Lapeer Co. - On October 25, 2021, GST Michigan Works! received a call from Latinx Technology & Community Center of Greater Flint. Joshua Bryant requested the Agency’s assistance with a Cuban couple that did not speak English and was looking for work. An appointment was made for the next day at our office.

Pedro and Laura met with a GSTMW Representative and shared their story. They had migrated from Cuba to Florida where they lived and worked for 5 years. Pedro acquired a CDL and was a successful truck driver during that time. Unfortunately, Laura had health issues and the Florida heat became too much for her. A friend of theirs in Michigan suggested they move here where there are lots of jobs and the friend could help them. They purchased a house in Flint through the internet with the help of their friend and made the move. When they arrived, they found their house was not as nice as they expected and their friend abandoned them.

They were lost, alone and the language barrier was their biggest challenge until they met Joshua Bryant at the Latinx Center, who referred them to GSTMW bilingual Career Coach in Lapeer. Most of their morning at GST was spent discussing options, reviewing local resources, and searching for job opportunities in the area for both Pedro and Laura. We were trying everything, but the language barrier was proving to be quite the Nemesis. Pedro had managed to change his Florida CDL to a valid Michigan CDL and they were eventually able to find a local posting in the Service Center that required a CDL. The owner was contacted and an interview was arranged for the next day at the office with the GSTMW bilingual Career Cocah in attendance as the interpreter.

The interview appeared to go well even with the language barrier! The Employer said it would take a couple of days to contact her insurance company and run the background check. She said she would also download a translator app for her phone to assist with communication. Things were looking up!

A week passed, and then another with no word from the Employer. In the third week, Pedro and Laura returned to the Lapeer Service Center. Everyone in this partnership was feeling discouraged and uncertain of what to do next. Several hours were spent looking for jobs. A promising CDL position came up on Indeed and Pedro, with the assistance of his Career Coach, complete the application. Within 5 minutes of submitting the application, Pedro got a call from the company! GST’s team assisted with interpretation, but the employer insisted they needed someone who could speak English, as communication was vital.

With no more luck that day, Pedro and Laura Left. Everyone was feeling frustrated. GST Michigan Works! Career Coach stated, “Here I had completed my GCDF training, and I was not able to help them. It seriously brought me to tears as I felt so helpless. Fortunately, I have a good team and [they] were right there to support me and said we would keep an eye on them.”

To make it even more difficult and frustrating, it was the end of the season and most of the Spanish-speaking people and seasonal workers were being laid off for the winter. Another week later, we tried again and yet we made no progress.

We had to come up with something different and unique. So one weekend Laura and Pedro met with their Career Coach at Mold Masters, where there Career Coach had once worked and she knew they usually had a good-sized Spanish-speaking population there. After speaking to some of the current employees they found that Mold Masters was desperate for people. Applications were acquired for both of Pedro and Laura and an appointment was made for them to come to the office to complete the applications. When they were filled out, Pedro and Laura went to the back door of the plant to drop them off.

An hour after submitting their applications, GSTMW in Lapeer received a call from Pedro stating that the company had called, hired both of them and they are now working as a team supporting each other.

GST Michigan Works! was an integral part of helping Pedro and Laura attain and now live their dream!