Welcome to Canada! (But Not the Full Labour Market)
Introduction
Every year, thousands of skilled newcomers arrive in Canada, ready to put their expertise to work.
What many believe will be a straightforward process of verifying their education, skills, and experience often becomes a complicated, costly, and time-consuming journey. We spoke to groups of skilled newcomers in Canada, and many told us they had faced delays, unclear requirements, and a lack of centralized labour market information (LMI) and guidance.
Our upcoming report on foreign credential recognition (FCR) explores these challenges in detail from the newcomer perspective, highlighting the LMI gaps that create challenges in navigating the system.
Why the foreign credential recognition process is so challenging for newcomers
For many newcomers—whether in regulated or non-regulated professions—FCR is more than just paperwork: it’s a decentralized, often confusing system. Rather than being a single, unified process, credential recognition varies by profession, province, and regulatory body, making it difficult for newcomers to determine where to start.
One of the biggest hurdles we found was lack of awareness before arrival. Participants told us that they received no information about FCR in their pre-arrival packages. As a result, they arrived in Canada unprepared for the time, cost, and documentation requirements ahead.
Many newcomers struggle to identify the necessary steps, and some reported that they received conflicting guidance from official sources, like regulatory bodies. In fact, many participants told us they turned to informal networks—such as friends, family, and community groups—for guidance because they often found the official resources to be unclear, inconsistent, or difficult to access. This reliance on informal channels underscores a gap in accessible, authoritative information. Our upcoming report will explore this gap in greater detail.
The FCR process can also be slow and unpredictable. Requirements sometimes change midway, forcing applicants to submit additional documents or restart their evaluations. Having to submit documentation in person, unclear assessment criteria, and inconsistent communication create further delays in newcomers' ability to begin work in their fields. As one participant said:
…I would love to see more enhanced communication between credential evaluation services and the applicant. You know? Give more frequent updates, clearer feedback during the evaluation process to kind of reduce uncertainty.
— Focus group participant
How the complexity of foreign credential recognition may affect Canada’s skilled newcomers and workforce
Challenges with the FCR process go beyond individual level impacts and can affect newcomers’ ability to integrate and fully contribute to the Canadian economy.
Many skilled newcomers find it takes much longer than they expected to get credentials recognized. Because many do not know what the proper channels are for communication, they may visit offices in person to seek information, delaying their integration. Other factors that can get in the way of a smooth and quick process are unexpected costs, verification of documents, and even reassessments.
The impact of this? Even after months of waiting—or years, in some cases—many lack clear answers. Some participants in our study were left wondering how their education and experience compared to Canadian standards:
That was the devastating part… I had given up by that stage because when that report finally came after two years, all of my education and experience were deemed not comparable.
— Focus group participant
This could have an impact on the Canadian labour market, given that many participants said these challenges delayed their entry into the workforce. Participants also said they ended up working in jobs below their qualification levels—and/or in unrelated industries—and that they accepted lower-paying positions than what would be expected for their professions. These were circumstances that many newcomers accepted as they waited for their evaluations and tried to overcome hurdles created by unexpected costs and confusing information.
Employers, too, can feel the strain. With many sectors in Canada experiencing labour shortages, if skilled professionals are left on the sidelines (because their credentials aren’t processed efficiently), the Canadian labour market may not be able to capitalize efficiently on this potential labour source.
The FCR system is designed to bring much-needed skilled workers into the labour market, but inefficiencies in the current system are delaying its potential benefits for Canada’s economic growth and innovation. Canada actively recruits skilled workers to strengthen its economy, but without a clear and streamlined credential recognition process, the country will continue to struggle to integrate them efficiently.
Despite the challenges, progress is being made
It’s clear there are many challenges with the FCR process, but this doesn’t mean people aren’t working hard to improve the process. Through our work, we learned of research and government initiatives underway to improve the FCR process for skilled newcomers. The Government of Canada has announced funding of up to $52 million for 16 new projects through the FCR program, with a focus on healthcare and construction. These programs aim to support the labour market integration of internationally trained professionals, reflecting Canada’s commitment to improving their experiences. The initiative could help address critical labour shortages in these sectors.
We commend initiatives that work to improve the available information and increase skilled newcomers' understanding of the FCR process. We urge cohesion and streamlining so that the process is not a maze that people must navigate, but rather a known and understood step along the way to integration into Canada and its labour market.
What’s next? Stay tuned for our full report
The challenges surrounding FCR are not new, but solutions are urgently needed. Our upcoming research report will take a deeper look at the barriers and challenges related to LMI that skilled newcomers face during the FCR process.
Our work has brought us in contact with various federal and jurisdictional bodies that are working to streamline the process and improve the way information is shared with skilled newcomers to better prepare them. Understanding the information barriers in the process is the first step in addressing these challenges. We’re voicing these issues to maintain this momentum as organizations work toward resolving issues.