Cook County employers are long accustomed to dealing with workforce shortages -- but not at today’s unprecedented levels.

That makes it a good time to review the promise of relief offered by federal programs to hire international staff, plus a program to employ young people from the Pine Ridge Reservation. Start now to explore what these programs might do for you next summer, or perhaps this coming winter if that is your busy season.

The Cook County Chamber has organized a Chamber Exchange program on the topic for July 6. We encourage every employer who might possibly benefit to attend this 90-minute session featuring authorities on the BridgeUSA Summer Work Travel Exchange Program for college students from abroad with J-1 visas, the H-2B visa program for nonimmigrant adult workers, and a new program that places young people from the impoverished Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

To discuss the U.S. Department of State’s BridgeUSA Summer Work Travel Exchange Program, we will be joined by Clay Lewis and Becky Davis of InterExchange, one of the most prominent J-1 visa sponsor organizations in the nation and a key advocate in helping the program rebound to its pre-pandemic levels.  Davis works directly with Minnesota employers.

For the H-2B international worker program, we will be joined by Mimi H. Alworth, an immigration attorney with Fredrikson & Byron in Minneapolis. Cook County employers who hire H-2B workers frequently employ Fredrikson & Byron to assist with the program.

Also joining us will be Sarah Hamilton, who owns Trail Center Lodge and is a representative for One Spirit, a nonprofit that works with the Oglala Lakota people of the Pine Ridge Reservation. One Spirit operates a youth job service that this summer has placed 11  Oglala Lakota young people in Cook County jobs and another 15 at a resort in New England. This admirable effort is just hitting its stride, and more Cook County employers should know about it.

Cook County employers with experience in the J-1 and H-2B visa programs are encouraged to participate in our Zoom meeting. If you have advice or recommendations to offer they will be welcome.

Here is the Zoom invitation:

Topic: Chamber Exchange: Searching for Workers in All the Right Places

Time: Jul 6, 2022 12:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85938129514?pwd=aRheT3GiD_8N7TdNfMVjHQhmCtjBmv.1

Meeting ID: 859 3812 9514

Passcode: 117099

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