Monica Munn on the immigrant and refugee talent pool

Thought leaders share ideas with WorkingNation Overheard at Presented by JFF Horizons – See Beyond 2022
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Immigrants and refugees are over 17% of the U.S. civilian workforce and are expected – over the next 15 years – to add 18 million people to the working-age population, says Monica Munn, managing director of social impact, World Education Services.

WorkingNation sat down with Munn at Presented by JFF Horizons – See Beyond 2022 in New Orleans.

“Unfortunately, oftentimes folks may be under- or unemployed given the incredible skills that they bring. Research from the Migration Policy Institute found that two million individuals that have international education and training are unemployed or underemployed,” says Munn.

“They could be filling really hard-to-fill jobs in our health care sectors and in other spaces bringing their degrees and training from countries around the world.”

Munn says, “We’re seeing employers starting to engage across the talent life cycle. It’s not just enough to hire an immigrant or refugee worker into any occupation. We need to be thinking holistically about how we support these workers – both from recruiting and hiring, building an inclusive workplace, advancement, investing in training as well as wraparound supports for workers and their families.”

Learn more about World Education Services.