Foreign Credentials: Refers to the trade, professional or academic credentials one has earned from a foreign country rather than the host country, where they currently reside.

Most immigrants arriving in Canada today are highly trained and skilled individuals who hold foreign credentials but are unable to obtain jobs in their area of expertise.

The reason for this relates to the accreditation and hiring processes that must be carried out by immigrants upon their arrival if they want their credentials to be recognized in Canada.

Accreditation

All immigrants must go through this process to have their foreign credentials recognized in Canada. When immigrants submit their foreign credentials to agencies to be assessed the results fall into two categories:

1. Satisfactory results mean that the person’s foreign credentials have been recognized and they are able to start working in Canada immediately.
2. Unsatisfactory results require the applicant to enroll in courses to retrain or upgrade their skills in order for their credentials to be compatible with Canadian requirements and thus allow them to work.

Problems with accreditation and Canada’s non-recognition of foreign credentials

• Accreditation procedures are not consistent and when foreign credentials are not recognized immigrants face reduced income and under-employment.
• Accreditation, upgrading and purchasing licenses cost money and for many new immigrants this is limited, especially when they are not anticipating the cost and long procedures involved in the accreditation process.
• Canada also requires a specific residency period before credentials can be accredited, as well as a language proficiency test, and in some cases Canadian work experience is also required.
• Once accredited, finding work is difficult because hiring practices are left up to the employer who may or may not be informed about the equivalency of foreign credentials.

Recommendations

1. Lobby the government to provide information on the Canadian job market to overseas embassies, visa offices and employment centers.
2. Reduce the red tape and wait times when applying for accreditation and promote alternative methods of assessment, such as hands-on experience. Also enforce a standardizing of costs and licensing requirements for each profession.
3. Lobby the government to increase the quality and accessibility of programs such as ESL instruction and also provide financial assistance to help combat the costs of these programs.
4. Advocate the need to offer counseling services such as peer support groups or educational/career placement services to immigrants.
5. Inform employers about the issues related to diversity, equality and inclusiveness in the workplace by hosting public forms or employer workshops.
6. Mobilize support for a multi-stakeholder strategy to tackle the non-recognition of foreign credentials and have key players benchmark the best practices in employment equity