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Foreign Credential Recognition
New in Canada's Economic Action Plan
Through Canada's Economic Action Plan, the federal government will invest $50 million over the next two years in developing a framework to speed up the assessment and recognition of foreign qualifications. The government will work with provinces and territories to develop the common framework.
About the Program
With the support of the Foreign Credential Recognition Program (FCRP) and the Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO), real progress is being made in addressing barriers to foreign credential recognition in Canada.
The FCRP helps integrate internationally trained workers into the workforce by working with key stakeholders to speed up the assessment and recognition of newcomers' qualifications. The FCRO helps internationally trained professionals access the information they need to get their credentials assessed as quickly as possible.
How It Works
The framework for foreign qualification recognition will help ensure foreign qualifications are recognized faster and in a more consistent way. It will also help newcomers integrate into the labour market more successfully.
The framework will establish:
- principles that the federal, provincial and territorial governments agree will guide the recognition of foreign credentials;
- standards for the timely treatment of people looking to have their qualifications recognized;
- which occupations will be the first priority for coordinated action to achieve standards for timeliness; and
- a consistent approach that would see applications for licensing and credential assessment processes increasingly begin overseas.
Who Is Eligible
Eligible recipients include professional organizations and industry groups that are responsible for regulating foreign credential recognition (e.g. professional engineering associations), sector councils, national consortia as well as provincial/territorial governments. Recipients can apply for funding to support projects that will improve Canada's processes and systems for assessing and recognizing foreign qualifications in targeted occupations and sectors. Projects will aim to address the barriers to working in Canada faced by internationally-trained individuals, with the goal of ensuring that qualification assessment and recognition processes available to internationally-trained individuals are fair, transparent timely and consistent.
How to Find Out More
For more information, please visit the Human Resources and Skills Development website.
Internet services for internationally trained immigrants can be found on the FCRO website.
Initiative Update
On November 30, 2009, the Ministers of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced their support for the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. The Framework was developed and supported by the federal, provincial and territorial governments.
HRSDC, CIC and Health Canada (HC) will continue to work with provinces, territories and regulatory bodies towards implementing the commitments identified in the Framework. Eight target occupations will be addressed by 2010, followed by an additional six occupations by 2012.
As of January 31, 2010, the FCRP has negotiated and/or approved 52 agreements with provinces and territories and key stakeholders like regulatory bodies to support research, tool development and streamlining of foreign qualification recognition processes for occupations such as engineers, medical laboratory technologists and accountants.
On February 18, 2010, the FCRO announced that the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) will deliver the expanded in-person orientation sessions on foreign credential recognition (FCR) in India, China and the Philippines (2010) and the UK (2011).
The FCRO continues to fund and review new proposals for projects to improve information on FCR and the Canadian labour market, as well as other support services to assist potential immigrants before they arrive in Canada.
The Pan-Canadian Information Centre, which will showcase successful FCR practices, tools and initiatives, continues to be developed with future stakeholder engagement activities being planned for spring 2010.
More Info:
http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/
credential_recognition/index.shtml
http://www.credentials.gc.ca/index.asp
For more information on the Economic Action Plan initiatives, follow the links below:
