Beginners Guide To Credential Recognition For Canadian Immigration

The following information will help you with getting your credentials recognized in Canada. In many cases, in order to work in your profession, you will need to have your credentials assessed to see whether you meet the Canadian standard or need more training, education or Canadian work experience.

Qualifying as a skilled worker for immigration to Canada does not mean that your educational credentials and work experience will be recognized or that you will be qualified to work in a particular occupation.

Skilled workers are selected as permanent residents based on their education, work experience, knowledge of English or French, and other criteria that have been shown to help them become economically established in Canada. The term Federal Skilled Worker refers to the category under which skilled workers apply if they want to live in any Canadian province or territory except Quebec.

The selection criteria for skilled worker immigrants are not intended to match specific immigrants with specific employment vacancies. The criteria do not guarantee that your qualifications will be accepted or approved by any licensing or regulatory body in Canada.

Qualifying to immigrate to Canada, having your educational credentials recognized, qualifying to work in a particular occupation and finding employment are separate issues. You must be aware of these issues if you are thinking of immigrating to Canada.

Types of occupations: Regulated and non-regulated

In Canada, there are two types of occupations: regulated (including trades) and non-regulated.

Jobs in regulated occupations

Many professions set their own standards of practice. These are called regulated occupations.

In Canada, about 20 percent of jobs are in occupations regulated by the provincial or territorial governments. Through legislation and regulations, the provinces and territories delegate to professions the authority to self-regulate in order to protect public health and safety, and to ensure that professionals meet the required standards of practice and competence.

If you want to work in a regulated occupation and use a regulated title, you must have a licence or a certificate or be registered with the regulatory body for your occupation in the province or territory where you plan to work.

Some fields where regulated occupations are commonly found include:

• health care
• financial services
• law and legal services
• engineering

Regulated occupations are also called professions, skilled trades or apprenticeable trades.

Requirements for entry into a regulated occupation can vary between provinces and territories. They usually include:

• examinations
• an evaluation of your language and communication skills
• a specified period of supervised work experience

Each regulated occupation sets its own requirements for licensure or certification, usually through the provincial or territorial regulatory body or professional association.

• To find out about the licensing requirements for different provinces and territories, use the Working in Canada Tool.

Jobs in non-regulated occupations

A job in a non-regulated occupation is one for which you don’t need a licence, certificate or registration to work. Most jobs in Canada are in non-regulated occupations.

Requirements for employment can vary greatly between employers, but you must be prepared to demonstrate that you have the education or experience to do the job.

You may be expected to demonstrate a certain level of skill and competence, to have a specific amount of education, and even to have personal characteristics suitable for the job. For example, working in the field of marketing is not regulated, but it is likely that employers will expect you to have a degree or a certificate in business with some specialization or experience in marketing.

It is up to the employer to decide whether the qualifications you have earned outside Canada are equivalent to Canadian credentials (qualifications) required for the job.

Some employers will require, as a condition for employment, that applicants be registered or certified by the relevant professional association. Credential assessment and recognition helps Canadian employers understand your qualifications.

There are several ways to make the process easier:

• Search your occupation on the Working in Canada tool to see a job description, find the professional association and learn what skills are required to do this job in Canada.
• Check if there is voluntary certification or registration available and what the requirements are for certification. The Working in Canada tool can also help you with this.
• Contact employers in your area of work experience to find out what the expectations are for employment in Canada.

Regulatory bodies/ Apprenticeship authorities

A regulatory body or an apprenticeship authority is an organization that sets the standards of practice for a profession or trade. They have the authority to:

• set entry and training requirements
• set standards of practice
• assess qualifications
• register qualified applicants
• discipline members

How do I get my credentials or qualifications recognized?

It is important to understand how your profession will evaluate your academic training, your work experience, and your skills and competencies. Most often, this evaluation will include:

• matching your training and skills to the profession’s standards by comparing your original academic transcripts and other related documents, such as university course descriptions, to the training provided by Canadian colleges and universities.
• writing examinations or having an interview or both. You will be evaluated as an individual, and you should not directly compare your experience to that of someone else. You must understand the requirements as they apply to your own situation in the province or territory where you intend to work.

