Fair's aim: linking bilingual Latinos to careers

Help wanted: Bilingual Latinos. Must be professional. Opportunities exist for agents, marketing specialists and customer-service representatives.

In the year American Family Insurance has been in Washington state, recruiter Rosa Alba Valerio-Pantoja has tried to find bilingual Latinos to fill a slate of new positions.

Job fairs have failed to produce them. Even at a recent one geared toward diversity, Valerio-Pantoja's best candidate was a vendor in the booth next to hers.

As the Latino population grows, employers are looking for workers who can help them reach these potential customers and clients using whatever language — English or Spanish — the clients are most comfortable with.

But like American Family, many haven't had much luck.

It is a gap that two young Seattle-area Latinos — Sara Santos, 22, and Marvin Gaviria, 23 — want to help bridge with Latin Career Expo, a free job fair for professionals scheduled for between 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. today at Seattle Center's Fisher Pavilion.

They expect to draw around 600 people. About 35 employers, including Boeing, Wells Fargo, the city of Seattle, King County and State Farm Insurance will be looking to fill positions.

"We know that the need for the bilingual Latino professional is growing faster than the supply," said Cristóbal Guillén, executive director of the Washington State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

"Our schools are not turning out enough MBAs, lawyers, business school grads to fill the need. I suspect, to some extent, the same thing is happening across the country."

Washington state is home to more than half a million Latinos — 75 percent of them under the age of 35. They represent the state's largest minority group and, according to Larson Northwest Research, last year spent more than $6.8 billion on everything from housing to food.

But companies seeking to leverage such spending need to find a way first to reach these folks, some of whom speak little or no English.

The challenge they face lies partly in immigration.

Many Latinos don't have the documents necessary to legally work in this country and therefore can't hold many professional jobs.

Some working illegally

Nationwide, more than three quarters of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants are Latino, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, a Latin issues think tank. About 90 percent of illegal immigrants work in construction, service, agriculture and other blue-collar jobs, the center finds.

In Washington state, the census shows, just under 40 percent of Latinos were in management or other professional occupations.

But even among Latinos who are educated and professional, bilingual skills cannot be assumed, said Irene Ortiz-Glass, a senior client partner at executive search firm Korn/Ferry International.

"A lot of second- and third-generation Latinos were never raised speaking the language," she said. "They know some slang, but they're not fully bilingual."

Idea for job fair

For many years, Guillén said, there was no place for professional Latinos in the state to come together and network. But groups like the chamber, which sponsor regular networking events, have helped to turn that around.

And things are changing. Two years ago, there were four Latino students working toward their masters in business administration at the University of Washington. Now there are 15, Guillén said, adding that the National Society of Hispanic MBAs has started a chapter here.

Santos, vice president of Latin Solutions, which is organizing today's event, said the job-fair idea came after she and Gaviria organized a weekend-long Latino festival last year and companies began asking how they might reach bilingual Latino professionals.

Career Expo is aimed at bringing workers and employers together. "We want to dispel the stereotype that there are no bilingual people capable of doing these jobs," said Santos, who graduates next month with a degree in communications from the UW.

Mary Fatica, a recruiter for Public Health — Seattle & King County, said she understands the importance of having bilingual staff from all language backgrounds — including Spanish.

"I think we can deliver better care when the nurse understands the culture and language and can directly converse and build rapport with the client," she said.

More than just filling bilingual positions, Valerio-Pantoja said she wants to help Latinos land substantial jobs that pay well.

To be professional, she said, a job candidate doesn't necessarily have to be a college graduate. Even with only a high-school diploma, a person may have the background for such work. "I want Latinos to have an opportunity to be compensated for what they're worth and a shot at a better lifestyle than perhaps they have now."

Seattle Times news researcher Gene Balk contributed to this report

Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420 or lturnbull@seattletimes.com