Announcement
Career Development Program participants and Accenture volunteers at the IRC
Refugees identify their lack of social and professional networks in the U.S. as one of the biggest barriers to employment. The Career Development Program at the IRC in Silver Spring works with clients to address this challenge head-on, helping clients move past self-sufficiency towards career-building and financial success. Twenty-six-year-old Adeela, who arrived in Maryland in September 2015 with her two younger sisters, is a testament both to the immense potential held by refugee clients and the overall success of the Career Development Program.
Adeela and her sisters left an older brother behind in Afghanistan whom they anxiously hoped to reunite with shortly after their arrival in the U.S. He tragically passed away in car accident just before receiving approval to reunite with his sisters in Maryland. In spite of this tragedy, the sisters knew that they had to start their lives in the U.S. and began working with IRC Employment Specialists to find their first jobs in the U.S. With inspiring resiliency, Adeela and her sisters began working minimum wage jobs as factory line workers to make ends meet. Shortly thereafter, Adeela participated in the IRC Career Development Program. In this program, IRC Employment Specialists work one-on-one with all program enrollees to facilitate career mobility by awarding clients with scholarships to take vocational courses in growing industries and by offering professional development trainings. Through the program, Adeela enthusiastically participated in Microsoft Excel training courses and Job-Readiness-Trainings taught at the IRC. In the classroom, her unrelenting positivity and tenacious hope for the future were apparent. A few months after completing the Career Development Program trainings, Adeela obtained a job as a Guest Services Agent at an upscale hotel in downtown Washington D.C. In the future, she hopes to continue with her upward career trajectory in the hospitality industry.
A recent volunteer-led, professional networking event hosted by the IRC was attended by Adeela and other Career Development Program participants. The event focused on LinkedIn networking in partnership with Accenture, a global management consulting company. Participants were matched one-on-one with Accenture consultants who taught participants how to best utilize LinkedIn to establish and expand their professional network. Among the participants were refugees who were nurses, architects, software developers, and interpreters for U.S. military forces in their home countries. The Accenture volunteers were amazed by the impressive professional experiences of participants. One Accenture volunteer stated, “I came in with a certain level of expectation, but I am delightfully surprised and impressed by the participant I worked with today and know that great things lie ahead [for him].”
Refugees like Adeela bring with them a wealth of experience and knowledge to the U.S., and commensurate potential to contribute to their new communities. The Career Development Program at the IRC enables clients to lay the groundwork to achieve their goals as professionals and New Americans. With continued support from partners such as Accenture and local community colleges, the IRC will be able to continue to help these clients realize their hopes for the future. Clients are Adeela are undeterred by the challenges they face and persevere to achieve success in the U.S.—a sense of home, the opportunity to pursue education, stable employment, and safety for their families.