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The article examines this challenge through a local program at Georgia Piedmont Technical College, where staff develop solutions to reduce brain waste and occupational downgrading. Strategies include credential evaluation, college and career pathway supports, and multiple funding sources tailored to individual needs.",{"@graph":69,"@context":121},[70,84,104],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/strategies-for-serving-internationally-trained-professionals-in-adult-basic-education/589250/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":98,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":99,"interactionStatistic":100},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/strategies-for-serving-internationally-trained-professionals-in-adult-basic-education/589250.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Đào","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":101,"interactionType":102,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":103},"ViewAction",{"@type":105,"mainEntity":106},"FAQPage",[107,113,117],{"name":108,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":110},"Why do internationally trained professionals face challenges in adult basic education?","Question",{"text":111,"@type":112},"They may experience nonrecognition of foreign credentials and experience, which can lead to underemployment and devaluation of skills.","Answer",{"name":114,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":115},"What strategies does Georgia Piedmont Technical College use to support ITPs?",{"text":116,"@type":112},"The program implements credential evaluation, guidance into college or career pathways, and creative funding solutions tailored to each student.",{"name":118,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":119},"How does the article describe the concept of brain waste and occupational downgrading?",{"text":120,"@type":112},"Brain waste refers to underutilization of immigrants’ education and skills, while occupational downgrading occurs when U.S. occupations do not match prior credentials or experience.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":123,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":125,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":127,"site_id":62},589250,1792066833,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":130},{"doc_id":127,"user_id":131,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":132,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":133,"file_id":134,"file_url":135,"file_type":136,"file_size":137,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":29,"language":138,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":139,"faqs":140,"seo_title":141,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":128,"read_time":142},1374402968488,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","ADULT LITERACY EDUCATION FALL 2023  \n| [http://doi.org/10.35847/MBaxter.5.3.40](http://doi.org/10.35847/MBaxter.5.3.40) |  |\n| --- | --- |\n|  | Report from the Field |\n\nStrategies for Serving Internationally Trained Professionals in Adult Basic Education  \nMary Baxter, Georgia Piedmont Technical College  \nAbstract  \nImmigrant students are served in adult basic education programs across the country. This includes internationally trained professionals who often face nonrecognition of their foreign credentials and experience, leading to underemployment and a devaluation of skills. This article explores this issue from the perspective of a local program at Georgia Piedmont Technical College, where staff are attempting to create solutions to address the problem. Strategies implemented include credential evaluation, college and career pathway opportunities, and diverse funding sources .  \nKeywords: immigrants, refugees, credential recognition  \nAdult basic education (ABE) programs can serve as one of the entry points for immigrants arriving in the United States. These individuals may enter an ABE program for purposes such as gaining English proficiency, obtaining a U.S.-based highschool equivalency (HSE), or accessing the career pathways that ABE programs increasingly offer. Among this student population is an often-hidden issue that can present challenges to program teachers and staff – the issue of brain waste and occupational downgrading.  \nIn the United States, 21% of immigrants  \nwith college degrees, also referred to as internationally trained professionals (ITPs), are either unemployed or underemployed, a phenomenon termed brain waste in reference to the underutilization of skills and education among immigrants and how it poses a problem both to the individual and to the United States as neither can benefit from the skills and expertise  \nof this population (Batalova & Fix, 2021) . Scholars have further found that immigrants experience this form of underemployment as occupational downgrading in which the occupation obtained in the U.S. does not match previous occupations or education credentials (Adversario, 2021; Akresh, 2006). This often results in a U-shaped trajectory in which immigrants experience occupational downgrading but increase occupational status as they gain capital in the new country (Zorlu, 2016) . While this complex issue cannot be resolved easily, institutions and organizations such as ABE programs can play a role in beginning to address these concerns at the local level.  \nGeorgia Piedmont Technical College (GPTC) is located in Clarkston, Georgia, where 49.4% of the population is foreign born (United States Census Bureau, 2021) . Due to our large immigrant student population, we encounter the issue of brain waste regularly among our students, sometimes  \nCorrespondence: [baxterm@gptc.edu](baxterm@gptc.edu) 40  \nunsolicited. For example, in one of our English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes, a student shared about his overseas experience as a surgeon. During enrollment for one of our career pathway programs, a student working to earn his HSE casually stated that he was a former nurse in his home country. The more we converse with our immigrant students and ask details about their lives, the more individuals we meet who may already have secondary school diplomas, university degrees, and extensive work experience from their home country. In response, our program staff has gradually implemented strategies to better serve these students and increase recognition of their abilities and knowledge.  \nServing Internationally Trained Professionals  \nOur process for serving ITPs has emerged and developed iteratively over a period of about a year as we have grown in our understanding of this issue. We now integrate specific services into our program for students who fall into this category, including assistance with credential evaluation, guidance into career or college pathways, and finding creative solut","cbCaie7q5MMV63Fk","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaie7q5MMV63Fk","pdf",91162,"English","# Abstract\n# Strategies for Serving Internationally Trained Professionals\n## Identifying Eligible Students","[{\"question\":\"Why do internationally trained professionals face challenges in adult basic education?\",\"answer\":\"They may experience nonrecognition of foreign credentials and experience, which can lead to underemployment and devaluation of skills.\"},{\"question\":\"What strategies does Georgia Piedmont Technical College use to support ITPs?\",\"answer\":\"The program implements credential evaluation, guidance into college or career pathways, and creative funding solutions tailored to each student.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the article describe the concept of brain waste and occupational downgrading?\",\"answer\":\"Brain waste refers to underutilization of immigrants’ education and skills, while occupational downgrading occurs when U.S. occupations do not match prior credentials or experience.\"}]","Strategies for Serving Internationally Trained Professionals in Adult Basic Education | PDF",15]