Steps to follow:

• Use the Working in Canada Tool to create a report that will tell you whether your job is in a regulated occupation and help you find the correct regulatory body or apprenticeship authority.
• Compare your qualifications to the requirements for licensing, certification or registration to work in that job in that province or territory, which can be found by using the Working in Canada Tool.
• Contact the regulatory body for your profession in your province or territory or visit its website to determine what you need to do to obtain a licence or authorization. You will be required to demonstrate that your training, experience and other skills are equivalent to the standards that people trained in Canada must also meet.
• Have an assessment done to determine the Canadian equivalent of the education you obtained outside of Canada. This is necessary because your academic credentials may not be automatically recognized as equivalent to Canadian standards. In many cases, you will be required to use an assessment agency to do this.
• Note that in many cases, you can have your academic credentials assessed and begin the application process for licensure or certification before you leave your home country. If you plan to work in a regulated occupation, the regulatory body or apprenticeship authority can advise you on the steps you can take before arriving in Canada.

Note: The recognition process is different in each province or territory and for each profession and trade. If you need to have your credentials assessed for educational purposes, contact the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials. It assists individuals, employers, professionals and organizations with foreign credential recognition and the assessment of diplomas and qualifications in Canada.

Working in the trades

If you work in the trades, provincial or territorial regulations and academic and work experience requirements also apply. Examples of trades include plumbers, carpenters and hair stylists. Find a full list of trades and related work information on the Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program website.

Public safety and security as well as the physical safety of the worker are concerns for people working in the trades. For example, learning the operation or manipulation of heavy machinery, chemicals or complicated equipment takes time and students training in these jobs work under close supervision until they can prove that they can work by themselves and offer a complete range of skills to employers and the public.

You will be required to demonstrate that your training, skills and experience meet the standard set for people trained in Canada. Each province or territory is responsible for setting the requirements for working in the trades. Provincial or territorial requirements may differ.

• Use the Working in Canada Tool to create a report that will help you find the correct apprenticeship authority.

What should I do if I can’t get a licence or certification in my profession or trade?

Getting a licence and finding work in your profession or trade will take time whether you received your training in Canada or elsewhere.

If you do not meet the requirements for your profession in Canada or you are in the process of meeting the licensure or certification requirements, you may decide to work in a related field to apply your training, skills and experience. This is an effective way to learn about the Canadian workplace and a good way to make contacts.

For example, if you are in the process of getting a licence to be a physiotherapist, perhaps you can consider looking for work as a physiotherapy assistant. If you are hoping to work as a plumber, you may consider looking for work with property management companies.

Some steps you can take include:

• Use the Planning to Work in Canada? Workbook for information about finding work that uses your skills and talents.
• Ask the regulator or apprenticeship authority if they have any advice or resources to help you find work.
• Join work-related associations so that you can meet people who might have good advice for you.

Credentials/Competencies/Qualifications

The words credentials, competencies and qualifications are sometimes used interchangeably. However, these words do have very specific meanings associated with different elements involved in the assessment of internationally trained individuals for the purposes of working in Canada.

Credentials refers to degrees or certificates that are earned after the completion of the required academic training, such as a Bachelor of Science degree or a Certificate in Human Resources. Credentials are usually evaluated by comparing the content of the courses taken and the requirements to complete the degree or certificate with the requirements for the same or similar degrees or certificates in Canada.

Competencies refers to skills and abilities that can be demonstrated. In some cases, these skills may have been learned as part of your academic training, while in other cases, they may be the result of work experience. There is a wide variety of skills and competencies as well as ways to evaluate them.

Qualifications often includes both credentials and competencies as well as work experience. Work experience is normally evaluated by comparing the kind of work you have been doing, the amount of time, the level at which you’ve been doing it, and the kind of results you have achieved. In evaluating your qualifications for the purpose of licensure, some professions, such as engineering, have requirements for the kind of projects you have worked on to demonstrate that you have experience at a required level of responsibility.

What documents do I need?

There are many documents related to your education and your experience that help regulatory bodies, assessment agencies or employers understand your international qualifications. The types of documents that are required vary, and could include:

• Degrees, diplomas or certificates from universities, colleges, secondary schools or trade schools
• Program descriptions related to your studies
• Transcripts of grades
• Apprenticeship certificates
• Letters from employers
• Performance reviews
• Work descriptions for jobs you have done
• Letters of reference

Where possible, it is best to have documents sent directly from schools or other organizations to Canada. This may also be a requirement of the regulator. Check with the regulatory body, employer, credential assessment agency or educational institution to find out what their requirements are. This is something you can do before you leave for Canada.

Getting documents translated

You may need to have these documents translated into English, French or both.

• Check the website or contact the regulatory body or apprenticeship authorityto determine the translation requirements.
• Note that you may also be required to use an approved translation service. You will have to pay for translation if it is needed.

Missing documents

If you cannot get the documents you need to confirm your education, skills and experience, contact the regulatory body or apprenticeship authorityand ask them how you should proceed.