Part 1

Filling the Gap &
Supporting Communities

Still reeling from the job losses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, which lingered into 2021, Upwardly Global sought to shift the narrative and transform opportunities for foreign-trained immigrants and refugees waiting on the sidelines.

In 2021, we saw a seismic shift in the U.S. labor market, as employees demanded better working conditions, higher wages and better benefits.

Likewise, employers struggled to find millions of skilled workers in key industries: health care, accounting, business logistics, engineering and finance. Seeing an opportunity to shift focus to untapped and overlooked labor markets, Upwardly Global mobilized. In 2021, Upwardly Global sought out new partnerships with corporations and policy leaders, while internally expanding its team to connect more deeply with job seekers and assist them in restarting their careers in the U.S.

Upwardly Global built exemplary training models with Google, Microsoft and Cummins—including our industry-based volunteer training cohort pilots, which we are now expanding. We worked with Accenture and the Berkeley Institute for Data Science to address skill building in high-need areas.

By the Numbers

$66k
Average Salary
993
Job Seekers Reskilling
53%
Placements in STEM fields
1870
Program Participants
$43M
Economic Impact
101
Countries of Origin

Focus on Health Care
Pathways to Success

Even before the pandemic stretched into 2021, we knew that the U.S. was facing a troubling dearth of medical workers. Estimates suggest that before the end of the decade there will be a shortage of over 2 million health care workers, while more than 260,000 immigrant and refugee health care workers remain at the sidelines. Realizing that skilled immigrant labor could help fill the gap, Upwardly Global sought alternative pathways for medical professionals to support frontline needs, and ways to expedite medical relicensing in regions throughout the country.

By mid-2021, Upwardly Global and the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital system formed a groundbreaking model and new partnership that would allow Upwardly Global’s internationally trained immigrant job seekers to receive paid internships and mentorship. The model addresses staffing needs with a new, diverse pool of talent; equips our medical system to have a greater, more equitable impact on health access and outcomes in underserved communities; and offers alternative career pathways for immigrants with international credentials and experience.

During the first part of the pilot, we engaged 50 Upwardly Global job seekers with backgrounds in health care, technology and administration to work at the hospital; many of them have received extended terms of service and full-time jobs. In 2022, our hope is this model can be adopted and duplicated in other regions and career fields throughout the country.

Dr. Jacky Petion

A physician from Haiti who joined the NewYork-Presbyterian–Upwardly Global program. He was recently placed in a full-time position in the Pulmonary Division.

Nurse from Tunisia Fills Critical Staffing
Need at Chicago Hospital

Jawad, a nurse from Tunisia, describes his first three months in the U.S. as walking in a dream; he could not believe he was here.

He worked in warehousing and then as an Uber driver, but establishing a professional career proved daunting. Despite shortages in health care workers and the need for bilingual nurses, Jawad faced a long and complicated relicensing path.

“Immigrants don’t know how high the expectation is and when they fail, they become discouraged,” Jawad says. “They have lost time. They become overwhelmed. They just stop.”

Upwardly Global provided Jawad with clear information, contacts, and the support he needed to cross the finish line.

Today, Jawad works as an ICU nurse at a leading Chicago hospital. For his current employer, his license couldn’t have come soon enough. During the pandemic, there was one point when a floor of the hospital was facing a shortage of over 20 nurses. Jawad offers valuable insight into how we might optimize foreign talent to meet this demand.

While the lack of navigational support is a barrier, Jawad still sees immense value in the U.S. system, which he still says “puts freedom above all else.”

Nurse from Tunisia

Yulia’s Story

Yulia moved to the U.S. with her family almost three years ago. She thought that she had everything necessary to find a job: a master’s degree in computer science and 12 years of relevant experience with international and American companies.

She was born in Azerbaijan, but had also lived and worked in Russia and Poland. In each of those countries, Yulia was a minority: a woman working in the male-dominated tech industry. The same holds true in the U.S.: Women make up 47% of the workforce here but hold just 25% of computing jobs.

Yulia never bought into the idea that her gender should hold her back. But when she arrived in the U.S., there was an unlucky coincidence: She had a gap in her work experience due to extended maternity leave, plus the recent immigration. For months, she sent out resume after resume but never heard back. After breaking barriers in other countries, Yulia felt like she’d hit a huge wall in
the U.S.

Connecting with Upwardly Global was a game-changer. Yulia’s coach helped her rebuild her network and reformat her resume, and after several rounds of interviews, she found herself with not one but three job offers!

Yulia has been thankful to have a steady job during the pandemic, and she’s proud to be a woman in tech.

I’m proud to be a woman in tech. Every day, I go to work knowing that I’m advancing innovation that will help put this country on a path to economic recovery.”

Yuliya Mukhlavea

Upwardly Global Alumna