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Over 35 percent of foreign-born individuals in Tulsa County are underemployed, meaning they have jobs that only require up to high school degrees when they have earned bachelor’s, master’s, and even doctorate degrees.
The city partnered with several organizations, including Tulsa Public Schools and the Elevate East initiative, to ensure these individuals are looking for jobs they’re qualified for by hosting a recruitment event.
Leilo Ariza said he came to the United States about a year ago from Colombia, where he studied literature and wrote several children’s books.
“The biggest thing is helping each other out like family and growing together personally and professionally," he said. "I need to know how the education system works here in Tulsa, how to get my certifications in order.”
He said attending an event like this provides all the information one needs to become a teacher in one area.
Krystal Reyes is the Chief Resilience Officer with the City of Tulsa. She said this is all part of the New Tulsans Initiative.
“It’s a welcoming plan to help support our immigrant and refugee communities- and so part of that plan is supporting individuals who have international training," she said. "One of the things that we wanna do is help people connect to careers that match their training and education so they can get into great career paths and higher paying jobs."
She hopes to host more events to broaden the kinds of jobs foreign-born residents are exposed to.
Jen Sanders, the head of recruitment at TPS, said she is excited to diversify the workforce.
“We have a lot of diverse backgrounds in Tulsa Public Schools, so we love for those folks to be able to see teachers that look like them and have some of the same cultures as them," she said.
She said the district is hiring for jobs other than just teachers, including positions like paraprofessionals and teacher assistants at their 77 school sites.
Leilo Ariza is very grateful for the opportunity to become more involved in his community.
“It’s because of these events, they’re so important for this community," he said.
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