CRIS’ Employment Program Helps Refugees Re-Build
“When can I start working?”
This is often among the first questions newly arrived refugees ask. Indeed, employment is a critical part of establishing self-sufficiency. Our work is aimed at helping those we serve build lives here in Central Ohio in which they can flourish. To this end, CRIS has two programs that help eligible workers find employment. The Match Grant program focuses on helping families with children, while the Employment program supports single adults and/or those with adult children (work-authorized refugees, asylees, and immigrants).
In 2021, the CRIS employment program enrolled 86 clients. In 2023, the number of employment program enrollments more than tripled, totaling 262. Employment Program Manager Narad Nepal explains, “Our program enrollment has grown sharply over the past two years due to the increased number of Afghans, Ukrainian parolees, and Haitian immigrants we are now serving in our community.”
The CRIS employment program aims to prepare refugees for the workplace in order to help them achieve the goal of long-term self-sufficiency and integration in the Central Ohio community. This includes English language instruction, skills-based instruction, interview practice, and individual employment counseling. Recently, the CRIS Employment team has innovated new approaches to workplace preparation with some of those they serve.
One of these fresh approaches is a weekly professional development class. This class began last winter to support CRIS employment program participants who have professional skills and experience and strong English language skills. The curriculum was developed by the course’s volunteer teacher Rob Newman; it highlights professional life in the U.S., resume-building, networking, interview strategies, and more. Now retired, Newman brings over 30 years of experience in leadership development, training design and development, and human resources expertise to his volunteer work with refugees. He shares, “Refugees are so interested in succeeding here in the U.S…helping them do so is tremendously exciting.
Another initiative CRIS’ Employment team is creating connections with local trades and labor organizations. CRIS employment counselors recently took a group of program participants to a day of training with the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC Local 55). This was an opportunity for the program participants to show their skills and learn what is expected in the bricklaying field in the United States. Following this one-day skills evaluation, participants will start a 4-6 week pre-apprenticeship program through the bricklaying union. During this time, they will not only acquire the skills needed to begin their careers but also have opportunities to meet with local contractors. The goal of this pre-apprenticeship is that participants transition directly into a job and the four-year apprenticeship program with the union, ultimately leading to full journeyman status.
The CRIS employment team hopes that this partnership will serve as a pilot program for other trades and labor unions, creating pathways for those we serve to learn new skills or hone existing skills to continue building their lives here in Central Ohio.
