Evaluation Summary for the Foreign Credential Recognition Program

On this page

• About the program
• Key findings
• Recommendations

About the program

The program is a contributions based program that provides funding to the provinces and territories, regulatory bodies and organizations to support foreign credential recognition processes in Canada. Funding is provided in order to simplify and harmonize foreign credential recognition processes, which indirectly support internationally trained individuals. The program also provides direct employment support to internationally trained individuals through the loans and support services and the Canadian Work Experience pilot project.

Key findings

• There have been improvements in the areas of fairness, consistency, timeliness and transparency of foreign credential recognition processes. However, it is difficult to determine the extent to which these improvements could be attributed to ESDC’s leadership and coordination, given that the program operates in a multi-jurisdiction regime and the lack of data
• Early results of the Canadian Work Experience Pilot Projects indicate a contribution towards the acquisition of Canadian experience and job search skills among participants
• The Foreign Credential Recognition Loans Projects are a successful initiative, with early results from this pilot indicating low default rates and positive employment outcomes. In addition, results from this pilot indicate that two-thirds of recipients would have taken more time to complete their credential plan in the absence of the loans projects
• Many internationally trained individuals continue to face multiple barriers as they attempt to work in positions that are commensurate with their qualifications. The extent to which the Program has contributed to attenuate those barriers is unclear

Recommendations

• The department should continue to play a targeted leadership and coordination role to advance the recognition of foreign credentials across Canada, by supporting and influencing multilateral collaboration among provinces and territories, regulatory bodies, national associations, and other stakeholders
• The department should explore how to build on the Canadian Work Experience Pilot and Foreign Credential Recognition Loans Projects to better support internationally trained individuals
• The department should build on efforts to mitigate barriers that internationally trained individuals face as they attempt to work in positions related to their field of study