GOVERNMENTS OF CANADA AND SASKATCHEWAN WORKING TO SPEED UP FOREIGN QUALIFICATION RECOGNITION

Released on February 12, 2010

Newcomers to Canada will get the help they need to better integrate into the workforce through a new project funded by the Government of Canada. Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification and Member of Parliament for Blackstrap, made the announcement today on behalf of Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

The Government of Saskatchewan will receive $1,605,406 in funding from the Government of Canada's Foreign Credential Recognition Program to support their Competency Recognition project.

"Attracting and retaining the best international talent to address existing and future labour market challenges is critical to Canada's long-term economic success," said Yelich. "Our government is working with partners to address barriers to foreign qualification recognition so that newcomers can maximize their talents, helping to strengthen the Canadian economy and improve the standard of living of all Canadians."

The funding will enable the province, in collaboration with various stakeholders, to work towards developing new approaches and practices to foreign credential recognition.

"Our goal is to help newcomers enter Saskatchewan's labour force more quickly and in their preferred occupation," Saskatchewan's Advanced Education, Employment and Labour Minister and Minister responsible for Immigration Rob Norris said. "To achieve that goal we are working with our partners and stakeholders to develop new practices and approaches to foreign credential recognition in the province."

Canada's Economic Action Plan invested $50 million to work with the provinces and territories to address barriers to credential recognition in Canada. This investment directly contributed to the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications that was announced on November 30, 2009.

Saskatchewan is developing a provincial plan to implement the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications, and is already working with a number of the regulatory authorities for occupations on the framework's short and medium-term lists. In addition, Saskatchewan is currently reviewing proposals for its new Bridge to Licensing Program to identify projects that support the framework's vision and goals.

Under the framework, foreign-trained workers who submit an application to be licensed or registered to work in certain fields will be advised within one year whether their qualifications will be recognized. The framework is part of the Government of Canada's strategy to have the best educated, most skilled and flexible workforce in the world.

The $50 million investment will:

• Develop the principles that will guide the process of foreign credential recognition;
• Develop standards for the timely handling of requests;
• Identify key occupations that will be the priority for developing recognition standards; and
• Help people who want to come to Canada understand what they need to know before they arrive.

The Foreign Credential Recognition Program and the Foreign Credentials Referral Office are the key federal initiatives in place to support pan-Canadian implementation of the framework.

To learn more about Canada's Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

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For more information, contact:

Michelle Bakos
Office of Minister Finley
Ottawa
Phone: 819-994-2482

Media Relations Office
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
Ottawa
Phone: 819-994-5559

Daniela Machuca
Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Lab
Regina
Phone: 306-787-3716
Email: daniela.machuca@gov.sk.ca