Foreign Qualifications Recognition
Alberta, Canada
The Swedish Council for Higher Education
(ENIC-NARIC Sweden)
Nordic Council of Ministers Conference
Swedish Ministry of Education and Research
October 2013
Developing a Plan
Objective:
Immigrants will have the opportunity to fully utilize their
education, skills and work experience for the benefit of
themselves and the Alberta economy.
Process: Engage and consult stakeholders – Roundtable
discussions held with immigrants, immigrant serving
organizations, post-secondary institutions, professional
regulatory organizations (PROs) & employers.
Outcome: Using the information gathered, a Foreign
Qualification Recognition Plan for Alberta (FQR Plan) was
developed.
Alberta’s FQR Plan: 2008
Foreign Qualifications Recognition (FQR)
Issues and Challenges
– Diversity and number of FQR decision makers
– Assessment of foreign education and skills
– Skilled immigrants coming from a greater range of
countries
– Consistent assessment and recognition of foreign
qualifications
– An open, transparent and accountable FQR
process
FQR PLAN: 3 Strategic Themes
1.
Specialized Information:
– Immigrants have easy access to information
regarding recognition of their foreign credentials
2. Assessment Standards and Resources:
– Ensure transparent and fair assessment of
foreign credentials
3. Bridging the Gap
– Ensure availability of appropriate programs to
bridge gap between immigrant qualifications and
standards required for the workplace
Highlights of FQR Initiatives
1. Specialized Information:
– Developed FQR resources posted on the Alberta-Canada
Immigration portal
– Developed 65 accreditation guides for regulated
occupations, which describe the process to become
licensed or registered to practice in these occupations;
guides are available at:
www.albertacanada.com/immigration/working/occupations.aspx
Highlights of FQR Initiatives (cont’d)
Immigrate to Alberta web portal:
www.AlbertaCanada.com/immigration
Highlights of FQR Initiatives (cont’d)

Developed How to work in your Occupation in Alberta
brochure, which can be downloaded at:
http://eae.alberta.ca/documents/work-in-your-occupation-in-Albertabrochure.pdf
Highlights of FQR Initiatives (cont’d)
2. Assessment Standards and Resources:
– Provided over $3.5 million (CDN) to professional
regulatory organizations for 41 projects to
improve assessment and recognition processes for
internationally educated applicants
– Organized forums and roundtable discussions with
all key stakeholders
– Delivered information workshops on how to
evaluate foreign credentials
Highlights of FQR Initiatives (cont’d)
3.
Bridging the Gap
–
Provided over $400,000 (CDN) in contracts for innovative
projects that support successful integration of skilled
immigrants
–
Developed an interactive online diversity training for
employers, Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace.
http://eae.alberta.ca/apps/fqr/fqr/course/
–
Sponsored 77 workshops on workplace diversity and two
FQR employer forums.
–
Provided over $2 million (CDN) to the Immigrant Access
Fund
–
Developed a policy framework for bridging programs and
funded bridging programs in various occupations
FQR Progress Report 2010/2011
Available at: http://eae.alberta.ca/documents/WIA/WIA-IM-FQRprogressreport2011.pdf
Stakeholder Engagement
• Professional regulatory organizations forums
• Roundtable discussions with key stakeholders
(post-secondary institutions, employers, immigrant
serving organizations)
Professional Regulatory
Organizations Forums
• At the most recent forum in 2012, PROs identified the
following FQR priorities for future work:
– Continue support of FQR projects through
government grants
– Strengthen cross-organizational collaboration
between key stakeholders
– Increase opportunities for training to develop PROs’
assessment capacity in FQR
– Improve sharing of assessment best practices
– Support national coordination of FQR
Roundtable Discussions with Key
Stakeholders
• At the 2013 roundtable discussions with employers,
immigrant-serving organizations and post-secondary
institution, the following priority areas were identified
for future work:
– Continued collaboration and improved
communication is needed between governments
and stakeholders
– Improve pre-arrival information
– Enhance employer awareness and participation
– Central repository of FQR information
Annual Reporting and Analysis of Alberta’s
Professional Regulatory Organizations
–
Collaborated with 30 PROs to develop reports
describing the assessment outcomes for foreign
trained professionals applying for
registration/licensure.
