Canadian Immigration Department Seeks Credential Recognition

Through its funding of various resources, Citizenship and Immigration Canada is seeking to ease the transition of new immigrants by facilitating the recognition of foreign credentials. One such initiative is the Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO) which operates within Canada and abroad with the goal of assisting new Canadians and those who are pursuing permanent resident status in Canada.

The FCRO was initially established to conduct efforts to improve foreign credential recognition processes within Canada. This has included efforts to increase the availability of information for Canadians and employers, the identification of programs and services, and creating competency assessments to facilitate entry to practice. The organization has also begun undertaking efforts to make information available to prospective immigrants abroad. To date, locations have been established overseas in India, China, and the Philippines. In 2009, it is expected that a new location will be opened.

Overseas offices conduct sessions in which those selected under the Skilled Worker program are able to attend and learn about local labour market requirements. To date, over 2000 such candidates have been helped, and thousands more are registered for attendance of future sessions.