Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

Tagalog-speaking residents of Las Vegas will have an opportunity to work for the USgovernment when the 2010 census count starts this year.

Speakers of other Filipino dialects such as Ilocano and Cebuano are also invited to submit applications, the Southern Nevada Asian Pacific Coalition for 2010 (SNAP CC) said.

Already, SNAP CC is coordinating with local Census offices in Las Vegas to start hiring process for bilingual census takers. Those who can speak other Asian and Pacific Islander languages are also encouraged to apply.

Bilingual census takers will be tasked to locate households and explain the purpose of the census to household members’ own languages. Brief personal interviews will be conducted in the native language as well.

They will usually work in their own communities where residents are familiar with them or the language that they speak.

"SNAP-CC is helping the Census (bureau) recruit people who speak Asian and Pacific Islander languages," the group’s community outreach coordinator Vilma Gorre told Asian Journal.

Speakers of Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Tongan, Guamanian or Chomorro languages are all welcome to apply, she added.

Having bilingual census takers is one of the USCensus Bureau’s methods of promoting participation in the census.

Interested applicants need to be 18 years old or older, possess a valid driver license and social security card. They also need to pass a basic skills test.

SNAP CC is a coalition composed of Asian community and business leaders in Las Vegas. Its main goal is promote the census exercise by getting as many Asian residents of Las Vegas to fill out the census forms.