By By Okon Ekpenyong
Minnesota is taking a new approach to help internationally trained professionals reconnect with careers they built before coming to the United States.
The state’s Recredentialing Pathways for Internationally Trained Professionals Pilot helps professionals in engineering, health care, education and information technology navigate credential evaluations, workforce services and Credit for Prior Learning.
Minnesota’s foreign-born population includes highly educated professionals. About 35.8% of foreign-born Minnesotans age 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher, including 16% with an advanced degree. But an international degree or years of professional experience does not always translate into a job in the same field after moving to the United States.
Some immigrants take entry-level or unrelated jobs while they work through licensing, additional education, or the process of having their education and professional experience recognized.
So how does Minnesota’s program work? Who qualifies? What happens to an international degree or professional experience? And what has the state learned since the pilot began? New Americans Magazine asked Sonji Davis of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s Office of New Americans those questions.
Why did Minnesota create the Recredentialing Pathways Pilot, and what problem does it address for internationally trained New Americans?
Minnesota is home to New Americans who bring education, professional skills, and experience from their home countries. For individuals who come to the United States with extensive training and professional backgrounds, returning to their original field can be difficult. Some start in entry-level positions. Others enroll in U.S. postsecondary programs and may end up taking coursework that duplicates education they have already completed.
The Recredentialing Pathways Pilot connects internationally trained professionals with career counseling, workforce and education providers, navigation assistance, and supportive services. It also provides credential reviews that can help identify opportunities for Credit for Prior Learning.
The pilot focuses on four career pathways: engineering, health care, education and information technology.
The goal, Davis said, is to “tap into an underutilized talent resource and reconnect internationally trained professionals to their chosen careers.”
Who qualifies for the program?
The pilot works with state and federally funded workforce programs, which have eligibility requirements that can include:
1.Age: 18 or older.
2.Work authorization: Eligible to work in the United States and able to complete Form I-9 employment eligibility verification.
3.Employment goal: Seeking a certificate, credential, or license to get a job.
4.Income: Many programs require low-income status, often defined as below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.
How does the application process work?
Partner organizations start by identifying potential participants. They ask two questions: Is the person an internationally trained professional? And, if so, were they trained in engineering, health care, education, or information technology?
If the answer is yes, the partner shares pilot information and contacts CareerForce with the applicant’s first name, phone number, preferred call time, and language-assistance needs.
A CareerForce Information Assistance representative then contacts the applicant within 24 to 48 hours. A language line is available when needed.
Applicants can then be referred to local workforce development service providers, including CareerForce offices, or to three community-based organizations receiving Adult Career Pathways funding: International Institute of Minnesota, Communities Advancing Prosperity for Immigrants (CAPI), and Somali Medical. Minnesota has 16 workforce development areas serving the Twin Cities metro and greater Minnesota.
Applicants then go through eligibility screening for one of two tiers:
1.Tier 1: Eligible for program funding support and career navigation.
2.Tier 2: Not eligible for funding support but still able to receive career navigation.
The service provider then submits a Recredentialing Pathways co-enrollment request and participant intake form.
Once someone enters the program, how does Minnesota evaluate international education and work experience? Does the participant need to enroll separately in a Minnesota college or university?
Participants provide a copy of their transcript. The transcript evaluation recommendation depends on the participant’s industry or occupation and on credential-evaluation vendors that are members of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES).
Some participants may already have a credential evaluation. The state wants to ensure the evaluation accurately establishes the U.S. equivalency of their education and will be accepted for their career pathway. The program also uses My Credit for Prior Learning, or MyCPL, a confidential online resource within Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.
MyCPL helps identify college-level knowledge and skills students gained outside a traditional classroom, including through professional and work experience. For internationally trained professionals, this can help identify opportunities to receive academic credit for what they already know and potentially shorten the time needed to earn a U.S. credential.
MyCPL staff can also help New Americans identify academic programs and institutions and connect with advisers.
Since the pilot began accepting applications on December 15, 2025, how many people have applied, and what outcomes has Minnesota seen so far?
Currently, 11 internationally trained professionals are co-enrolled in the Recredentialing Pathways project. Their pathways reflect different professional backgrounds and career goals.
Some may return to their original profession through a state licensing board’s process for recognizing international education and professional experience. Others may use Credit for Prior Learning within an academic program to help meet recredentialing requirements.
For some participants, entering a related field may be the best option. Credit for Prior Learning can help recognize existing expertise and accelerate progress toward a new credential.
The state reports:
1.85 potential applicants recruited because of interest in the program.
2.8 identified as not authorized to work.
3.20-plus requested language assistance.
4.4 scheduled for initial conversations or entry calls.
5.3 scheduled and in the process of participant intake and Recredentialing Pathways co-enrollment confirmation.
6.37 referred to community-based providers using Adult Career Pathways funding for internationally trained professionals.
7.4 are in the process of enrolling in Adult Career Pathways.
8.11 are currently co-enrolled in the Recredentialing Pathways program and receiving pathway options.
How does the pilot build on Minnesota’s earlier Internationally Trained Professionals program, and what lessons shaped the new program?
The Office of New Americans spent a year developing the pilot with partners including Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, the Office of Higher Education, the Department of Human Services’ Resettlement Programs Office, Minnesota Department of Education Adult Education, and the International Institute of Minnesota.
The pilot is also looking for ways to determine how well Minnesota’s workforce and education systems can coexist to serve internationally trained professionals better and move each individual from one step to the next. Additionally, individuals participating in the pilot can work with workforce providers, community organizations, Adult Education Programs, colleges, licensing agencies, and employers. Each resource will play a different role in helping them along the way.
That work helped the state identify service gaps and improve coordination among agencies that work with internationally trained professionals. The state also focused on organizational capacity, early preparation, establishing U.S. equivalency for international education, and helping professionals receive recognition for work experience gained both in their home countries and in the United States.
Although the pilot focuses on four industries, Minnesota describes the approach as human-centered, with individual career goals guiding the process.
The Office of New Americans is also developing a Career Pathways Resource Guide, which it plans to complete by the end of October 2026.
The guide is designed to:
1.Increase awareness of ONA career-pathway supports among New Americans, employers, and partners.
2.Clarify how internationally trained professionals can return to their fields in Minnesota.
3.Increase participation and career-pathway information sharing.
4.Improve access to partner initiatives.
5.Increase employer engagement and opportunities to work with the Recredentialing Pathways program.
6.Provide consistent, accessible information through one centralized resource.
Do recent federal immigration-policy changes affect eligibility, participation, or access to the Recredentialing Pathways Pilot?
Yes.
Immigration-policy changes can affect whether someone is legally authorized to work and whether state or federal funding can be used to serve them.
Many Minnesota DEED workforce programs have employment outcomes as a goal. If a participant cannot ultimately enter employment, that can affect workforce providers and employer engagement.
Immigration policy can also affect how many internationally trained professionals are interested in programs connected to local workforce development providers.
The Office of New Americans said those concerns affected the pilot’s initial rollout. “We had a soft launch initially in December 2025 without promoting the pilot due to safety concerns for recruited applicants during Operation Metro Surge.”
For additional information about the pilot and how you can apply for it in the future, please visit https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/new-americans/pathways/
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