Foreign Credentials Recognition Program

As Canada’s health care sector continues to face labour shortages, the demand for qualified workers to fill vacancies continues to grow. The Government of Canada recognizes these challenges and continues to take steps to address them by investing in projects that will help provide internationally educated professionals with the support and experience they need to pursue opportunities in Canada’s health care sector. To help with this, a call for proposals was announced in December 2022 resulting in an investment of up to $86 million in 15 projects for the Foreign Credentials Recognition (FCR) Program. The successful projects were eligible to receive a minimum of $500,000, up to a maximum of $10M in investments.

Foreign Credential Recognition Program Funding Recipients:

Organization: Bow Valley College
Project name: The IEHP Pathway to Employment Program (IEHP-PEP), by Bow Valley College and CRIEC
Description: This pilot project aims to alleviate the gaps between pre-arrival and entry for Internationally trained health professionals (IEHP) nurses with a bridging program. The program, with the collaboration of the Calgary Region Immigrant Employment Council (CRIEC), will also be providing credential recognition, engagement with employers, and wraparound services tailored to the needs of skilled newcomers and women who face additional barriers in the recognition of their credentials and/or integrating into the labour market.

Funding amount: Up to $9,493,490.00
Organization: Young Women's Christian Association
Project name: Health Connect
Description: The project aims to develop and strengthen Canada's foreign credential recognition assessment capacity and will contribute to improving the labour market integration outcomes of IEHPs who are women and that can be skilled refugees, including those with or without documentation of their academic credentials and qualifications. The project will be providing work experience, mentorships opportunities, easier access to information regarding FCR processes and increase access to assessment to reduce barriers of FCR in BC and ON and create an opportunity to replicate this program in other Canadian jurisdictions.
Funding amount: Up to $7,781,161.00

Organization: Province of Nova Scotia
Project name: Expanding NICHE: Scale and Spread of Streamlined Pathways to Licensure and Employment in NS
Description: This project aims to extend the Nova Scotia’s International Community of Healthcare Workers Engagement (NICHE) Program by scaling five priority professional areas of need: (1) Licensed Practical Nurses, (2) Medical Laboratory Technologists, (3) Medical Radiation Technologists and other diagnostic imaging professions, (4) Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians, and (5) Respiratory Therapists. The project aims to provide work experience and reduce barriers to FCR for qualified IEHPs across the five priority professions.
Funding amount: Up to $10,000,000.00

Organization: BC College of Nurses and Midwives
Project name: Virtualizing Competency Assessments: Streamlining Nursing Licensure in Canada
Description: This project aims to virtualize the Nursing Community Assessment Service (NCAS) simulation lab assessment, lowering its cost, extending its reach, and speeding the entry of internationally educated nurses (IEN) into the health care workforce and streaming them into a nursing role for which they are immediately safe to practice. All activities will streamline the credentialing process by enhancing IENs access to the skills assessment, a requirement of nursing regulators in most Canadian provinces.
Funding amount: Up to $9,934,155.00

Organization: Canadian Pharmacists Association
Project name: International Pharmacy Graduate Mentorship and Integration (IPGMI)
Description: The project aims to improve newly arrived and unlicensed pharmacists’ knowledge and understanding of Canadian pharmacy practice, entry to practice processes and pathways, as well as alternative employment opportunities within the sector, by providing paid Canadian work experience, mentor-mentees opportunities, and training. The organization will provide work placements in partnering pharmacies across Canada.
Funding amount: Up to $5,186,097

Organization: Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry
Project name: General Dentistry Gap Assessment and Gap Training Program
Description: The project aims to develop, implement, and evaluate a new pathway leading to certification for Internationally Trained Dentists (ITDs) whose knowledge, skills and abilities are comparable to graduates of accredited dental programs to reduce barriers of FCR processes and reduce time for ITDs to enter labour market. The project will be piloted in three Canadian provinces, the project will pilot in three provinces, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec.
Funding amount: Up to $8,306,400.00

