Foreign Credentials Referral Office - Progress Report, 2007-2008

This is first Progress Report of the Foreign Credentials Referral Office.

The Office is part of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Its role is to assist prospective immigrants in having their foreign diplomas and professional certificates assessed and recognized in the Canadian labour market.

"About one in five jobs is regulated, including teachers, nurses, physicians, engineers and electricians. Some provinces and territories have delegated the regulation of certain occupations to the more than 400 regulatory bodies across Canada. These bodies administer the provincial or territorial laws that apply to their occupation. People who want to work in regulated jobs must get a license from the responsible body in the province or territory where they wish to work. Recognition processes vary from province to province and from occupation to occupation. Each regulated occupation sets its own requirements. Job seekers may have to undergo professional and language exams, have qualifications reviewed or go through a period of supervised work experience."

"Most occupations in Canada are non-regulated. For these jobs, employers are responsible for assessing and recognizing the credentials, work experience and skills of prospective workers.
Employers decide if overseas credentials are equivalent to Canadian credentials required for that job, and employers often have different standards (...)"

"In addition to employers and the over 400 regulatory bodies, there are several other organizations that may play a role in foreign credentials recognition: 16 federal departments and agencies, 55 provincial and territorial departments and ministries, five provincial assessment agencies, post-secondary institutions, non-governmental agencies and labour
organizations."

Welcome to Canada! Hope you don't mind the paperwork.