Ottawa, August 18, 2011 — The Government of Canada expanded the key role it plays in helping foreign trained skilled workers succeed in Canada.
The Foreign Credentials Referral Office’s (FCRO) annual report, released today, highlights the important achievements made by Citizenship and Immigration (CIC), Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) and Health Canada, who work in partnership with provinces and territories and other key stakeholders to help foreign trained workers with the foreign credential recognition processes.
“We want newcomers to be able to use their skills as soon as possible in Canada and work to their full potential,” said Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. “It’s good for them and good for the Canadian economy.”
The Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Credentials met its commitment in 2010 to let foreign skilled workers in eight targeted occupations know within a year of applying whether their credentials are recognized or what additional courses they would need to take to have their credentials recognized. The Framework, led by HRSDC, is a Government of Canada project in partnership with the provinces and territories.
"Foreign-trained workers make an important contribution to Canada’s labour market and economy. That’s why Canada’s Economic Action Plan invested $50 million to work with partners to improve foreign credential recognition," said Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. "Our government is helping newcomers find meaningful work that contributes to Canada’s overall prosperity.”
In 2010, the Government of Canada, with the Association of Community Colleges, expanded the Canadian Immigrant Integration Program (CIIP) to serve not only Federal Skilled Workers but also Provincial Nominees, and their spouses and working-age dependents with two-day orientation sessions on Canadian culture, the labour market and foreign credential recognition processes. The overseas courses better prepare skilled immigrants to integrate more quickly into the Canadian labour market and society.
The program is showing success. By September 2010, nearly 13,000 applicants had registered for CIIP services and over 9,100 had completed the two-day course. Among the CIIP graduates who had arrived in Canada, 70 per cent said they found employment despite the economic downturn.
Other key developments this past year included:
- The Federal Internship for Newcomers program gave 65 interns, more than double the number in 2009, key Canadian work experience in 11 government departments.
- In B.C. the Physician Integration Project, funded, in part, through Health Canada’s Internationally Educated Health Professionals Initiative, was revised to better support international medical graduates as they integrate into the B.C. workforce.
- The Working in Canada website (www.workingincanada.gc.ca) was upgraded to provide information on licensing and certification requirements for various professions, which are steps applicants can begin while still overseas.
The Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO) provides information, path-finding and referral services to internationally trained workers both in Canada and overseas and collaborates with federal partners and other stakeholders to improve foreign credential recognition processes.
To read the Government of Canada 2010 Progress Report on Foreign Credential Recognition, go to: www.credentials.gc.ca
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For further information (media only), please contact:
Candice Malcolm
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Media Relations
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca
Building a stronger Canada: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) strengthens Canada’s economic, social and cultural prosperity, helping ensure Canadian safety and security while managing one of the largest and most generous immigration programs in the world.
