This is a wonderful program, run by recent immigrants, for immigrants, helping them do everything needed to get into the workforce. DP
Asian-American agency training programs serve diverse group
By Paul Restuccia
bostonherald.com: These are exciting times for the Asian-American Civic Association as it moves this week into a brand-new facility in Chinatown that will nearly double the cramped 9,400-square-foot space it now occupies in the Theater District.
The AACA offers English language training, adult education and social services for recent immigrants. It also runs some of Boston’s most successful workforce training programs, having placed thousand of graduates since 1984 in jobs ranging from accounting clerks to medical technicians to auto mechanics.
And the group’s job training programs don’t just serve the Asian-American population. Its current 23-week ASCENT program, which combines accounting and computer skills with English and job-readiness training, has 16 students who hail from 10 different countries - including Nepal, Morocco, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Afghanistan, Haiti and even Russia - as well as from Asian countries such as China, Cambodia and Vietnam.
“We used to primarily train an Asian population, but that has changed and it’s been a good thing,” says AACA Executive Director Chau-Ming Lee, who has been at the organization since 1982. “We’re all immigrants and the door should be open to everyone who wants to use it.”
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
2 comments:
What an exciting program! So many times I see immigrants thinking they are finished with the process once they receive their green card visa, but really that is only the beginning. I did not know about this program but I will be sure to spread the word at my work place. I am sure somebody there will be able to enroll someone who can really take advantage of it.
I live in Boston and am shockingly unaware of this fantastic program. I would like to contribute to it, if at all possible. I know first hand how difficult the road to a green card visa is, and anyway I can contribute to easing the process for someone else would make me very pleased.
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