Bank of America donation to help new Mainers gain employment
Bank of America has donated $45,000 over three years to Portland Adult Education to support classes for new Mainers seeking their first job in the United States.
The donation — $15,000 per year over three years — will go to support a jobs course at the New Mainers Resource Center that’s designed to help immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers with limited English find work.
NMRC is a program within Portland Adult Education serving immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees. It includes a skilled professionals program, employment case management, intensive classes focused on job readiness skills, networking groups, workshops, and other others offerings. These offerings are designed to help new Mainers, of all professions, overcome barriers in order to enter the U.S. workforce.
In its intensive 130-hour course, students learn how to search for a job and expand their skills through contextualized English for the workplace with the focus on U.S. workplace culture and financial literacy skills.
“What we have seen with this class over the years is that it is not only extremely effective at helping new Mainers launch their careers in the United States, but that it is also an important resource for employers as they are more and more challenged in meeting their workforce needs,” Anita St. Onge, interim director of Portland Adult Education, said in a release announcing the Bank of America’s grant.
Area employers are actively engaged in the program, visiting the classroom to share information about their companies, providing mock interview practice as well as hiring students. Graduates from this program receive a certificate detailing their competency achieved for 12 employability skill standards. They also receive one-on-one job search support from their teachers and job developers from participating service agencies.
“We are pleased to be able to support this program financially,” Todd Beacham, Maine/Vermont market manager for Bank of America, said in the release. “Every person who lives in Maine, including new Mainers, has the opportunity to reach their fullest potential.”
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