Canada-Australia Roundtable on Foreign Qualification

Recognition 2013

Catrina TapleyAssociate Assistant Deputy MinisterCitizenship and Immigration Canada

• Outline foreign credential recognition (FCR) in Canada

• Provide an overview of the Government of Canada’s role in FCR

• Explain what the Government of Canada is doing to facilitate a faster and flexible immigration system that includes FCR

• Canadian challenges for improved FCR

• Where do we go from here?

Purpose

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FCR Governance in Canada is Complex

Federal Government

FCR responsibility shared through three departments:

• Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)

• Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC);

• Health CanadaCombined they:• Play a facilitative role• Provide strategic leadership • Fund initiatives across the country

and the globe

Provincial and Territorial (P/T) Governments

Responsibility for licensing most regulated professions and trades has been delegated to:• Nearly 500 professional regulatory and apprenticeship authorities• Five provincial credential assessment agencies • Hundreds of educational institutions

Regulatory/Apprenticeship Bodies

Focus is on protecting Canadian health and security

Work on FCR has focused on:• Streamlining and harmonizing

the credential process•Eliminating unnecessary

barriers

Responsible for FCR coordination, funding, and immigration

Responsible for education, credentials, employment in some

occupations, and immigration

Responsible for licensing and certification where applicable

Employers

Employers have a key, but often misunderstood role in FCR:• Determine whether qualifications, training or experience are appropriate• Final decision maker in hiring/integrating immigrants in all occupations.

Responsible for credential recognition in non-regulated occupations (85% of the labour market)

• The Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment Recognition of Foreign Qualifications is a public commitment by federal/provincial/territorial governments to work towards better pre-arrival services; assessments that are fair, transparent, consistent and timely; and, improved workforce participation services for newcomers in 14 target occupations.– 87% of Canada’s economic immigrants self-identified as having

qualifications in one of the 14 target occupations.

• Regulatory bodies and stakeholders are meeting the Framework’s commitment to timely service.– Individuals know within one year whether their qualifications

will be recognized or what gaps to fill or no licensure.

• Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2012 announced the federal government’s intention to work with the provinces and territories to identify the next set of target occupations. – Includes some skilled trades.

Commitment to Improve and Streamline FCR Processes

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Target Occupations

Architects Dentists

Engineering Technicians Engineers

Financial Auditors and AccountantsLicensed Practical Nurses

Medical Laboratory TechnologistsMedical Radiation Technologists

Occupational TherapistsPharmacistsPhysicians

PhysiotherapistsRegistered Nurses

Teachers (Kindergarten to grade 12)

Government of Canada Key Activities

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Support for FCRPre-arrival Domestically

• In-person orientation sessions on Canada’s labour market, and qualification assessment and recognition processes through the Canadian Immigrant Integration Program (CIIP).

• CIIP is open to Federal Skilled Workers, Provincial Nominees, their spouses and adult dependents in China, India, Philippines, and the UK with satellite services in up to 25 countries.

• In-person FCR path-finding and referral services through service Canada Centres and outreach sites, as well as a telephone helpline• FCR Micro-loans - support immigrants who need assistance in

paying the costs associated with obtaining licensure• Federal Internship for Newcomers to help immigrants gain Canadian

work experience• Federal Public Service Mentoring Pilot – help immigrants develop

professionally and develop network• Alternative Career Pathways and Information Sessions• Internationally Educated Health Professionals Initiative (IEHPI)

service centres•Workforce integration – bridge to work

Online preparation (Pre-arrival or Domestic)

• Working in Canada Website• Occupational Fact Sheets• Web-based healthcare system orientation • Occupation specific online assessment tools and exam preparation guides

• FCRO Website• Planning to work in Canada Workbook• International Qualifications Network (IQN)

• Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) Principal Applicants will be required to submit their foreign educational credentials with their application when the program reopening in May:– Assessment organizations and professional bodies designated by CIC will authenticate foreign

educational credentials and determine their equivalency to educational standards in Canada.• CIC will award education points for the FSWP according to how an applicant’s educational credential equates

to a completed credential in Canada. – FSWP applicants seeking employment in regulated occupations still need to complete registration

and licensure processes in their intended occupation.

• Other changes to FSWP selection criteria:– Redistribute age points to benefit workers who will spend more time in the workforce before

retirement.– Establishing minimum language requirements and increasing the maximum points awarded for the

applicant’s proficiency in English or French.– Increase integrity and simplify process for the Arranged Employment factor– Revise adaptability to reward factors shown to predict best socio-economic outcomes

• New Skilled Trades Program launched January 2, 2013– Facilitates the immigration of skilled tradespersons through selection criteria that are more geared

towards those occupations (i.e. competency assessment instead of academic credentials).

Facilitating a Faster and Flexible Immigration System including FCR

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• The Expression of Interest (EOI) approach for Canada’s immigration system is informed by the New Zealand and Australian EOI experiences, and in consultation with provinces, territories and employers.― Our goal is to “create a just-in-time pool of skilled workers who are ready to begin employment in Canada”.― Our focus is on selecting people with the right skills to meet Canada’s labour market needs.

• A two-stage process to application management, EOI offers a number of policy and administrative advantages:

― Eliminates backlogs by aligning intake with processing capacity― Increased automation and the potential for improved processing times― Ability to select the best candidates, not just those who apply first― Flexibility to adjust eligibility and selection criteria to respond to labour market conditions in different sectors and

regions

• Currently exploring how EOI will apply to individuals in regulated occupations and mandatory trades as well as how employers (including P/Ts) will use EOI to select immigrants in regulated occupations

• Target for implementation for Canada’s model for EOI is late-2014.

The Expression of Interest Model

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The development and implementation of an EOI system could improve control, efficiency and flexibility of Canada’s immigration system.

• Policy coordination– FCR processes are complex due to various jurisdictional roles, boundaries and responsibilities –

including within the federal government where there are 3 separate departments (CIC, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, and Health Canada)

– Uneven partner/stakeholder capacity on FCR initiatives within P/Ts and regulatory bodies• Many organizations are dependent on volunteers

• Challenges in moving FCR processes overseas– Many regulatory bodies unable to provide overseas services– Some regulated occupations have in-Canada licensing requirements (i.e. Internships) that cannot be

completed outside of Canada.– Regulatory/Legislative barriers e.g., residency requirements

• Immigration selection and labour market requirements need to be better aligned– Key consideration in the development of Canada’s EOI model.

• Support for immigrants already in Canada– Immigrants already in Canada may face stronger competition from new arrivals selected by

employers, making continued support for their integration increasingly important

Challenges for Improved FCR

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1. Continue to implement the Pan-Canadian Framework with greater engagement with the 14 occupations as well as target new occupations.

2. Continue supporting the integration of skilled immigrants already in Canada

3. Continue to designate professional bodies to conduct educational assessment for immigration selection purposes overseas to support faster labour market integration in Canada.

4. Create innovative ways to adapt FCR into economic immigration such as Expression of Interest so regulated occupations can benefit from this process.

5. Explore greater international collaboration e.g. supporting development of Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs).

6. Continue engaging employers to understand their challenges, workforce planning strategies, recruitment and retention practices; and continue developing tools and initiatives to address their issues.

Path Forward for CIC

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The integration of Internationally Trained Individuals into the Canadian labour market requires ongoing collaboration between all levels of government, regulatory bodies,

employers and immigrant-serving organizations.

Questions

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