Upwardly Global Supports Career Pathways

By Cailynne Angelo, Career Advisor

Among the many challenges facing New Americans—culture shock, language acquisition, leaving friends and family—it can be easy to let some barriers overtake others. In fact, it is often necessary. Arrival (or “resettlement”) becomes a scarcely controlled chaos of procuring housing, jobs, clothes and food. Then there are school enrollments and English language learning classes, cultural orientations – learning about emergency services, new laws and judicial systems, and even subtle differences in acceptable ways to make friends or converse with neighbors. It is no surprise that each priority fights for attention among others. Yet when the dust settles, and there is time for self-reflection, reconciling the present with what one has been forced to set aside can be a different challenge altogether.

More often than I would like, the chairs in my office are filled with doctors, lawyers, famous artists, business analysts, or decorated researchers, who took the jobs that would just support themselves and their families but little more. They then wisely followed the advice of trusted support staff, worked on their English skills, and kept their noses to the proverbial grindstone. Now, years into their transition to the U.S., they find themselves out of practice and a little lost once more. They wonder, “How do I become a teacher again?” “How do I work in my field? I was a writer, a surgeon, an artist, a midwife, a business owner.”

“Where do I start?”

We take for granted that the pathways to success (which are so apparent to those who grew up in this structure of education and employment) will be clearly defined to those who join it later in life. This is the type of challenge that often reveals itself to be broader and with deeper roots than the helpers expect or can address. That’s why I was both hopeful and hesitant when Nicole Mannino Johnson, Literacy Pittsburgh’s Director of Strategic Initiatives, suggested a partnership with Upwardly Global. Facing this challenge is like laying bricks—finding small but effective pieces that meld with the current structure, then looking for the subsequent acquisition. However, the work of this organization, while still budding, is one brick that cannot be overlooked.

Upwardly Global “dismantles employment barriers for work-authorized immigrants, refugees, and asylees with professional experience and international degrees,” according to their website. In practice, they are scaffolding a bridge over which New Americans can start to connect their hard-earned skills with the American workplace. Through Upwardly Global’s online learning platform, Literacy Pittsburgh can now serve more students with essential workforce education at a pace and in a setting of the student’s choice.

Students learn industry-specific networking practices, certifications, education standards, interview techniques, and more, all in the same way they might use Khan Academy or USA Learns to study for their English classes. Upwardly Global fosters connections with certification courses like eCornell, Udemy, Coursera, EnglishFirst, and many more, free of charge, for those who wish to go above and beyond. What seems like simple obstacles can be the difference between success and failure. The cost of translating a diploma, or the fee for an official certificate at the end of a course aren’t frequently addressed barriers, but they can indefinitely limit someone’s career path or stop it in its tracks.

Upwardly Global has already begun to elevate Literacy Pittsburgh’s commitment to Better Lives Through Learning—and we’re just getting started. Already, we are incorporating courses into some of our classes and registering whole classes for instruction opportunities like EnglishFirst. We have created a drop-in computer lab where motivated students can use Literacy Pittsburgh computers to complete certifications or use the platform’s courses for further English practice.

We are certainly grateful to see the path to opportunity get that much smoother—and strongly feel this is only the beginning. Our Upwardly Global connection is young but casts a mighty light on future opportunities for Literacy Pittsburgh students. And in a time when Pittsburgh’s workforce is more diverse than ever, I am eager to see where the next chapter takes us!