"In the midst of the migrant crisis, there is opportunity: thousands of new arrivals eager to find jobs that employers around the state are desperate to fill.And these mutual needs are starting to be met. Migrants living in at-capacity emergency shelters are trickling into the workforce: packaging cooking oil in Ayer; caring for patients with developmental disabilities in Waltham; gearing up to clean hospital rooms in Salem.But getting to that point has required a massive undertaking. After holding clinics to speed up the work authorization process, the state launched a job skills training program that allows migrants living in shelters to start learning — and earning a stipend — while they wait for the US government to issue them work permits, and just announced two new hires dedicated to connecting migrants with jobs. Workers from MassHire Career Centers are going into shelters to connect migrants with English classes and help them find jobs. And employers are opening their doors to shelter residents — donating space for training sessions and even hiring translators to assist new hires.Salem Hospital has offered housekeeping jobs to six Haitian migrants living at a shelter nearby on the campus of Salem State University, and filling them would be a major milestone."
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