INTERNATIONALLY educated professionals, such as engineers, social workers, early childhood educators, paramedics, teachers and biologists, will be able to start working in B.C. quicker thanks to new legislation.
“Skilled professionals from around the world move to B.C. hoping to put their skills to good use, but instead face huge obstacles and an often-confusing process to get their credentials recognized,” said Premier David Eby on Monday. “With the skills shortage we have in this province, we cannot afford to leave anyone on the sidelines. That’s why we’re taking action to close the gaps in the system so people can get to work faster, fill in-demand jobs and provide much-needed services to people in B.C.”
The focus of the new credential legislation is fairness, efficiency, transparency and accountability. If passed, it will require regulatory bodies to remove barriers in 29 professions and make it easier and quicker for those qualified professionals to seek credential recognition, no matter where they were trained.
The international credentials recognition act will properly value international work experience and eliminate the catch-22 of requiring Canadian work experience prior to being accredited in Canada. The legislation will also remove redundant language testing, set caps for maximum processing times, and require credential-assessment information be available online.
“This is a matter of fairness,” said Andrew Mercier, Minister of State for Workforce Development. “Ensuring international professionals can build strong, prosperous lives for themselves and their families in B.C. is important to this government. The legislation we’ve introduced on October 23, 2023, will help people get their credentials recognized more quickly, regardless of where they were trained. This will help folks find work in their chosen fields faster, increase their opportunities for success, and build a stronger B.C. economy that is inclusive, sustainable and leaves no one behind.”
The act will affect 29 professions that are overseen by 18 regulatory authorities.
If passed, a new superintendent responsible for promoting fair credential recognition will be appointed and the act will come into force in summer 2024. The superintendent will promote fair credential recognition, monitor regulatory-authority performance, and enforce compliance with the new legislation.
This legislation builds on the work being done by the Ministry of Health to create new pathways for health-care workers coming to Canada. The new superintendent responsible for promoting fair credential recognition will work with the body overseeing changes to be brought into effect through the Health Professions and Occupations Act.
Learn More:
To learn about the fair credential legislation, visit: https://www.gov.bc.ca/
BACKGROUNDER 1
Improving credential recognition for internationally trained professionals
The international credentials recognition act, if passed, will require 18 regulators overseeing 29 professions to streamline processes for internationally trained applicants. The 29 occupations are:
* registered music teacher
* professional engineer
* professional teaching certificate holder
* land surveyor
* early childhood educator
* landscape architect
* early childhood educator assistant
* applied science technologist
* conditional teaching certificate holder
* certified technician
* social worker
* veterinarian
* registered clinical social worker
* lawyer
* professional biologist
* architect
* applied biology technician
* notary public
* registered biology technologist
* emergency medical assistant, including paramedics
* professional geoscientist
* chartered professional accountant
* registered professional forester
* associate real estate broker
* registered forest technologist
* managing real estate broker
* professional agrologist
* real estate representative
* technical agrologist
BACKGROUNDER 2
Improving credential recognition for internationally educated health professionals
This legislation complements and builds on the government’s ongoing work to create pathways for doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals educated outside of Canada to be able to get to work more quickly.
This work includes:
* Expanding pathways for internationally trained physicians to enter B.C.’s workforce, including:
* a further expansion of seats in the Practice Ready Program, which helps internationally educated doctors get to work more quickly in B.C.; the program will triple from 32 seats to 96 seats by March 2024;
* the introduction of a new U.S.-certified class of licensure (through the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC) to enable eligible U.S.-trained physicians to practise pediatric medicine, internal medicine or emergency medicine in B.C.;
* the introduction of associate physicians, a new class of registration that provides a route for international medical graduates (IMGs) not eligible for licensure as independent medical practitioners, to work under the direction and supervision of an attending physician within team-based care settings; and
* Funding Health Match BC, a free health-professional recruitment service that has helped IMGs and Canadian-trained physicians relocate and practise in B.C.
* Removing roadblocks that internationally educated nurses (IENs) used to face, including:
– developing a more efficient pathway that simultaneously assesses IENs for the HCA, LPN, and RN designations;
– directly covering application and assessment fees with NCCAS and BCCNM and providing bursaries for English-language competency testing and education with more than $9 million in funding; and
– creating new nurse-navigator positions to help IENs navigate the assessment and licensing process.
* Developing the Health Care Access Program (HCAP) to train, recruit and employ up to 3,000 entry-level health-care workers each year.
* This program provides a path for eligible applicants, including internationally educated nurses who have not had their qualifications recognized, and individuals with no health-sector experience, to get hired and receive paid employer-sponsored health-care assistant training as part of their employment.
* Bursaries to help internationally educated allied health professionals join B.C.’s workforce.
Progress made to date:
* 547 new international medical graduates registered so far in 2023;
* more than 450 new internationally educated nurses registered so far in 2023;
* 2,800 internationally educated nurses currently going through the new, faster pathway; and
* 979 health-care aides hired through the Health Careers Access Program since April 1, 2023.
