LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Jaime Cruz helps Southern Nevadans find their way into the workforce.
Nearly four decades ago, his own start in Las Vegas looked very different.
“I finally said, well then I’m going to start with an entry-level job, which I don’t need experience for. And that was dishwasher,” Cruz said.
Cruz came to Las Vegas from Peru in 1987 and studied mechanical engineering. He also served as an officer in Peru’s merchant marine.
In the U.S., he said his credentials and experience did not count.
“I was told by all the places I applied to to come back when I gain some experience here. And I kept thinking, how am I gonna gain any experience if nobody wants to give me that opportunity?” Cruz said.
He started washing dishes. He became a busboy, then a waiter.
“There were moments that I felt that I had made the wrong choice to come here. And again, came close to maybe throwing in the gloves, but I’m glad that perseverance took over,” Cruz said.
He stayed.
MORE ON FOX5: Las Vegas couple turns Colombian home cooking into growing restaurant
From dishwasher to workforce director
“But ironically, I didn’t know back then, 39 years ago, that I would be in a position now, in this system of workforce development, to try to help those people who are coming here legally, immigrating as doctors, lawyers in their country. And how do they make sure that that experience and those credentials transfer? Because we need that professional help here,” Cruz said.
Cruz is now executive director of Workforce Connections. He works with state agencies, employers, and community partners to help people facing the same employment barriers he once faced.
“And so we have to work with those agencies and actually develop data to say, look, there’s 300 openings in this profession. Our institutions of training are only supplying 200. We have a 100 gap, and there are 100 immigrants over here that can fill in. We just gotta make sure that their English gets up to par,” Cruz said.
Workforce Connections serves thousands of Southern Nevadans each year through job referrals, training, and career support.
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
