Millions of foreigners immigrating to Canada through work immigration programs. However, for some occupations that are categorized as regulated jobs in Canada, you will need to be recognized by the authority to do the job. Learning whether your occupation is a regulated job and the necessary steps would help you in the way to achieve a Canada visa.
What is a regulated job?
According to the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials, 20% of jobs are regulated, for example, doctors, teachers or engineers. The non-regulated jobs are the 80% left which are normally at the discretion of the employer.
In definition, a regulated job is an occupation controlled by provincial and territorial (and sometimes federal) law and governed by a regulatory body. For those jobs, you are required to have a certificate, license or registration to use the title of the occupation and have the exclusive right to practice the work at a certain region that licenses you. The intention of the law is to protect the health and safety of Canadians by ensuring that all the work is following the standards of practice and competency.
There are two types of regulation for a regulated occupation:
- The exclusive right to practice: Only members can engage in the profession’s activities and use the title legally. The law defines, among other things, the professional activities strictly reserved for the members of each regulatory body.
- Reserved title: Only members of a regulatory body can make use of specific titles and abbreviations allowed them by law. Individuals who are not members of that regulatory body may practice the occupation, but they may not use any of these titles or allow others to believe (by using a similar title or abbreviation) they are members of a regulatory body.
The designated authority has control over assessing your skills and educational credentials to provide licenses and certificates. However, if you move to another province or territory, you have to apply for a license or certificate again. Moreover, the requirements for each regulated profession and trade are different from province to province.
The process for regulated professions and trades
In circumstances where you only need to have an educational credential assessment, you should contact with a member in the Alliance of Credential Evaluations Services of Canada. But in case you think your profession or trade is a regulated job, you need to follow these steps
Step 1: Identify if your jobs are regulated in Canada and which regulatory authority for you
In Canada, organizations use the National Occupational Classification (NOC) to classify and describe occupations. You can use the description in the NOC to identify the title of your intended occupation in Canada. Afterward, you use the title or the NOC code to search in the Directory of Occupational Profiles. The search result will show you the information regarding whether your job is regulated by the provincial or territorial authority.
Tips: Some regulatory bodies or professional associations in Canada have negotiated mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) with other organizations outside Canada. In some cases, such MRAs are negotiated directly between two or more countries or regions. If your license, certificate or registration are issued by signatory country or region in an MRA will make the recognition of your professional qualification in Canada easier.
Within Canada, there might be mobility agreements between province and territory that will benefit you from having professional recognition.
Step 2: Identify the documents
After you have found out the organization that is responsible for granting the license and certificate, you can browse its website to see the required documents for the specific procedure. An important fact that you need to understand the term used to describe the documentation carefully. Some popular terms that usually make you confused are:
- Foreign credentials: refer to educational programs completed outside Canada
- Foreign qualifications: refer to the combination of educational credentials, work experience, and other competencies
- Academic credentials: usually issued by an educational institution and may include diploma or degree certificate, transcript/mark sheets/index, detailed course outline.
- Professional qualifications: usually issued by a professional regulatory authority or association in occupation and may include a certificate of competency or qualification, professional qualification certificate or license to practice.
Besides these terms, you can search for others in the CICIC’s Terminology Guide for Academic Credential Assessment in Canada
Step 3: Get the information for the assessment
In addition, you should contact and connect with the regulatory authority, professional association, or apprenticeship office for information on how to proceed in the jurisdiction in which you wish to work. If you have collected the required documents, send them while you are still in the country in which they were issued. After the organization received all documents, the assessment may take several months and you will be requested to pay the fees.
In cases where the process begins even while you are still in your original country, you could use an online self-assessment tool to determine how your qualifications may be recognized. Other requirements can be requested during the process are:
- Examinations to test your knowledge and competencies
- Proof of language proficiency
- Criminal record check
- Canadian work placement or practicum
- Reference check or proof of professional standing
- Orientation course or bridging program
- Additional academic or professional requirements.
While waiting for certification or license, you should stay current to the expertise with related jobs, internship program or participate in volunteer work to gain experience.
Regulated jobs in Canada and the regulatory authorities
These are the regulated jobs in Canada
- Architects
- Audiologist and Speech Pathologists
- Chiropractors
- Community Urban Planner
- Dental Assistants
- Dental Hygienists
- Dental Specialist
- Dental Technicians and Technologists
- Dentists
- Denturists
- Dieticians / Nutritionists
- Embalmers / Funeral Directors
- Engineering Technicians and Technologists
- Engineers
- Foresters
- Geoscientists
- Hearing Aid Practitioners
- Home Economists
- Hunting Guides
- Land Surveyors
- Landscape Architects
- Lawyers
- Licensed Practical Nurses
- Medical Laboratory Technologists
- Medical Radiation Technologists
- Massage Therapists
- Midwives
- Naturopathic Physicians
- Occupational Therapists
- Opticians
- Optometrists
- Paramedics
- Pharmacists
- Physicians
- Physiotherapist
- Podiatrists / Chiropodists
- Psychologists
- Real Estate Agents
- Registered Nurses (Including Psychiatric Nurses)
- Respiratory Therapists
- Social Workers
- Teachers
- Translators
- Veterinarians
To know which regulatory authority is responsible for the assessment of your regulated profession and trade in the province/territory, you should access the websites made by the provincial/territorial government that have summarized the information for you.
- Alberta – Foreign Qualifications Recognition
- British Columbia – Foreign Credentials Recognition and the WorkBC Career Profiles.
- Ontario – Work in Your Profession or Trade
- Manitoba – Regulated Occupations and Trades
- New Brunswick – Foreign Qualifications Recognition and Regulated Occupations
- Newfoundland and Labrador – Foreign Qualifications Recognition
- Nova Scotia – International Qualifications Recognition
- Nunavut – Regulated Occupations
- Prince Edward Island – Foreign Qualifications Recognition and the list of regulated occupations in PEI
- Quebec – Regulated occupations and immigration
- Saskatchewan – Regulated Occupations and Licensing Requirements
- Yukon – Foreign Qualifications Recognition
- Northwest Territories: The territories government doesn’t have an official source. You can use the Directory of Occupational Profiles of CICIC to find the information.
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