Internationally-trained professionals face challenges

For many years, the problem and challenge of licensing professionals to practice in Canada is a persistent and continuing saga. There is no shortage of  “horror stories”, including discouraging and depressing lamentations abound that you hear from many internationally educated professionals(IEPs) including our kababayans.

These stories kept on coming and were mostly expressed by highly- educated, well-trained, and experienced Filipinos and other immigrants who desired and dreamed to help and practice their regulated professions in Canada. But getting a license to work in a province is a struggle and a journey of will, patience, and determination. 

The litany of complaints include 1) My “overseas credentials had been “downgraded” and had to work as a live-in caregiver while qualifying to become a practical nurse (RPN), then return to school for yet another bachelor’s degree in nursing.”, a Philippine Professional Regulated Nursing Board examinations passer said. 2) There was “just no other way for me but  have to go back to school, and work, juggle my studies, and faced costly upgrading courses and paying for qualifying courses.” 3) One story may be extreme, but many newcomers in Canada today still “struggle to get equivalent work in their fields of expertise, often due to credential-recognition issues.”4) Another ITP( Internationally Trained Professional)admitted thathe felt demoralized when he was deemed ineligible to practice in Canada, after waiting a year to get his credential assessed, and when competency gaps were identified. These are all parts of the chronic if not the critical state in foreign credential recognition despite the fact that the country is frequently facing a major shortage of workers.

Some Statistics. It is always claimed, that “Canada has the most educated workforce among countries in the most developed nations such as France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and the USA.” This is largely due to “highly educated permanent residents.” Statistics in 2021 show that immigrants to Canada accounted for “more than half of the working-age population with a doctorate and master’s degree, or a degree in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, or optometry, as well as 39.1 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree.” Yet “one in 4 immigrants with a university degree worked at a job that typically requires a high school education or less, only. That’s 2.5 times more than the “overqualification rate” of Canadian-born degree holders. An expert observer cited “You have a million jobs to fill and you need immigrants, but if their prior skills and experience are not recognized, you’re going to end up in the same situation.”

Government Initiatives. Yes, it is on record. Over the past 20 years, Canadian governments have invested in credential assessments, career-bridge training, and other programs to help skilled permanent residents integrate into the workforce. Among the programs and projects include 1) “The federal government has invested an extra $115 million over five years, with $30 million ongoing, to expand its foreign-credential recognition program with a focus on supporting especially those in healthcare professions;2) Ontario also passed a new law to eliminate Canadian work-experience requirements for professional registration and licensing, reduce overlapping language tests, and compel regulators to sign up registrants faster; and 3) The province also funded 46 bridge training projects, totaling $68 million over three years, to serve 12,516 newcomers in various professions.” Although these “changes help address some past challenges in effectively registering applicants”, observers said that there still isn’t a routine “coordinated end-to-end system” for players in immigration, settlement, post-secondary education, regulator, and employment to address and resolve licensing gaps.

Pathways to Certification: Recognition or Non-Recognition of Foreign Credentials.

Continuing Challenges. In spite of government programs, there are still identified problems going around. Among them are 1) When it comes to newcomers looking to enter regulated professions,things are still “trickier and more complicated, one critic commented.”

Of course, the stakes in these regulated professions are often higher, given the need to protect the public;  2) Consistent with part of the problem is that newcomers find themselves “having to navigate different licensing rules and regulations across federal and provincial jurisdictions.” In contrast, other advanced countries have a “ super–regulator to oversee licensing processes, making it easier for newcomers to maneuver through the systems.“ 3) Different internationally educated applicants had different professional, preparation, and practice gaps. There’s no uniformity on how to identify, determine and fill those supposed gaps”; 4) Barriers, however, have continued because assessments and bridging programs meant to fill knowledge and skills gaps require extensive government funding and resources; 5) The lengthy and costly assessment and accreditation process is one impediment.

One suggested that “if you qualify to migrate here as a nurse, for instance, it should only take you hopefully, a few months or weeks to take the exam and practice, but it’s not what was happening”; 6) Another challenge is how to assist qualified internationally educated licensing applicants who, for one reason or another, fail to meet all the registration requirements; 7) Many believe that some of the recent initiatives by Canadian provinces and jurisdictional regulatory bodies to fast-track foreign-trained  professionals such as those in the healthcare professions into the workforce, through supervised practices and offering temporary conditional licenses, “certainly make sense and will help.” Although the process is more streamlined now, there is still “a lot of room for improvement”;8) It is a piece of welcome news that foreign-trained nurses and doctors coming to the country in recent years are “getting better information beforehand, starting their credential clearance, and receiving counseling about their licensing pathways sooner.” But Ontario and other provinces, maybe, have some, limited medical residency spots available for internationally educated doctors to acquire field training experience.

Besides, these internationally trained physicians must compete against Canadians who study in medical schools abroad; and 9) Foreign credential recognition advocates stressed that some candidates,for example, internationally educated nurses, “need support such as one-on-one case management, exam preparation, mentoring, and other assistance as they find their way into professional practice, though that all costs money.”

Given the foregoing, is it too much to suggest and ask the following question?  Can the professional regulatory bodies and theirlicensingregulators and other stakeholders find the best, most efficient, and effective ways “to transform” internationally trained professionals(ITTs) into productive members of the profession and society in general? It is reasonably believed and highly desired that  any Canadian province and in this regard the whole country, “cannot afford to have skilled immigrants remain “outside” when, with appropriate support and understanding, these so-called internationally educated professionals can contribute and share their talent and skills where they are needed most now and ever before.”

Related reading:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/philippine-trained-nurses-canada-association-1.6663883