search preparedness and training offers 6 months of support that includes:

• resume revision, interview preparation, and salary negotiation
• networking opportunities and coaching in marketing oneself
• one-on-one advising from staff as well as a U.S. mentor
• acculturation training for adjusting to the U.S. workplace environment
• direct referral to and placement in professional positions at our employer partners
• a growing network of alumni who support one another in career advancement

Through our program, our clients build a career portfolio that prepare them to successfully navigate the U.S. job search, and eventually the U.S. professional workforce. Candidates are also matched with industry-specific U.S. peer professionals who serve as mentors. These individuals provide up-to-date, relevant industry expertise and 1-on-1 coaching, support, and professional contacts for a period of six months after the completion of the program. Supplementary workshops are also offered including: industry roundtable sessions, social networking webinars, career relicensing, employer partner networking events, and mock interview events. In addition to the training and tools, our program helps professionals rebuild their confidence – a critical element for their success.

Our Employer Network Program partners with employers to raise awareness of the skilled immigrant population and increase the employers’ capacity to integrate this population into the mainstream workforce. The network has 3 components:

• Employee Engagement Programs - We engage U.S. employees as skills-based volunteers and peer mentors. Volunteers provide insight from their first-hand professional experience while building their own capacity for cross-cultural communication and effective interviewing and hiring of diverse populations.
• Employer Education - Upwardly Global provides employers with the education and resources to effectively identify, recruit, interview, and integrate immigrant professionals into the American workplace.
• Recruitment and Placement Services - We fully screen and present Upwardly Global candidates for direct hire positions with our partner companies. Upwardly Global has partnered with hundreds of large companies, including JPMorgan Chase, Cisco, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Microsoft and Bloomberg, as well as dozens of smaller businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government entities.

Our Influence and Impact Program aims to promote change of inefficient labor markets and practices that result in employment barriers for skilled immigrants. We develop best practices and resources to educate decision-makers about this population and build awareness that leads to the adoption of more effective and inclusive practices and policies. This work draws on the expertise we gain working directly with skilled immigrants and U.S. employers.

Upwardly Global is working to raise the visibility of these issues and to communicate the value, including the economic impact, of addressing the issue. We also hope to influence change that will result in scalable programs which will speed the integration of much larger numbers of experienced skilled immigrants and more quickly address acute hiring needs among certain industries. Learn more about our pilot programs that address the problem.

Some program achievements include:

• Ongoing partnership with the state of Illinois to promote career re-entry of skilled immigrants, including creating new responses to the existing barriers of lack of transparency in information, financial barriers, and access to critical internship opportunities.
• A web-based, step-by-step licensing guide for foreign-trained immigrants in 10 regulated professions within the states of California, Illinois and New York.
• Ongoing national study of barriers to licensing
• State and federal legislator education visits
• Sharing program innovations based on best practices and original research