The Internationalizing of the American Workforce

Today's companies are learning not only how to have a multicultural workforce that draws upon the skills of all employees, but also how to interact with the multicultural marketplace that is demanding niche products and services and sales personnel who understand their cultural backgrounds. When starting up a new company in the United States it is important to examine not only the national market trends, but also specialized local and regional markets that can be very different in their cultural and demographic configurations. By being prepared ahead of time with this knowledge, companies are able to leverage their business plan in ways that will help them to penetrate the American marketplace quicker and easier.

America, long the land of immigrant dreams, is becoming even more diverse today than it has been in the past. Twenty years of declining birthrates in American has left the US more and more dependent upon foreign born workers to replace the so called "baby boomer" generation that was born after WWII and which will be retiring from the workforce in droves in the coming five to ten years.

About a million immigrants a year are coming to America and their arrival is diversifying the American workforce. Today 15% of the American workforce is foreign born.This trend is predicted to continue according to the US Census Bureau which predicts that immigrants and their children, will account for 75% of the population growth in USA in the next decade. According to Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao "Our growing labor shortage will require us to take a fresh look at immigration because the immigrant's hope is closely entwined with America's need."

The new wave of immigration is the largest in American history and has resulted in the fact that 49.6% of immigrants currently in the USA have arrived since 1990 with a full 73.1% having arrived since 1980. With the arrival of these new immigrants come fresh challenges and opportunities for American companies.

Foreign born workers in the USA bring with them skills that companies are just beginning to learn how to leverage. Language skills are the easiest to put to use, but a knowledge about local markets, cultural issues and ideas for new products are beginning to be tapped as resources by astute firms. The challenges for integrating foreign-born workers follow along the same lines and include language and cultural issues.

For companies that are willing to tackle the challenges and who find ways to use their employees talents of all kinds, they are rewarded with a dynamic workforce that is able to respond effectively to the multicultural marketplace that is American today.

Kari Heistad

International Subsidiary Development Inc.