For newly resettled refugees who have 90 days to become financially independent, digital literacy related to job hunting is as important as language.

Emily Griffith Technical College offers an ESL course focused on finding a job. However,  even when non-Spanish speaking newcomers physically visit the potential employer they are often told to fill out an application online. At Amazon warehouses, non-Spanish speaking applicants are turned away for not having adequate fluency.  

As you know, online job applications are extremely complex – every job is different. 

They often require: 

• A Google search to find the posting
• Using a browser to enter a URL 
• Creating a username and password
• Email verification
• Creation of a resume (PDF or Word)
• Uploading a document
• Filling in online forms and using drop-down menus
• “Cutting and pasting”
• Using Google translate
• An understanding of your legal status, address, and social security number
• Scanning a QR code

Refugees are expected to acquire these skills within the first few months of living in the US, in parallel with learning English. This program will focus on  instruction in Kinyarwanda and Swahili, enabling them to attain digital literacy within weeks of arriving in the US. 

Even for experienced, tech-savvy Americans, applying for jobs is difficult, time-consuming and frustrating. Job posting sites are littered with outdated posts, non-existent jobs, and potential scams. In some cases, there is support for Spanish speakers, but not other languages. For cleaning and janitorial work, most jobs are not posted at all – you are expected to “know somebody.” 

Resettlement agencies do not have the bandwidth to spend the necessary hours per week to support refugees. Adding to the complexity is that most refugees do not have a laptop, so they are asked to do all this on a Smartphone (the instruction is designed on a Smartphone).

An additional benefit of learning the skills needed to apply online, it prepares the learner for additional tasks, like online bill pay, applying for benefits, and housing.