damian trujillo: hello, and welcome to "comunidad del valle." i'm damian trujillo, and today big news by the latino community foundation on your "comunidad del valle." ♪♪♪ damian: we begin today with the latest by the center for employment training or cet. it's been a while since we had 'em on the show. they're back today. with me are reynaldo gil and rosanna salgado mcdonald, both of the center for employment training. folks, welcome to "comunidad del valle." rosanna salgado mcdonald: thank you. so good to be here. reynaldo gil: yeah, thank you. damian: yeah, thank you. you provided an array of services there at cet from

job-related, to citizenship, and whatnot, but let's go through all of 'em. rosanna, if you can talk, first of all, about the mission of your agency, cet. rosanna: yes, of course, so center for employment training has been around since 1967. we are celebrating our 55th anniversary this year, and we focus on getting people job-ready, so whether that is training for one of the common trades that will lead people into sustainable careers for the long term--we have a long history of training farmworkers. we got our start, basically, trying to help people when their careers in working in the farmyards were eroding because silicon valley was being born. at this time, we found a need to train people for jobs that could take care of themselves and their families for generations to come, and we're really proud of our background. damian: yeah, we're lookin' at video of some of the services that you provide. i think this is one of the citizenship workshops that you all give there at cet. but, reynaldo, you know, i come from a farmworking family.

my older brother, my older sister, both graduated from cet, so it's a testament that you can actually get out of the fields when there are agencies like yours there to help. reynaldo: yes, and i started my career--i've got decades experience workin' in it data centers around the world, china, all over the world, and i started my career just like a student at cet. i was in east san jose, and i went through a skills training program for six months, and then i got placed at ibm, and the rest is history. i've been workin' with advanced technology for my whole career. damian: and tell us about your role there at cet right now. reynaldo: so i was brought in by hermelinda, the ceo, to help design--revamp all the programs to introduce technology because the internet now is the foundation of everything. everything's being connected, cars, heating equipment, electrical. everything now is being digitized, and so what i'm doin'

is revamping all the programs to introduce the digital skills that are required and also introducing very exciting programs and it support. we're placing technicians that came out of retail, making minimum wage, into very, very good-paying careers within a matter of months, so we're havin' tremendous success putting people into the digital world, and then now, we're in the part of the economy where there's such a demand for skills, and the latinos have the innate ability to fill these jobs because they're visual learners, visual problem-solvers, so i've seen students take a look at a technical problem and solve it just intuitively just by visually lookin' at the problem, so our culture now is in high demand. in addition to that, there are technical jobs that are without borders, so if you're bilingual, you can work in mexico, you can work in--throughout latin america.

you can travel all over the world, so it's really a career that doesn't have any borders anymore. damian: yeah, and reynaldo brings up a good point, rosanna, because it's not about the hammer and the nail anymore. there is technology involved. we had roofers here, who were taking classes at stanford because now you're working with three-dimensional objects, and so it's really an evolution, a relearning of how you teach. rosanna: right, exactly. you know, what i think is exciting about center for employment training is that we are constantly adapting our programs to keep pace with employer needs, so similar to why rey was brought on staff now because that is what employers are demanding, and so that is what we know will give people the long-term sustainable careers. we're also offering medical assistant, even child care, culinary arts, so a variety of programs that can connect people to a variety of fields. damian: all right, well, again, this is the center for employment training. been around since 1967, cet. if you'd like more information, they are on vine street, right here, in san jose.

they're all over the bay area, actually, but the closest one is here on vine street. there it is for more information. we'll be back with the center for employment training on "comunidad del valle." stay with us. ♪♪♪

damian: we're back here on "comunidad del valle" with cet, the center for employment training. and, rey-- off camera, you we're talkin' about how 50% of the workforce in the u.s. is middle-skilled. describe what that is and how you help that population. reynaldo: well, middle-skilled are people that can install things and people that can repair things, and so now that the economy is becoming more digitized, because everything now is getting connected, and the current congress approved a lot of money to go into expanding broadband connection to homes, businesses, and you name it, and as that infrastructure gets put in place, it's creating tremendous numbers of jobs that can't be filled right now, so employers are desperate 'cause, i mean, this is a perfect market for students that can learn skills and jump into this.

