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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/19062/full/19062/jvs-director-sees-small-signs-of-hope-during-argentina-visit/ <br /><br /> <b>JVS director sees small signs of hope during Argentina visit</b> <br /> Friday, January 3, 2003 | by <p>JOE ESKENAZI </p> <br /><br /><p>When a disgruntled Spanish-speaking American can't work the kinks out of his computer, the voice at the other end of the phone line providing tech support could belong to a Jew from Buenos Aires.<br /><br /> A number of high-tech companies already farm out their English-speaking tech support jobs to India, so why couldn't they assist Spanish speakers by doing the same with Argentina, asks Abby Snay.<br /><br /> The executive director of Jewish Vocational Services traveled to the economically devastated South American country for five days in mid-December, and noted the aforementioned tech support plan as just one of many ways concerned American companies could lend a hand to Argentineans.<br /><br /> And boy could they use the help.<br /><br /> By the Argentinean government's count, 22 percent of its people are out of work—though, counting the partially employed, perhaps 35 percent of the nation's inhabitants are not working. In 2002 alone, Argentina's gross domestic product sagged by 15 percent and 130,000 small businesses went by the wayside.<br /><br /> Snay, however, saw signs of hope on her visit, which was facilitated by the JVS, Joint Distribution Committee and the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation.<br /><br /> First and foremost, she said, Argentina's Ariel Job Center is doing good work, and U.S. aid is being well used.<br /><br /> "Given the state of the economy, the quality of the working staff there is incredible. Because of a decline in the value of wages, they're able to get stellar personnel," said Snay.<br /><br /> The year-old job center "has developed a sophisticated set of services to help professionals get back on their feet, find jobs or, to a much lesser extent, set up their own businesses."<br /><br /> A year ago, the center reported only 16 job openings a month in Buenos Aires—a city of 11 million, and home to 80 percent of the nation's 200,000 Jews. Now that number is up to 50 jobs a month.<br /><br /> While Ariel is doing an admirable job by helping unemployed Jewish architects, engineers and technology workers deal with the emotional blow of the dissolution of a once-firm profession, the job center has much work to do in making connections, said Snay.<br /><br /> As the JVS has done here, Ariel needs to make inroads with Argentinean companies so open positions can be posted there first. Recruiters and human resources directors must be persuaded to use Ariel to list jobs.<br /><br /> "Given the pool of candidates they have, they can be very successful in filling the jobs that come to them," said Snay.<br /><br /> Ariel has successfully adopted some of the same techniques JVS uses here in the Bay Area, most notably establishing a "technology access center," a room stocked with computers hooked up to the Internet and containing a number of job search programs. Users can search for jobs online, create and post a resume or conduct phone interviews.<br /><br /> While many of Argentina's Jews work—or worked—in the professional sector, those in the working-class sector are also hard hit. CODLA, a job center for the unemployed blue-collar workers, is "overwhelmed with demand," according to Snay. "Their client demand has doubled in the past year."<br /><br /> Snay worked with CODLA, updating the center's job-searching curriculum. The center mainly places workers in security, administrative, sales and customer service positions.<br /><br /> If nothing else, Snay left Argentina reassured that Jewish-run job centers like Ariel and CODLA are making good use of the resources sent their way by American agencies. In fact, she even picked up a few pointers.<br /><br /> "We're all guilty of some American arrogance; we think we know best here. But it was a good shock to see how they're doing things there," she said.<br /><br /> "An instructor we saw giving a job search workshop said: 'Don't look at a resume as the whole movie, think of it as the coming attractions.' Now that's a useful metaphor."</p> <p> </p>

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