The City of Seattle and our region are deeply impacted by the extensive cultural and economic contributions of our immigrant and refugee communities who play a pivotal role in driving innovation and fostering growth. These communities are integral to the fabric of our city. However, they encounter unique barriers in accessing the labor market, ranging from language obstacles to credential recognition and legal complexities.  

Facing these headwinds, as a request from the immigrant and refugee communities, Seattle’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) created the Ready to Work (RTW) program in 2015 to help adult immigrants living in Seattle work towards economic self-sufficiency. RTW combines English language instruction, job skills development, and case management to help prepare low-income adults with limited English language and literacy skills enter or advance in the workforce. In partnership with the Seattle Information Technology, RTW also integrates basic digital literacy skills. RTW is one part of the City’s strategy to address the digital divide by ensuring all participants gain the fundamental digital literacy skills necessary for the 21st century.   

Since its inception, RTW has helped thousands of immigrant and refugee jobseekers, with many of the participants obtaining good jobs and continuing on to higher English-language level classes at local community colleges. In 2016, both the U.S. Department of Labor and the National Skills Coalition highlighted Ready to Work as a national best practice model on how to leverage workforce and adult education funding to support immigrant integration in the labor force.  

This year, OIRA initiated the Regional Partnerships for Immigrant Integration and Workforce Development in the City of Seattle and King County report, researched and written by Glenn Scott Davis with Progressive Workforce Strategies. This comprehensive initiative aims to pinpoint and address these challenges, crafting tailored strategies to enhance our efforts specifically for immigrants, refugees, and migrants. The goal is to improve workforce conditions and enhance economic stability for all residents, regardless of immigrant or U.S.-born status.

You can download PDFs of our full report or the report’s Executive Summary and Recommendations. 

To celebrate the impacts of the RTW program and launch the report, OIRA hosted an event in October at Seattle City Hall that highlighted Seattle’s efforts to build a diverse workforce with a special emphasis on partnerships, programs, and policies related to immigrants, refugees, and migrants. Our event also celebrated our efforts to advance digital equity through partnership with Seattle Information Technology. Over 70 guests joined us from the region-wide workforce development industry, immigrant and refugee communities, and local social services.  

Special guest speakers included: Seattle Deputy Mayor Gregory Wong, Deputy Chief Technology Officer Jim Loter, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Kelly S. Clements, Ready to Work partners – including Asian Counseling Referral Services, Neighborhood House, HomeSight, and Literacy Source – and report author Glenn Scott Davis.

“It’s not the policy that is made on the global or national level that it the most important for refugees, it’s what is done on the local level that makes the most difference. Change makers, like OIRA and Washington’s Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance, make it possible for people to rebuild their homes,” said UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Kelly Clements. 

“We are a value driven city, and some of our key values are inclusivity and diversity. We embrace all of our residents, regardless of the language they speak or the country they were born in. As the city, we are committed to implementing those values and providing opportunities to people to achieve the goals that they came here to achieve, including finding rewarding work.”

Seattle Deputy Mayor Gregory Wong

This event opened up a lively conversation that aims to help move forward efforts towards improving workforce conditions and enhancing economic stability for all residents regardless of immigrant or U.S.-born status. OIRA hopes to continue collaborating with workforce development stakeholders across our region to work towards successful immigrant integration together. Watch short video of the event below