damian: and you don't waste any time, rosanna. i mean, you jump in whenever you feel like you're ready for it, and you're out in less than a year. rosanna: exactly. reynaldo: mm-hmm. rosanna: so when someone calls our number, immediately, our admissions, guidance counselors, will help people get enrolled, find the program that is right for them that matches with a person's personal interests with a career that they know they can stay in for a long time. we will immediately roll someone in whether or not they're high school graduates, whether or not they're u.s. citizens. that is exactly what we do, and we are specialists in this area because we've been doing it for so long. damian: and it sounds like failure is not an option. reynaldo: no. damian: you are there to guide them to make sure that whatever help they might need, along the way, that they get it. rosanna: exactly, so i like to think of center for employment training as three structures: so, first, of course, is the recruitment and getting people lined up so that they can get their student loans, so they could get their scholarships or whatever they might need. then the support services, that part is crucial, so we are there.

so life happens, different things come up for people, whether your car broke down or maybe, you know, you need help with food assistance or child care. we have staff in place that help people make sure that that safety net is there. and then, lastly, job placement, that, to me, is one of the biggest pieces. we're not going to give someone a certificate and then send them out into the world without being completely prepared for that next step. there's resumes building, there's interview coaching, so it really is a holistic approach. damian: and, rey, it sounds--it must be fulfilling, knowing that you're helping those, maybe a first or second chance at a good career, and they're off and going. reynaldo: yeah, and i think we have a very unique program because we have--we're introducing a lot technologies that are more visual for visual learners, so simulations of how to do activities. we're now testing virtual-reality goggles that you can put on, and the students will be able to experience what a job is before they can even imagine it. so, you know, we really wanna open up people's minds that they

can do this work because, you know, a lot of students have been discouraged by the school system and everything else. we wanna open their eyes that they can do it, and other people are doin' it, and it can change their family's life. damian: yeah, and, really quickly, either for you or rosanna, the literacy, i mean, i know that, if you're not--you're accepting folks if they're not high school graduates. is there a literacy component to all of this? reynaldo: there is a--we have an accelerated ged prep. what we do is we do an assessment, and then we figure out how to fix the deficiency, and we're now adding programs, for exame, to improve business communication skills, how to do chat, how to do english, you know, vocational english. so what we do is we look at the student holistically, not just teachin' 'em technical skills but all the people skills, and what we're finding is that a lot of the students already have a lot of transferrable skills. they already worked in retail, dealin' with difficult

customers, difficult situations, so they already have a lot of skills. damian: all right, we have about 30 seconds. rosanna, any final thoughts before we let you go? rosanna: i think, just going back to the "we are ready for you whenever you are ready," so just come on over and check us out. we can schedule tours at the campus. i think, when you see the work that we're doing live and in action, it's pretty exciting. we also have a graduation coming up and where we will--we weren't able to do this because of covid, but we have a graduation for the last two or three years. it's going to be not a dry eye in the room, i'm sure. people are just excited to have been a part of this program. damian: awesome. thank you all so much, the center for employment training. offices across the bay area. thank you so much. rosanna: thank you. damian: thank you. for more information-- reynaldo: thank you. damian: --the cet, the main office is here on 701 vine street, in san jose. there is a web address for more information, cetweb.edu. up next here on "comunidad del valle," the latino community foundation. stay with us. ♪♪♪

damian: he's the new vice president for economic justice at the latino community foundation, and max vargas is my guest here on "comunidad del valle." max, welcome to the show. i love the title. max vargas: thank you, damian. damian: well, before we get into economic justice and whatnot, let's talk a little bit about you because you come from nothing, if you don't mind me saying, to becoming--to creating quite a name for yourself. you are formerly an unaccompanied minor. max: that's right, that's right, and it's--yeah, as you can imagine, like many folks who immigrate here, the immigration story for us and for me, it's such a driver, and it shaped a lot of my identity, the work, and why i'm passionate about what it is i do and--but you're right, i arrived at five years old from peru, fleeing terrorism, you know, huge

instability, economic and safety concerns there at the time and, you know, got here, and i was, you know, luckily able to get reunited with family and get status, get residency, and get political asylum, actually, to be able to get residency and, you know, eventually became a citizen, and, you know, it was a long process, and it was an opportunity, but, for me, it really made clear so many things, even at a very young age, that things could be so vastly different. it really made me appreciative of all the folks in my life and the work, community organizations, programs, whatever it was that was there to help us when we got here, that, you know, i know, at times, not everybody has that same access, and in my head, it was always very clear. it's like, i was unaccompanied but not alone, right? i knew the lessons the family were--you know, i was hopeful, right? then, i was pretty sure i'd see them again, i'd have this

