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Economic Empowerment

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Economic Empowerment

Services provided by our two Employment Programs

Employment Specialists from our Early Employment Team can work with job seekers to find their first job in the United States and help to identify career opportunities and match skills with jobs. After some time with regular job income, our Economic Empowerment Programs can help identify strengths and help find available opportunities for career advancement and professional development.

Economic Empowerment: Overview of Programs

Workforce Development & Career Development Programs

What We Do

  • Job Placement Assistance
    • IRC staff work one-on-one with adult job seekers to identify their valuable skills and experience, identify suitable job openings, prepare a resume and cover letter, fill out job applications, and prepare for job interviews.
  • Job Skills Training  
    • “Essential skills trainings” prepare participants for employment in the U.S. Topics include U.S. workplace culture and workers’ rights, job search strategies, resume and cover letter writing, interview preparation, networking, and professional communication.  
  • Career Development Programs
    • Career programs help adults prepare for and enter careers in healthcare, IT/tech, financial services, manual trades, hospitality, and other high-demand industries. Activities include professional certification, academic planning, tuition assistance, essential skill development , and job placement assistance.
  • Preparation for Career-Building Activities
    • ESL and skill-building classes can help you develop the foundational skills you need to enter vocational training and career certification and retain employment in a variety of sectors. 
Financial Capability Program
  • What We Do
    • Serves more than 200 individuals each year, helping some of the community’s most vulnerable families achieve lasting self-sufficiency and contribute to the economic vitality of the United States.  
    • Offers evidence-based programming that is responsive to the cultural and linguistic needs of our diverse community here in Washington State.
    • Helps families develop foundational financial literacy skills, adopt healthy financial habits, and build assets, ensuring an inclusive local economy where all families have the opportunity to thrive.
    • IRC staff work one-on-one with adult job seekers to identify their valuable skills and experience, identify suitable job openings, prepare a resume and cover letter, fill out job applications, and prepare for job interviews.
  • Bank Account Support
    • General education for clients to make informed decisions
    • Directly accompanying clients to the bank to open checking and/or savings accounts
    • Credit Building
      • General support around credit and credit score education
      • One-on-one guidance to start building credit
      • Access to a Credit Building Ladder Loan
      • Workshop programming adapted to the needs of other departments and programs that might benefit from financial literacy education
  • Travel Loans Assistance (applies only to refugee clients whose flights were paid for by the International Organization for Migration (IOM))
    • Ensuring that clients are informed of their responsibility to make payments on their travel loan (generally 6 months after arriving to the United States).
    • Helping clients understand their travel loans, how to make payments, and how to pause payments. 
Small Business Program
  • What We Do
    • The IRC in Seattle’s Small Business Program has served more than 250 entrepreneurs, helping families in our community achieve financial self-sufficiency and build financial stability for future generations through the creation of small businesses.
    • Program staff assist entrepreneurs with business planning, licensing, and registration, and make referrals to specialized services provided by community partners.
    • The Small Business Team works in partnership with our financial coaches to ensure that entrepreneurs receive credit education and coaching to prepare them for business financing through the IRC’s Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO).
  • Services
    • Individual business coaching
      • Development of a business plan and other core documents
    • Business technical assistance
      • Navigating license requirements
      • Building skills around bookkeeping and marketing
    • Online and in-person workshops and events on topics such as:
    • Business technical assistance
      • Business planning
      • Marketing
      • Business operations
      • Financial management
      • Financial management
      • Import/export
      • Building credit
    • Access to financial products like loans
      • Screening and referrals to community lenders for business loan(s)
      • Referrals to IRC financial coaches and foundational credit-building loan products
      • Support for small business owners who need to prioritize personal financial health and credit first

 

Get Connected

To get connected, please fill out the referral form below, or email seattle@rescue.org 

IRC Seattle Economic Empowerment Program Referral Form

Learn more