Backgrounder
The Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications articulates a new national vision, guiding principles and desired outcomes for improving the assessment and recognition of newcomers’ qualifications in cooperation with the provinces and territories.
Under the Framework, recognition of foreign credentials and experience will be streamlined for eight priority occupations, including engineers and some health care professions. This means that foreign-trained workers who submit an application to be licensed or registered to work in certain fields will be advised within one year whether their qualifications will be recognized. Otherwise, they will be advised of additional requirements or be directed to alternative occupations that would benefit from their skills and experience.
The Framework will focus on six more target occupations by December 2012, including teachers and physicians. The Framework is part of the Government of Canada’s strategy to have the best educated, most skilled and most flexible workforce in the world.
With the Economic Action Plan’s $50-million investment, the Government will:
- develop the principles that will guide the process of foreign credential recognition;
- establish standards for the timely handling of requests;
- identify key occupations that will be the priority for developing recognition standards; and
- help people who want to come to Canada understand what they need to know before they arrive.
Founded in 1908, the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA-Canada) sets educational standards and professional guidelines, and contributes to the setting of national and international accounting standards through professional relationships with other accounting bodies. The CGA-Canada membership comprises over 73,000 students and certified general accountants.
The Foreign Credential Recognition Program aims to improve the integration of internationally trained workers into the workforce. The Program provides funding to and works with the provinces and territories and stakeholders, including regulatory bodies, post-secondary institutions, sector councils and employers, to implement projects that facilitate the assessment and recognition of qualifications acquired in other countries.
The Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO) was established in May 2007 to help internationally trained workers receive the information, path-finding and referral services, in Canada and overseas, to have their credentials assessed quickly so they can find work faster in the fields for which they have been trained. The FCRO works with federal, provincial and territorial partners, and foreign credential assessment and recognition bodies, to strengthen foreign credential recognition processes across the country. Internet services for internationally trained workers can be found on the FCRO Web site at the following address: www.credentials.gc.ca.
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