Organization: Alberta Health Services
Project name: SMART Initiative
Description: The project aims to provide employment support and develop system improvements to address the challenges associated with the integration of IEHPs into the healthcare system, with a goal to place all IEHPs into healthcare positions aligned with their career goals and skills. IEHPs that will benefit from this project include physicians, registered nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and paramedics.
Funding amount: Up to $9,985,656.00

Organization: Welland Heritage Council and Multicultural Centre
Project name: IEHP Hub Pilot Project
Description: The project aims to provide a solution to the barriers faced by newcomers and provide support services on pre-arrivals on how to access the resources and supports that are available in Ontario. This will help further facilitate their foreign credential recognition and facilitate the steps needed to succeed with integration into the Canadian labour market.
Funding amount: Up to $562,675.00

Organization: College of Dental Technologists of Ontario / Ordre Des Technologues Dentaires De L'Ontario
Project name: Access to Dental Technology Phase II
Description: This project aims to create a fair, objective and valid credential pathway for domestic and internationally trained dental laboratory associates/assistants who do not have formal oral health education, and direct them to competency assessment, upgrading and/or formal education as needed, to become registered internationally educated dental technologists (IEDTs).
Funding amount: Up to $611,732.00

Organization: Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists
Project name: A National Experiential-Based Bridging Program for IEMRTs
Description:  This project will pilot a national bridging program for Internationally Educated Medical Radiation Technologists (IEMRT), develop an educational credential assessment (ECA) portal to centralize FCR pathway information and support the preliminary credential assessment of IEMRTs.
Funding amount: Up to $2,737,773

Organization: Progress Career Planning Institute
Project name: International Nurses Licensure Assistance Pathway (INLAP)
Description: The project aims to support skilled newcomers by providing them with information and the tools to expedite the foreign credential recognition processes and get help in integrating into the Canadian labour market in their field of study. Highly Skilled Newcomers (HSNs) in the health care sector will gain the missing complement of skills and requirements for licensed professional opportunities. This will be achieved by providing 11 14-week customized programs designed for Registered Nurses and Registered Practitioner Nurses.
Funding amount: Up to $1,514,678.00

Organization: Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Project name: Facilitating the recruitment of Registered Nurses from India for entry into the Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Market
Description: The project will improve integration into the Canadian labour market of skilled newcomers that are internationally educated health professionals (IEHPs) in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). The project will pilot an innovative approach to support pre-arrival foreign credential recognition of Registered Nurses (RNs) from India and provide work experience to IEHPs upon their arrival in Canada.
Funding amount: Up to $5,141,635.00

Organization: Progressive Inter - Cultural Community Services Society
Project name: PICS Intercultural / Tri-Provincial Health Care Professional Canadian Work Experience & Wage Subsidy FCR Program
Description: The project aims to address barriers to foreign credential recognition and support IEHPs to secure, retain and sustain employment through credential evaluations, Canadian work experience, wage subsidies, financial literacy, and wrap-around services. The project will create a Resource Hub and will use a case management approach to deliver customized, client-focused services and engaging employers. The project goal is to prepare, find and keep employment for IEHPs in the Healthcare professions.
Funding amount: Up to $4,837,419.00

Organization: Alberta International Medical Graduates Association
Project name: Improving labour market integration of IMGs through relevant supports and tools
Description: The project aims to improve an existing web-based software tool used by career advisors to provide information on labour market integration and career choices. The tool also connects jobseekers with mentors and career advisors. The funding will expand the scope of the software tool by: 1) Integrating with job platforms like Indeed to promote Canadian wide job placements; 2) Adding additional mentors through engagement with employers; 3) Improving the tool accuracy and user interface; 4) Adding additional career options.
Funding amount: Up to $1,385,400.00

Organization: Achev
Project name: Employment Pathways in Canada - Health Careers (EPIC-HC)
Description: The project aims to help IEHP such as nurses, pharmacists, and lab technicians, in Ontario and Alberta, to transition and integrate into temporary job placements and employment in relevant/related professions in the healthcare sector and will support their accreditation process in their intended health care occupation. The project will also complete a comprehensive study of the pathways and obstacles to recognition of credential and relocations across both provinces, including rural and remote areas.
Funding amount: Up to $7,550,154