Maximo Sanchez Ignacio wasn’t sure he’d be able to continue working in healthcare when he arrived in Michigan, although he’d had more than 10 years’ experience as a physician.
“I graduated with honors in Cuba, and I started work as a medical doctor.”
The Michigan Health Council estimates 6,000 immigrants in the state are underemployed due to licensing, language or credential barriers, although 1 in 5 arrive already holding an advanced degree or with significant healthcare training.
“They might be driving or shelving at Walmart when they were doctors in their home country like Maximo.”
Wendy Falb is the Executive Director of the Literacy Center of West Michigan.
“Also, we see our healthcare systems looking to fill these positions trying to find that talent pipeline, so this program is taking on these issues and made a huge success story.”
The program is MI Impact, a workforce development initiative removing barriers to training for the most in-demand healthcare jobs.
Participants get hired by Corewell Health in other roles then get paid time for job training along with English language help and guidance from the Literacy Center.
“A lot of folks can't take time off from work. They can't afford to do this training, and their English skills might not be where they need to be to succeed in this training, so we remove the English barrier, and we remove the employment barrier.”
Nearly 100 people have gone through training; with more than 40 already finished, including Maximo Sanchez Ignacio.
“Now I’m working as a medical assistant apprentice and I’m going to get my graduation really soon and I’m so excited about that!"
For a weekly dose of news right to your inbox, sign up for the WGVU newsletter.
