By Angie Chuang, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.

Her senior year in high school, Katie Shevchenko set out to find a job. Any retail or restaurant job would be fine, as long as it wasn’t at a fast-food chain.

An immigrant fluent in English and Russian, Shevchenko, 19, didn’t think she’d have trouble. But after job applications were met with silence, she knew she needed help.

She joined the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization’s youth work force program, learning everything from how to write a resume to how to use Microsoft Excel to make spreadsheets.

Her new skills enabled her to get a job — competing against outside candidates — working for the program in its new home, the IRCO Employment Skills Training Center. Now she helps others like herself.

"When you start out looking for a job, especially when you are new to Portland or don’t speak English well, you need connections," she said. "Here, they get connections."

The center, close to IRCO’s headquarters in Northeast Portland, will host an invitation-only grand opening Thursday. The addition to IRCO’s growing network of satellite sites — including the Asian Family Center and the Senior Center — will allow the nonprofit to offer vocational training as well as increase youth programs.

Organizers expect the center to serve nearly 800 immigrants and refugees a year. Sokhom Tauch, IRCO executive director, said the organization’s main building is maxed out with pre-employment training.

"The first part of self-sufficiency for refugees and immigrants is job placement," Tauch said. "But vocational training is the most important pillar because it allows them to not only get a job but skills and a better hourly rate."

IRCO paid $600,000 for the building last fall and began running programs out of it a couple of months later.

The building was once a large house, and the portion used for vocational training still has the original kitchen and bathroom. That will be helpful for training in-home caregivers and, in the future, certified nursing assistants in conjunction with other agencies.

With the aging population, "it became clear that there is a need for professional caregivers," said Lisa Buffington, IRCO’s training services unit manager. The area will be equipped with hospital beds, a lift and wheelchairs to give trainees hands-on experience.

"It feels as if you’re going into someone’s home, which is exactly what a caregiver does," she said. "They can practice getting people in and out of the bathtub or preparing a simple meal."

Jenny Bremner, IRCO’s manager of youth work force programs, said having people such as Shevchenko work in the center is one way to make young immigrants and refugees feel like they belong.

"We want them to feel comfortable when they walk in the door, seeing other young people at the front desk," Bremner said.

A month ago, Shevchenko trained David Douglas High School graduate Olga Yakovenko for a part-time receptionist job at the center. Yakovenko is doing the job while attending Portland Community College as part of her IRCO training.

Shevchenko also recently taught a college and employment preparatory class to peers, taking them on a tour of Portland State University and teaching them how to look for jobs on the Internet.

"I was learning with these students," Shevchenko said, "and then I was teaching them."