There are many stories of new immigrants especially professionals with high education, who came in on the point system, and ended up working in menial jobs. This is a blow to the self esteem of immigrants who are led to believe at the time of application how their skills are much needed and wanted. The immigrants came to Canada expecting an easy transition where finding a job in their field would not be a problem. It is a shock to these immigrants when they are told by Canadian companies, that without Canadian experience, they do not qualify for the jobs they are seeking.
Not only they don’t qualify because of lack of the very experience they are seeking, but they are also told their overseas credentials do not meet Canadian standards. Enough noise was finally made by politicians who represented large ethnic constituency, as well as non-profit organizations that recognized the challenges faced by these newcomers. The result is FCRO.
FCRO stands for Foreign Credentials Referral Office. Created by the Canadian government, Foreign Credentials Referral Office provides information, path-finding and referral services to help foreign-trained workers succeed and put their skills to work in Canada more quickly.
The Office does this in the following ways:
* On the Internet: Through information and referrals on this website.
* By telephone through Service Canada: 1-888-854-1805 or TTY 1-800-926-9105 (in Canada only). Callers are connected to an agent who will answer questions and provide referrals to important sources.
* In person through Service Canada: To find the nearest Service Canada centre offering in-person information, path-finding and referral services, visit the Service Canada website.
* Increasing support overseas: through Citizenship and Immigration Canada, initiatives will be undertaken to provide prospective immigrants to Canada with the information, path-finding and referral services they need. Currently, via the Canadian Immigration Integration Project, orientation sessions are being offered in India, China and the Philippines to provide information on Foreign Credential Recognition processes and the Canadian labour market so that immigrants arriving to Canada are better prepared for work.
* Increasing the capacity of Canadian organizations to improve their foreign credential processes: with a funding increase, the Foreign Credential Recognition Program, will improve the consistency, fairness and transparency of the assessment and recognition of foreign qualifications for both regulated and non-regulated occupations in Canada. Increased employer awareness of the processes for, and benefits of, hiring internationally-trained and educated professionals
Since the FCRO was launched on May 24, 2007, its web site has had over 120,000 visits, more than 65% of which were from outside the country. The dedicated phone line has received over 900 calls, of which half were for information and half for referrals to assessment or regulatory bodies. In addition, overseas orientation sessions have served more than 1,200 prospective immigrants and sessions have been expanded to include rotational services in India and China.
In its second year now, FCRO has expanded its services with an additional funding of 1.2 million. The funding will provide the means to better serve the newcomers in Canada, as well as expanding on the overseas orientation sessions already being delivered in China, India and the Philippines.
The Foreign Credentials Referral Office works closely with the Foreign Credential Recognition (FCR) Program, which is located within Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Other partners include provinces, territories, regulatory bodies, post-secondary institutions, sector councils and employers to improve the integration of internationally-trained individuals into the work force. The FCR Program works with partners across Canada to ensure that foreign credential recognition processes across the country are fair, consistent, transparent and rigorous.
(Source: The Foreign Credentials Referral Office is part of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Its services are delivered in collaboration with Human Resources and Social Development Canada and Service Canada.)
For more info, contact:
Harvinder Sandhu at Multicultural Services Program
Services provided in Punjabi, Hindi and English
Phone: 604-572-4060
Drop in at: #103- 6844 King George Hwy., Surrey, B.C.
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