Refugees who don’t speak English or have at least a GED are not going to find much work in Ft. Morgan. Only Cargill or Swift (meatpackers) have jobs for unskilled, non-English speaking Somalis. (Hat tip Bluelitespecial). From the Ft. Morgan Times:
East Africans who do not work for Cargill Meat Solutions or Swift Co. have a hard time finding jobs.
Employers need workers who can speak English and often also require employees to have completed high school or have a GED equivalent. A driver’s license is also very helpful, said John Torrez, an employment counselor and bilingual specialist for the Fort Morgan Workforce Center.
In light of the fact that the Somalis who walked off the job in Grand Island, NE are suing Swift for discrimination, I wouldn’t think Swift management would be in a hurry to hire more Somalis.
So who is going to help them find work? Maybe a taxpayer funded workforce training center.
One Somali man noted that many of his fellow refugees do not speak English and did not have formal education during their time in refugee camps. That makes it hard to find a job. He wanted to know how the workforce center, or any other agency, can help them, perhaps with training.
Remember “Refugees take root” and bring the wonders of diversity. Ft. Morgan has signalled that it is ‘come one-come all’ so I guess they will figure it out.