Canada immigration news: Canada has announced $1.5 million in spending to help foreign-trained health care workers get their credentials recognized.
The spending, announced on Monday by Marie-France Lalonde, Parliamentary Secretary to the Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, is to help professionals educated abroad fill important positions in Canada’s health care system in provinces outside Quebec.
Through the expansion of the successful Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario’s (CHEO’s) National Newcomer Navigation Network (N4), the project will see the creation of a platform for internationally educated health care workers to get information on credential recognition.
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“CHEO has a proven track record of ensuring health and social service sector professionals have the knowledge and tools they need to provide equitable care and services to newcomers,” Lalonde said.
“We are pleased to continue working with the National Newcomer Navigation Network to support health care professionals educated abroad in securing jobs in Canada’s health care sector.
“These services will help more newcomers succeed, while also helping to build a better future for all Canadians.”
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Key aims of the project include to identify problems faced by foreign health workers in getting their credentials recognized.
It also aims to speed up the process of credential recognition and remove barriers to working in the health care sector.
Finally, it will also make policy recommendations to address some of the above issues.
N4 was launched in April 2019 to help newcomers better access health and social services.
Quebec Credential Recognition
Quebec is tackling the problem of newcomers being unable to get jobs in their fields with spending of its own, including $130 million announced in December.
The money, to be spent over two years, will help develop projects in areas such as recruitment, skills assessment, personalized support, refresher training, skills and credential recognition.
The plan includes action in six main areas:
1. Finding new talent
Quebec plans to spend some of the funding on identifying countries with similar professional training, in order to open recruiters up to diverse talent pools.
2. Support for regulatory bodies and professional orders
Regulatory bodies and professional orders are to be encouraged to improve skills assessment, develop refresher training and issue temporary restrictive permits to certain workers to practice their profession.
3. Personalized support for immigrants
Support services will be enhanced to offer help for specific skill recognition procedures. Candidates are to have access to services throughout the whole immigration process.
4. Funding for refresher training and internships
Immigrants to have access to refresher training and internships, from abroad and in Quebec to accelerate skills recognition.
5. Financial support for skills recognition
Candidates can benefit from specific financial support for refresher training, plus tuition fee exemptions.
6. Support for Quebec employers to evaluate foreign credentials
Quebec employers will be able to use an online tool to compare a foreign diploma to the Quebec school system.