Establishing reference | Differences in education systems | National Competency Program | Forums and initiatives Establishing reference | Differences in education systems | National Competency Program | Forums and initiatives
Forums of the Canadian Immigrant Resource Network:
Credentials, expertise, training
Immigrants arrive in Canada in the belief that their education and expertise are valuable assets and can be used immediately in Canadian jobs. They are led to believe that resume writing skills are most important in their search for employment. They do not know that most employers do not take the effort to understand statements about training, human capital or transferable skills if the resumes do not include direct Canadian references. It does not significantly matter either whether those are special or high level skills that are offered.
Canadian experience means references and comparable skills to the Canadian. If foreign trained immigrants are able to pay and have time for it, the best way to build this trust and credibility under present conditions is going through several years of university education again and get a Canadian diploma. With Canadian certificates, immigrants will get similar chances to freshly graduated Canadian-born students. Sometimes the new degree can even be the springboard to a fast success, giving actually more value also for the original degree. This type of additional university education, however, is expensive. Immigrants are not eligible for student loans and most of them cannot earn enough to cover the living conditions of their families and the tuition fees while working in minimum paying jobs. Even if there are new projects underway to help immigrants to pre-finance their studies, this solution seems to be a wasting of time and money for a process that could be organized in simpler ways.
Differences in education systems
There are credential evaluation services in almost every province that offer for-fee assessments of foreign diplomas while mail-in services are available from any region of the country. In today's practice, the contents of university courses taken in the home country are compared to similar courses in Canada that means that the candidates are valued only at the level of university education but without any consideration of workplace experience and knowledge.
It is not very well understood in Canada that university graduates of many other countries have been trained in structured education systems that are more task-oriented. Continuous professional development - self-learned or organized - is part and requirement of being successful in the jobs therefore it does not yield special certificates. An established professional means someone who has initiatives, learns on the job and is becoming increasingly competent with years spent in work. A frequent change between work places is not typical in the more traditional countries. - This whole expertise is taken apart and compared to a different educational regimen in Canada. As immigrants cannot prove by certificates participation in professional development as it is common in Canada, their workplace experience is discounted. Usually they are not able to take part in training courses in Canada because of financial constrains and therefore they cannot compete with Canadian counterparts whose professional upgrading is well-documented according to Canadian standards. Immigrants' skills and competence that are brought into Canada get degraded because the credentials and expertise are not accepted but in addition to it also because the time spent out of work in higher level occupations means a setback in knowledge that is essential to the profession. The higher the experience level, the more serious the disadvantage.
A common ground is missing between employers and immigrants in the sense of understanding the immigrants' professional value, the value of their human capital. The Canadian Immigrant Resource Network realizes the need to develop a National Competency Program as an independent accredited certification system that evaluates expertise and provides differential training to fill the gaps if necessary. It can help employers find the right workers with the right skills and it enables users to assess and upgrade their own proficiency in functional and professional competencies.
Distance education and examinationThe fast changing environment of the knowledge occupations makes it necessary that new effective methods are developed and utilized. The Canadian Immigrant Resource Network is initiating an Internet-based flexible educational approach to adapt to the challenges of employment and to match special skill requirements of different professions. As skill needs vary even within occupations, teaching self-learning and problem solving techniques could be one of the priorities for providing a solid background to prepare for job challenges of the knowledge economy. In order to reach interested participants across Canada, distance education will be furthered as the main delivery method for theoretical learning. Practical work components can be delegated to workplaces thus training is provided and also an opportunity for cooperation and direct work experience.
National Occupational ClassificationTo make the Competency Program applicable throughout the whole country, the Canadian Immigrant Resource Network intends to apply the National Occupational Classification system for consistent occupational classification and categorization of job competency requirements and competency level evaluation.
Information on Canadian Skills needs, Human capital and Labour market integration issues is compiled in the on-line Resource Library and is further analyzed in the study titled Aspects of Integration posted on this website.
Please visit the Skills Management section and its discussion forums that have been set up to accommodate best practices exchange and collaboration in the competency assessment and development initiative.
With the introduction of a National Competency Program not only the credential requirements could become better utilizable but also the procedure of skill evaluation and upgrading will be accelerated. It has benefits and advantages for employers, job seekers, educators and for the whole Canadian economy.
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