opportunity to connect with them, and throughout the years, both through that immigration story but even afterwards, as new immigrants in the country, being able to strive forward because there were programs, because there were certain resources, because there were partners, and our community was there. that's what, you know, for me, it's been a big love of community from day one because of that, and it's also made very clear, to me, that all the things we see are, you know, by design, that all the programs, whether it's there or not there, the access, whether it's there or not there, can be vastly different. i've seen a different world than i've seen it from very young age, and i think that taught me that another world is very possible, and we can design the world and change it to what we'd like to see, right, to have a better world, and i think that's what we're about. it's how do we shape and grow our communities and lean into our strengths? in doing it, in many ways, it's not alone, right? having the opportunity to do it as a community, as a collective,

i think, can be very powerful. damian: and reading your bio, "i don't wanna hear excuses from the immigrant community as to why they're not able to make it." you have a political science degree from uop, university of the pacific. you have a juris doctor from mcgeorge school of law. you worked for the then-called the national council of la raza under raul yzaguirre. what haven't you done? you know, what haven't you accomplished? so i don't wanna hear an excuse from those, maybe in the immigrant community, saying, "i can't be successful because i'm an unaccompanied minor. i'm a daca. i come from this background. i come from that background. toss that excuse aside." you're living proof that with "ganas", you're able to make it. max: absolutely, absolutely, and i think we have as--you know, you mentioned daca. you mentioned some of our young folks. we have some of our most passionate go-getters with bastante, sometimes demasiado ganas, who are striving, and i think that's a big part that invigorates me about our community too 'cause we've

seen--we see some of those standouts, and it's definitely not easy. they're entrepreneurial, they're go-getters, but they're doing everything and hustling to make sure, you know, they maximize opportunities here too. damian: and, you know, farmwork is my background. i use that as my driving force just like you use immigration and your immigrant background as your driving force, i would imagine. max: yeah, absolutely, and i'm glad you shared that 'cause i think that, you know, it's a perspective. we think about california, you know, has silicon valley, has the tech space. it's also a bread basket of the world to grow so much ag, and so many of our community members, a huge, you know, drive, hustle, potential, and work they're doing, all valuable, all skilled work, not always well-paid work, and so that's one of the things, you know, that also drives me to think about the systems we have in place that are they commensurate with the level of

effort and the degree of work that our community is putting in, and how do we make sure that our community gets its due? damian: and, well, it's enjoyable for me to watch what you've accomplished so far. the foundation, the latino community foundation, it is there, helping people out. if you'd like--want more information, it is there to--you know, at your service, and you can log on for more information. but your role as the vice president for economic justice, boy, that title really--it's powerful. max: that's exactly it, and i think it's powerful because our community is powerful. i've been thinking so much about what kept the economy running during the pandemic. you know, it's been very clear. we've used the term "essential workers" for quite a bit, but it's actually the latino worker, right? the latino essential worker, in many cases, and that's just in the near term, right? this was just this pandemic. i think at every turn, at every economic crisis, latinos have

played an outsized role in shaping, driving, sustaining the economy, and i think the injustice is that the economy is not always working for them. it's like they're working for the economy but not the other way around, and that's the injustice we wanna change. we wanna make sure that latinos are included, benefitting, getting support in funding, and also that they're leading that work, and this is the time to do it, not just because we're coming off the pandemic but because the timing, the size and the power of the latino community is, at this point, undeniable. if we were our own--if the latinos in the u.s. were our own country, we would have the seventh-largest gdp in the world. damian: isn't that somethin'? now let's talk about that, if you don't mind, in the next segment. again, this is the latino community foundation. they're giving "becas," if you will, grants, to nonprofits all across the state. there's the web address for more information, the latino community foundation. we'll have more when we continue here on "comunidad del valle." stay with us.

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damian: he's the new vice president for economic justice for the latino community foundation. max vargas is my guest on "comunidad del valle." like, i said, i love the title. what does the vice president of economic justice do? max: well, we're focused on the economic power of our latino community, and there's a reshaping of the system, the economic system as we know it. we're seeing it happen in real time, in many ways, and the latino community has such a powerful role to play, and that's what we wanna make sure actually happens in making sure that latinos are leading the charge and playing a role, and reshaping the economy for the better, right, looking at the areas of the economy that, in the past, were extracted, that were exclusionary, that were sometimes predatory on latinos and flipping the script to something that invests in them, includes them, funds them, and at the same time, that has this opportunity for leadership for them. we have so many partner organizations and orgs that are

doing work on the ground to support just that very thing, right, workforce initiatives so that we can have our latino community be in the driver's seat but also be in those roles, be in those jobs of the future, right, the high-wage jobs, growing sectors that they need to see us present, and i say those sectors and those jobs need latinos, and it's not the other way around because we're in the decade of the latino worker. this is it, from 2020 to 2030, 78% of net new workers entering the workforce are latinos. so it really is about now how do we make sure that, as latinos, we're shaping those workforce sectors, we're entering those roles, having the pipeline that reaches our community. at the same time, we're also very entrepreneurial, right, so we can't talk about the economy without talking about small businesses and business development and growth, and latinos are the most entrepreneurial community in the

