Last week we attended the “Welcoming Interactive + Welcoming Economies” conference in Louisville, Ky. Put on by Welcoming America, the gathering focused on ways to welcome, assist, empower and unleash the economic potential of new Americans.
Over the course of three days, from hard data presented and anecdotal stories told, a disconnected picture of immigration, work and economic prosperity emerged. For example, 46 percent of F500 companies in the Rust Belt were founded by new Americans, and 52 percent of Silicon Valley startups were founded by immigrants or have immigrant co-founder.
Despite these gaudy numbers, there are still major talent shortages in many post-industrial communities that are currently experiencing a renaissance of immigration. In these areas, government and private enterprise have yet to figure out how to connect the skills of these new Americans to the industries that need talented employees.
This is where Catalyte comes in. Our ability to find extraordinary engineers from unexpected places puts us at the forefront of skills-based hiring. Since we screen for aptitude, not pedigree, we can find, upskill and employ new Americans who may lack traditional markers of success: American college degree, prior job experience, etc. We close the skills gap while empowering all Americans to create better the economic fortunes for themselves, their families and communities.
