Jewish Vocational Services Continues to Help Those Who Seek a Better Life

June 6, 2008

by Daniel E. Levenson      

Not far from downtown Boston and the Park Street “T” station there is a non-profit organization which is quietly helping new immigrants and refugees from around the world take their first steps in navigating the American workplace. Founded in the middle of the 20th century with the aim of helping Jewish immigrants from Europe, Jewish Vocational Services now works with people fleeing oppression from other parts of the globe, many of them African Muslims escaping conflicts at home. The clientele may have changed, but the mission remains the same: to help people on the margins of society improve their lives through job training and education.

While many people in the Boston Jewish community may be aware that Jewish Vocational Services exists, few probably realize the range of services the non-profit organization provides to the citizens of Massachusetts, both within the Jewish community and among a much larger population of immigrants, refugees and low-income individuals looking to increase job skills and improve their quality of life. JVS president and CEO Jerry Rubin recently sat down with the New Vilna Review to talk about the organization he has led for the last year and a half and discussed the myriad programs JVS is presently running. Mr. Rubin noted that the organization has maintained the same mission of helping those who are looking to improve life for themselves and their families, but over time the population they work with has changed.

“We do the exact same thing we’ve been doing for 70 years,” Mr. Rubin said, explaining that the needs of today’s immigrants mirror those of earlier generations. He did note that in some respects the “Jewishness” of JVS has undergone a transformation during the life of the organization, with more Jews connecting to JVS now as a way to support a social justice organization that is very hands-on, as opposed to a place that they themselves would seek out basic job or English language skills, although Mr. Rubin did add that JVS continues to provide employment counseling and services to Jewish professionals embarking upon, or making changes within, their own careers.  He also noted that JVS works with Jewish adults who have disabilities, and estimated that there are approximately 5,000 Jewish adults with some form of disability in the greater Boston area who would like to find work.

Mr. Rubin said that within the Jewish community, JVS is always looking for new ways to create connections between potential employers and employees, and cited this connection to the Jewish community as one of the unique features of the organization. He also mentioned recent efforts to involve some of the young leadership affiliate groups at Combined Jewish Philanthropies (such as the young lawyers group) to recruit volunteers to participate in career panels and informational interviews.

He emphasized that he sees the role of JVS as one of bringing people together, helping both employers and employees to find one another, and then continuing to support the employees as they advance through acquiring new job skills and education. “Our real niche is human capital,” Mr. Rubin noted.

“We are the largest organization doing what we do, in the Boston area, and I think one of the most effective,” he said, adding that when JVS sets out to find new potential employers to work with, that they look specifically for industries with a high number of entry-level positions, as well as the potential for growth within those positions, and for management that is committed to making an investment in the growth of their employees.

Mr. Rubin, who holds a Master’s degree in city planning from MIT, explained that he came to his current position not from within the world of Jewish communal work, but with a background in community and economic development, having worked previously for the city of Boston as well as for a variety of other non-profit organizations. His enthusiasm for this two track mission of JVS, helping new immigrants and working within the Jewish community, was obvious as he talked about the numerous ways that JVS not only helps people get started on a particular career track, but continues to provide them with support and services as they advance in their new jobs.

Within the JVS building there are a number of different classrooms set up to help immigrants and refugees adapt to the American work environment. One classroom is set up with different “stations” that resemble everything from an office setting to a dry cleaner to a retail store. Mr. Rubin mentioned that when new refugees arrive in the United States they are required to find work quickly and JVS helps to provide them with the resources and skills to enter the American workforce and become productive members of the labor force. After the refugees find jobs JVS offers evening English language classes so that they can come after work and continue to improve their English.

JVS also has a unique partnership with the drugstore chain CVS, which has even gone so far as to build a model of one of their retail stores inside the JVS building, complete with actual products the chain sells, where new employees come for initial training. The partnership with CVS seems to be going well so far, and the non-profit honored CVS at their annual gala held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Boston this past May.

JVS also launched two new initiatives this year, a healthcare training institute, partnering with some of the city’s leading hospitals and a similar program for workers in the hospitality industry. For the healthcare training institute JVS is providing a variety of different kinds of classes for workers at hospitals including Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and Children’s Hospital which includes English language classes, computer training and pre-college skills classes to help prepare workers to pursue careers in nursing and other allied healthcare professions. In the program for workers in the hospitality industry individuals from a number of local hotels, including the Seaport Hotel and the Charles Hotel in Cambridge have been receiving culinary training and housekeeping, and Mr. Rubin noted that JVS also keeps in contact with the workers, offering them career counseling and helping them to find better jobs as they advance.

While it is clear that the demographics of the clientele of JVS have shifted over the years, it is equally clear that the organization continues to provide vital services to those who are in need. These new Americans may come from different places, they may speak different languages and have a different culture and religion than our own immigrant ancestors, but they still share many of the same dreams and aspirations that earlier generations of Jews who came to America did, and it seems only fitting that the Jewish community continues to support them.