nation, opening businesses at, you know, twice the rate of any other community, any other demographic, and that's exactly what we need right now, right? coming out of the pandemic, thinking about a recovery--not even just a recovery, thinking about a renaissance, right? how do we go from not going back to "normal," going back to where we were, but, actually, to a much better place. that's about investing in our community and the role we have to play, just, a powerful role. you know, i'd mentioned latinos, if we were our own country, out of the u.s., we're our own country, we'd be the seventh-largest economy in the world, right, so there's size, there's entrepreneurship, significant impact in the workforce, and the question is "do our organizations have the support to make sure we're investing in those spaces?" and so those are the things we wanna leverage and ensure that the latino community foundation and our work is supporting organizations who are making sure that happens, making sure the work happens so that latinos can be in those spaces from a

workforce standpoint, have the entrepreneurship access they really deserve, and also have those asset-building opportunities, things like increasing homeownership, right? there have been some gains, but at the same time, there are still gaps that need to be addressed, and if we don't think about that or think about investments, the spaces where we can grow, the latinos will be missing the boat. we'll be missing the opportunity for latinos to grow generational wealth and really break through this, you know, prior glass ceiling that's kept us just, kind of, surviving and not thriving. damian: because we're pouring--well, as latinos pouring so much money into the u.s. economy, it's not reciprocated. we're not seeing the same returns for our investment. max: exactly, exactly, and that's the injustice of it, and so to bring justice to the system, we really need to make sure that that formula changes, that the whole equation flips around, and it's actually not just good for the latino community, right? it's good for the entire community, for the entire nation. if we had same, you know, equitable access, we could

generate $2.1 trillion in additional annual revenue, create, like, six--over six-and-a-half million new jobs, and that's just a sampling of the impact we could have. we're already having an impact, a beneficial one, but we could grow that impact, and we can make sure that we're a part of it, and that would be a just ecthe new vice president ofbedas economic justice for the latino community foundation. i've been doin' this show for 26 years, max. people ask me who my successor might be, and i haven't found that person, but if you ever want a job in tv, you let me know because you'd be the right fit. your heart is in the right place, and you know exactly what you're doing. thank you so much for being on our show. max: i appreciate that. thank you. damian: gracias. max vargas, again, the new vice president for economic justice at the latino community foundation. their website is online. for more information, you can log on and find out more about this great agency right there on your screen. well, if you wanna get ahold of us here on "comunidad del

valle," my instagram handle is @newsdamiantrujillo. on twitter, it's @newsdamian, then you can log on there and follow me, find out what might be on the next show. we thank you again for being a part of our sunday here on "comunidad del valle." we're gonna leave you with a little bit of little joe y la familia, a little cumbia for everyone. pase usted muy buenas tardes. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ la mucura este en el suelo ♪ ♪ mama no puedo con ella. ♪ ♪ me la llevo a la cabeza mama ♪ ♪ no puedo con ella. ♪ ♪ la mucura esta en suelo mama ♪ ♪ no puedo con ella. ♪ ♪ me la llevo a la cabeza mama ♪ ♪ no puedo con ella. ♪ ♪ no puedo con ella. ♪ ♪ mama no puedo con ella. ♪ ♪ no puedo con ella. ♪ ♪ mama no puedo con ella. ♪ [instrumental] ♪♪♪

♪ muchacha si tu ♪ ♪ no puedes con esa mucura de agua. ♪ ♪ -- que le llame a san pedro pa que te ayude a cargarla. ♪ ♪ muchacha si tu no puedes ♪ ♪ con esa mucura de agua. ♪ ♪ -- que le llame a san pedro pa que te ayude a cargarla. ♪ ♪ no puedo con ella. ♪ ♪ mama no puedo con ella. ♪ ♪ no puedo con ella. ♪ ♪ mama no puedo con ella. ♪ [instrumental] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ male: [speaking spanish] ♪♪♪

. narrator: when you see this symbol, you know you're watching television that is educational and informational. the more you know on nbc. sheinelle: hello, i'm sheinelle jones. get ready to join us for an adventure around the world to see some of the wildest and most adorable baby animals on the planet. this is "wild child". today, we scour the earth to find the most iconic animals and the furry friends living alongside them. we'll hitch a ride with this growing group of gorillas. and later, we'll take a tour of the jungle with an animal guide that always remembers the way. plus, sit down at a table for two of asia's legendary bamboo-loving bears.