Announcement of Foreign Credentials Referral Office

Engineers Canada welcomes the Government of Canada's commitment to improving employment outcomes for foreign trained professionals through the creation of the new Foreign Credential ReferralOffice. "We are ready to work with the federal government to help make the new office successful as we have found through our research that complete, accurate and early information and referrals are key to successful settlement," says Marie Lemay, P.Eng., Chief Executive Officer of EngineersCanada. "A single, central source of information is crucial to an immigrant's success." Engineers Canada and its members have significant experience working with international engineering graduates (IEGs). In 2001, of the 44 percent of skilled workers who identified an intended occupation at the time of immigration, 63 percent indicated engineering. Engineers Canada and its provincial and territorial licensing bodies have made substantial progress in helping integrate IEGs through the licensing process. The effort began with From Consideration to Integration (FC2I), a three-phase HRSDC-funded initiative designed to integrate IEGs into the Canadian profession and workforce without compromising public safety or lowering professional standards. Engineers Canada and the provincial and territorial licensing bodies are now implementing FC2I's recommendations.

Among the accomplishments of FC2I has been the creation of the International Institutions and Degrees Database (IIDD), to provide an accurate, current database of recognized international engineering degrees in progress; the Internationally-Educated Engineers Qualification (IEEQ) programat the University of Manitoba, to assist IEGs in meeting qualifications requirements; and the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers language project, to develop appropriate language benchmarks for newcomers for use in engineering workplaces, courses and bridging programs. Engineers Canada supports the creation of the FCR office as another tool to assist IEGs. We are looking forward to working with the government as they develop their overseas strategy. In that context, we believe that:* educational qualifications of IEGs should be assessed by licensing bodies for Canadian equivalency as early as possible in the immigration and settlement process* the agency must not duplicate processes already in place * the agency should respect provincial and territorial jurisdictions and work with the licensing bodies to link assessments to licensure"We look forward to the government offering a single source resource to potential immigrants so that they can make informed decisions prior to immigrating to Canada," says Lemay.

For further information: Marc Bourgeois, Director of Communications, Engineers Canada, (613) 868-0267