–
Informs government’s work:
•
to improve FQR and assessment processes
•
to identify FQR programs, resources, and tools
•
to identify gaps and barriers in FQR processes
Annual Reporting and Analysis of Alberta’s
Professional Regulatory Organizations
1,800
New Applicants and Approval Rate by Country Cluster in Non- Health Professions
100%
90%
1,600
2009
1,200
80%
2010
2011
70%
2009
60%
1,000
2010
800
2011
50%
40%
600
30%
400
20%
200
10%
0%
0
1
2
3
Country Cluster
Country clusters:
1 = UK, Ireland, Germany, US
2 = Philippines, Mexico, India, France, Netherlands
3 = Poland, South Korea, China, Ukraine, Czech, Venezuela, Brazil,
Argentina, Singapore, Colombia
4 = All other
4
Approval Rate (Lines)
New Applicants (Bars)
1,400
Annual Reporting and Analysis of Alberta’s
Professional Regulatory Organizations
New Applicants and Approval Rate by Country Cluster in Health Professions
800
100%
New Applications Received (Bars)
2010
600
80%
2011
70%
2010
500
60%
2011
400
50%
40%
300
30%
200
20%
100
10%
0
0%
1
2
3
Country Clusters
Country clusters:
1 = UK, Ireland, Germany, US
2 = Philippines, Mexico, India, France, Netherlands
3 = Poland, South Korea, China, Ukraine, Czech, Venezuela, Brazil,
Argentina, Singapore, Colombia
4 = All other
4
Approval Rate (Lines)
90%
700
Annual Reporting and Analysis of Alberta’s
Professional Regulatory Organizations
Average Acceptance Rate from 2009-2011 in Countries with >5 applicants in
Health and Non-Health
US
Mexico
Romania
China
Colombia
South Africa
Philippines
Poland
UK
Acceptance Rate Non-Health
India
Acceptance Rate Health
Ukraine
Iran
Iraq
Nigeria
Bulgaria
Egypt
Pakistan
Other
Bangladesh
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
• Provincial, territorial and federal governments made a
public commitment towards improving qualifications
assessment and recognition practices, and creating
positive change for immigrants in Canada
• Alberta served as co-chair of the national working
group that developed the Framework and plays an
active role in its implementation
• Framework Principles
– Fairness
– Transparency
– Timeliness
– Consistency
• Framework can be found at:
http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/jobs/credential_recognition/docs/pcf.pdf
A Pan-Canadian Framework:
Pathways to Recognition
Pan-Canadian Framework:
Target Occupations for 2010-2012
First Set of Target
Occupations by December
31, 2010
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Architects
Engineers
Financial Auditors and
Accountants
Medical Laboratory
Technologists
Occupational
Therapists
Pharmacists
Physiotherapists
Registered Nurses
Second Set of Target
Occupations by December
31, 2012
•
•
•
•
•
•
Dentists
Engineering
Technicians
Licensed Practical
Nurses
Medical Radiation
Technologists
Physicians
Teachers (K-12)
• The Progress Report can be found at:
http://eae.alberta.ca/labour-and-immigration/overview-ofimmigration/foreign-qualification-recognition.aspx
Future FQR Priorities
• Engage and work with employers to recognize
foreign qualifications.
• Support the development of tools and resources to
help employers integrate immigrants into
workplaces
• Work with PROs to support improvements of
assessment and recognition outcomes
• Work with PROs to develop assessment and
recognition procedures specific to the registration
of foreign-trained professionals such a provisional
registration/licensure.
Future FQR Priorities (cont’d)
• Continue to develop pre-arrival preparation
and assessment tools
• Develop opportunities for immigrants to
access bridging programs aimed at
minimizing unnecessary re-training
• Continue to actively participate in the
implementation of the Pan-Canadian FQR
Framework
International Qualifications
Assessment Service (IQAS)
• The Government of Alberta established IQAS in 1994.
• IQAS issues Educational Assessment Certificates that
indicate how international educational credentials
compare to educational standards in Alberta.
• Assessments are designed to support entry into
employment, professional licensing or further
education.
• In 2012/13, IQAS issued 7,438 assessment
certificates.
25
Who Benefits from IQAS
Services?
•
•
•
•
Employers
Professional Regulatory Organizations
Educational Institutions
Individuals:
– Immigrants
– Temporary Foreign Workers
– People planning to immigrate to Canada
– Canadians who have studied abroad
A person does not need a specific immigration status
to apply for an IQAS assessment
26
Benefits of having an IQAS
assessment
• Individuals:
– can use an IQAS assessment to support the recognition of
their credentials and help them gain employment, obtain
professional licensure or enter further education.
27
Benefits of having an IQAS
assessment (cont’d)
• Employers:
– Can use an IQAS assessment to inform their hiring
decisions and have confidence that educational
credentials presented by applicants are valid and
meet Canadian educational standards.
28
Benefits of having an IQAS
assessment (cont’d)
• Professional Regulatory Organizations:
– can use IQAS assessments as part of their process of
assessing international applicants for professional
licensing. IQAS assessments provide regulatory
organizations confidence in the authenticity of foreign
educational credentials that were assessed.
