The Challenge
Today, immigrants to the U.S. are more educated than in any other time in our country’s history.
Approximately 50% of recently arrived immigrants have at least a bachelor’s degree, yet one in four are unable to get a job at their skill level. This leaves over two million work-authorized immigrants, refugees, and asylees with professional experience and international degrees unemployed or underemployed in survival-wage jobs to make ends meet.
For the U.S. to prosper, we must reimagine the systems that lock them out of opportunity.
Upwardly Global is the leading organization focused on advancing workforce inclusion for work-authorized immigrants, refugees, and asylees with professional experience and international degrees by helping them secure skill-aligned jobs to ensure a diverse workforce, build resilient communities, and contribute to a robust U.S. economy.
Our Mission
Upwardly Global dismantles employment barriers for immigrant, refugee, and asylee professionals while advancing the inclusion of their skills into the U.S. economy.
Our Vision
We envision an equitable, welcoming country where everyone — including immigrants, refugees, and asylees — can fully contribute and thrive.
How Upwardly Global Works
Upwardly Global unleashes the potential of immigrants to secure skill-aligned careers by supporting them and the organizations that serve them with industry-specific coaching and digital training, engages employers in inclusive hiring practices and opening opportunities, and advances policies and narratives that create shared prosperity, foster thriving communities, and promote economic growth.
- For job seekers, Upwardly Global provides access to industry-specific career coaching, reskilling and upskilling courses, career navigation assistance, and networking events, which help them fully utilize their education and skills so they can restart their careers in the U.S.
- For immigrant-serving organizations such as workforce agencies, community colleges, and refugee resettlement agencies, Upwardly Global provides the technology and know-how needed to build an inclusive workforce. We partner and share our proven digital learning tools, coaching curriculum, and employer network.
- For employers, Upwardly Global breaks down barriers for immigrant job seekers by promoting inclusive corporate hiring and recruitment practices and providing an innovative model of workforce inclusion. Upwardly Global offers tailored diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training, provides access to skilled immigrant talent through a unique AI-powered online platform, and supports impactful corporate volunteer engagement opportunities.
- For policymakers and coalition partners, Upwardly Global provides data-informed insights to federal and state policymakers and, through coalition partners, advocates for policy priorities that promote immigrant inclusion in the U.S. workforce.
Upwardly Global’s community of supporters, who volunteer and provide financial support, enable us to build a more equitable, welcoming country where everyone — including immigrants, refugees, and asylees — can fully contribute and thrive.
To date, Upwardly Global has helped 10,000 immigrants, refugees, and asylees obtain thriving-wage careers that contribute more than $74 million annually to the U.S. economy. Our goal is to serve 25,000 job seekers in 2025.
Upwardly Global Values
