Highly skilled immigrants are essential to maintaining America’s leadership in the global economy. Known for their entrepreneurial spirit and hard work ethic, these talented foreigners fuel innovation and boost U.S. economic growth. What is more, immigrants who have recently come to the United States are more educated than ever before and more likely to have advanced degrees than their U.S.-born counterparts. Thus, there is a business case to be made for hiring these talented and highly skilled newcomers as they can play an important role in the growth and success of any organization.
What are the benefits of investing in a highly skilled immigrant workforce?
New Opportunities
Whether operating in local markets or global markets, an internationally diverse workforce offers companies many benefits and opens up new opportunities. At a global level, highly skilled immigrants can help businesses expand into new foreignmarketsand strengthen international connections. For instance,newcomers mayhave contacts in their home countrywho can help facilitate business relationships. Furthermore, because of their language skills and familiarity with overseas business practices, immigrants are ideally suited to work with a variety of international clients and can help companies overcome cultural divides.
High-skilled immigrants can alsolend their knowledge and expertise to help companies expand into new local markets.They cantap into communitynetworks tofacilitate business activities and reach out to newclients.Additionally,it can be advantageous for companies to have aninternal workforcethatreflects an increasingly diverse customer base.By reflecting the communities they serve, businesses may gain a better understanding of how to market their products and services ordiscover areas in which they can improvecustomer satisfaction.
New Ideas
Finally, hiring foreign-born skilled workers can increase workplace diversity giving companies a competitive edge. Immigrants bring to the table fresh perspectives and insights, which can help organizations find new ways of solving complex problems and improving operational efficiencies. These newcomers also possess a unique set of skills, training, and experiences that can enhance the creativity and productivity of team members, fueling innovation.
Conclusion
Businesses will find that there are many benefits to hiring highly skilled immigrants, especially when it comes to expanding international and local markets, increasing corporate diversity, and boosting innovation efforts through the development of new ideas. While only Congress can make policy changes regarding the employment-based immigration system, and only cities can cultivate broad-scale welcoming environments, companies have the ability to promote strategies that effectively and successfully integrate these talented and hardworking individuals into the workforce.
How can we help your organization unlock the benefits of a skilled immigrant workforce and successfully integrate global talent into your organization?
Sources:
Ottawa Chamber of Commerce & Hire Immigrants Ottawa. (n.d.).Employer’s Guide to Integrating Immigrants into the Workplace.Retrieved fromhttp://hrcouncil.ca/hr-toolkit/documents/HIO-Employer-Guide-EN.pdf
Jermyn, D. (2009, September 25). The business case for hiring skilled immigrants.The Globe and Mail.Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-managing/the-business-case-for-hiring-skilled-immigrants/article4301364/
Zong, J. & Batalova, J. (2016, February 3). College-educated immigrants in the United States.Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/college-educated-immigrants-united-states
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