The Kent Cultural Diversity Initiative Group and 10 local employment service providers will present Kent’s first Refugee Employment Summit on Tuesday, Oct. 8 on the Kent Station Campus of Green River Community College, 417 Ramsay Way, No. 112.
The event, which runs from 8 to 11 a.m. is open to representatives from businesses that hire or are interested in hiring Kent residents.
The summit will provide local employers resources and training on hiring refugees. It also will establish connections among refugee community leaders, employers and employment specialists.
“Some employers don’t realize the wealth of transferrable skills and education that refugees bring with them from their home countries,” said Stephen Johnson, employment specialist at World Relief Seattle. “We can help them.”
The summit, inspired by the Bowling Green Employment Forum, is focused more on providing current and potential employers resources on the why and how to hire local refugees. It will include a keynote address by Rhiela Arroyo, assistant human resources director at DoubleTree by Hilton, Seattle Airport.
The event also will include coffee, light breakfast items and four informational breakout sessions.
Interested employers and business representatives should RSVP to refugeesummit2013@gmail.com no later than Thursday, Oct. 3. Others may direct questions to sjohnson@wr.org or drwilson@kentwa.gov.
The event is funded by the city of Kent and the Seattle Foundation, Neighbor to Neighbor Small Grants Fund.
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