29
IQAS Top Ten Countries for
Credential Evaluation (2012)
Philippines
India
China
Pakistan
Nigeria
United Kingdom
United States
Bangladesh
Ukraine
Nepal
Other Countries (n=138)
23%
16%
5%
5%
5%
4%
3%
2%
2%
2%
33%
Types of Assessment
Service Requests
(2012/2013 Fiscal Year)
Top 5 Countries of Assessment
32
IQAS Expertise
• International credential assessment is the core area of
expertise and competence within IQAS
– Extensive staff training in international credential
assessment
– Capacity to read 14 languages for the verification of
documents
– Database containing evaluations of over 100,000
credentials
– Reference library containing over 2,500 related
publications/articles
– Access to several online information and
verification sources
– Member of global professional network
33
How IQAS Evaluates Credentials
• Authenticity Review
• Accuracy of Translations
• Recognition Status of Institutions
• Description of Educational Programs
• General Statement of Comparability
Authentication Steps:
1. Ensure that all documents are included with
application: degree certificates, transcripts, syllabi, etc.
2. The overall appearance, format and content is
checked.
3. Check for any evidence of tampering or alteration of
documents.
4. The consistency of biographical data (i.e. names,
birthdate, etc.) is checked across all documents
submitted.
5. Verify that documents were issued by the proper
authority.
6. Verify that the institution was appropriately
authorized to award the credential issued.
7. Where there is doubt of the authenticity, documents
are confirmed directly with the issuing body.
Identifying Unauthentic
Documents
• Less than 1% of documents received by IQAS
are determined as fraudulent.
• In Canada, the act of using falsified academic
credentials is not a specific crime.
• The Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services
of Canada provides a national platform for
assessors to communicate and share
information including fraudulent document
information.
Accuracy of Translations
• IQAS requires literal word-for-word
translations as opposed to interpretation.
• Assessments are based as much as possible
on the original documents and not the
translations.
• When IQAS receives documents for which
there is no in-house expertise, the
translations are sent for verification to a
contracted translator.
Recognition of Institutions
• A recognized institution is one which has
been formally approved by a designated
competent authority within the country
through a process incorporating quality
assurance. The institution must also be
widely accepted by other institutions and
agencies inside and/or outside the country.
• IQAS only evaluates credentials from
recognized institutions.
Description of Educational
Programs
• IQAS describes the educational program in terms of:
- level of education
- length of the study
- general content of study
- function of the program
• This step in the assessment process involves
considerable research.
• Analysis of the information collected in the above
step supports the establishment of the comparative
outcome.
General Statement of Comparison
• IQAS uses researched information to arrive at a
fair and accurate comparison to educational
standards in Alberta.
• Assessments are advisory only and do not
provide the assessment of occupation specific
content.
41
Assessments
• Basic Assessment provides a general statement
about the comparative levels of achievement in
Canada.
– For example: The Licentiate Diploma
generally compares to the completion of a
four-year Bachelor’s degree with a focus in
economics and accounting.
42
Basic
Assessment
Sample
43
Additional Assessments
• Educational Assessment:
– Includes a table that indicates the level of
achievement in specific high school courses
required for admission into an educational program.
• Specialized Assessment:
– Includes a list of subjects completed and
comparable credits.
44
Online Resources
• To help navigate the application process, the
following resources are available on our
website at: www.eae.alberta.ca/iqas
– List of the educational institutions using IQAS
– List of the professional organization using IQAS
– Sample Assessments Certificates
45
IQAS Website
www.eae.alberta.ca/iqas
46
Online Resources
• International Education Guides (IEGs) - An information
tool designed to help decision makers (employers,
professional licensing bodies, educational institutions
and others) make informed and timely decisions.
• Educational Overview Guides (EOGs) - Designed to
support an understanding of foreign-earned
credentials for those who have no training or
experience in the field. The EOGs are easy to use and
accessible online.
47
Online Resources
EOGs can be accessed at:
http://eae.alberta.ca/apps/immigration/12638.asp
48
International Education Guides
http://eae.alberta.ca/iqas-ieg
49
International Education Guides
• IEGs are available for the following countries:
1. China
2. South Korea
3. United Kingdom
4. Philippines
5. Russia & former USSR
6. India
7. Colombia
8. Pakistan
9. Nigeria
10. Poland
11. U.S.A.
• Major strategic objectives are to:
• Promote accurate assessments of international
credentials
• Promote consistency and increased timeliness and
efficiency in the international credential recognition
process
50
International Education Guides
51
For more information, please contact:
Gail Sarkany-Coles
Director, International Qualifications Assessment Services
(IQAS)
Phone: 780-643-6782
Email: Gail.Sarkany-Coles@gov.ab.ca
www.eae.alberta.ca/iqas