ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE MINISTÈRE DES RELATIONS AVEC LES CITOYENS ET DE L IMMIGRATION (MRCI) TO FACILTATE ACCESS BY IMMIGRANTS TO OCCUPATIONS REGULATED BY THE PROFESSIONAL ORDERS Direction des politiques et programmes d intégration Ministère des Relations avec les citoyens et de l Immigration Christiane Syms October 2003
THE BACKGROUND OF MRCI ACTIONS REGARDING RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING Like other parts of the industrialized world, Quebec is facing a declining birth rate and an aging population. It is also facing the challenge of globalization, and is therefore searching for qualified workers and professional is a variety of fields. To meet the challenge of ensuring its long-term survival and growth as a francophone society in North America, Quebec has developed an immigration policy. Under the Canada-Quebec Agreement concluded in 1991, Quebec has exclusive responsibility for the selection of workers outside Canada and integration of immigrants who settle in the province. Therefore, Quebec is deploying efforts and resources to recruit and select immigrants with the aim of meeting its objectives and satisfying its labour needs. The MRCI is ensuring that the applicants selected have high levels of training and an adaptability profile conducive to occupational mobility. 2
The figures give a clear indication of the educational levels of immigrants aged 15 and over who were admitted to Quebec between 1998 and 2002 with the intention of seeking employment: 31.3% of these immigrants have 17 or more years of education and over 31.9% have 14 to 16 years of education; in Quebec, an undergraduate university degree generally requires 16 or 17 years of education, depending on the field of studies. 17.8% of the immigrants have 12 or 13 years of education, and 15.3 % have 7 to 11 years of education, which corresponds to the grades of high school in Quebec. Only 2.4 % of working immigrants admitted between 1998 and 2002 have 6 years of education or less. For most immigrants, social and economic integration depends on their ability to enter the job market. Although in general, most immigrants succeed in securing employment, effort needs to be made to ensure that they contribute to Quebec society by making full use of their knowledge and skills. Many immigrants encounter difficulties in finding a job, presenting their qualifications to employers or having their training and work experience recognized by professional licensing bodies. The difficulties faced by immigrants in obtaining recognition of their training and experience have long been known and are well documented. The MRCI has taken some actions in order to remedy this situation:
- In 1971, an educational equivalency service was established to give concrete assistance to immigrants directly entering the job market who had to present their foreign credentials to employers unfamiliar with them. The MRCI still provides the Évaluation comparative des études effectuées hors du Québec (formerly the Avis d équivalence d études), a document which indicates how studies conducted outside Quebec correspond to the Quebec educational system and its main diplomas. The Évaluation comparative, which was redesigned in 2000 after extensive consultation, also provides a general description of educational documents (diplomas and transcripts) and studies conducted in a recognized educational system. It includes information on the terms of admission to given programs of study, duration of the studies, the field of study and the level of education at which these studies were done within the foreign educational system. It should be noted that the Évaluation comparative does not describe the content of each course within a program or assess the methods or quality of teaching. This document is a general information tool; it does not constitute official recognition of the individual s prior learning. It is up to the educational institutions, professional orders and other occupational and trade licensing bodies to provide recognition of prior learning when deciding whether to accept an individual s application. They are in a position to recognize the knowledge and competencies which an individual has acquired or developed within Quebec or outside Quebec in a formal educational setting, in the workplace or by other means. - Information on the conditions for practicing occupations regulated by professional bodies has been provided from outside Quebec since 1990. - From 1995 to 1997, the MRCI held a Round Table on education acquired outside Quebec. The issues were identified and the partners were invited to take action, within their respective area of activity, with the aim of: 4
1) Increasing information to immigrants; 2) Facilitating access to supplementary training programs and practical training; 3) Intensifying their co-operation with other agencies working in the field of assessment and recognition of education acquired outside Quebec. Progress was made, but success was limited by the absence of a firm commitment by the partners. However, an important achievement of the Table was to thoroughly examine the existing situation and the type of actions to be implemented. 5
A PARTNERSHIP APPROACH REQUIRED In 2002, the MRCI adopted a new and vigorous approach, characterized by the desire to involve the partners in the search for and application of solutions. The MRCI determined the actions to be taken with the Quebec Interprofessional Council, representing the 45 professional orders, the Office des professions du Québec, Emploi-Québec, the ministère de l Éducation (MEQ) and the sector-based manpower committee, CAMO-Immigrants. In order to establish for educated new arrivals conditions conducive to their socio-economic integration, the MRCI and its partners are focusing their actions on three fronts: 1) Better informing immigrants, 2) Improving the recognition of their prior learning, and 3) Providing easier access to supplementary training. These actions are intended to ease access to occupations regulated by the professional orders; there is no question of lowering the legitimate requirements imposed by these licensing bodies for the protection of the public. 1. To better inform immigrants, the MRCI and its partners are taking the following measures: - As of September 2002, a new information service on regulated occupations (SIPR) is operating as a pilot project. This free service guides immigrants through the process of applying to a professional order. It helps applicants determine which professional order they can apply to, prepare the application for
equivalency which must be submitted to the order regulating their occupation, and review their options at every stage of the admission process. This service was established in close consultation with the Quebec Interprofessional Council and the professional orders. Within just one year, over 1,400 people have used the service and, judging by the users comments, have found it to be useful, particularly in reducing waiting times. There are plans to make this service available to selected applicants before their arrival in Quebec. - A general information leaflet on the practice of occupations regulated by the professional orders is currently distributed to clients outside and within Quebec, and can be viewed on the Internet. - Forty-five fact sheets specific to the occupations regulated by the professional orders and validated by these bodies are available on the MRCI website. - A new sheet on the recognition of credentials and experience will be produced. In Quebec, as elsewhere, recognition of their prior education and experience is essential for immigrants who wish to enter the job market. A variety of agencies are responsible for evaluating and recognizing prior learning: our challenge is to make this complex universe simple to understand. 7
2. To improve the recognition of the relevant training and experience of immigrants, certain measures have been put in place: - Within the framework of the Round Table on immigration and admission to the professional orders, which was recently created by the MRCI, we will establish, with our partners, the Quebec Interprofessional Council, the CAMO-Immigrants and Emploi- Québec, a list of the good practices already in use by some of the orders, so as to extend their reach. A discussion day on the best tools and best practices of the professional orders was held in May 2003; two other sessions on this subject are planned for the autumn. A training activity on service delivery in an intercultural context will also be organized in autumn 2003. Our objective is to encourage the orders to adopt facilitating practices and improve their assessment tools to achieve optimal recognition of the prior learning of immigrants. - To this end, the MRCI initiates and supports pilot projects aimed at developing new tools for evaluating the competencies of immigrants and establishing means for helping the immigrants adequately prepare for this evaluation. The occupations targeted are those experiencing labour needs.
- At present, five pilot projects are underway or have been finalized: The first, carried out with the Order of Speech Therapists and Audiologists of Quebec, consists of developing a valid and reliable examination to evaluate applicants informal training. The exam will be administered for the first time this autumn. This project will make it possible for the applicants to avoid redoing studies unnecessarily. The second, conducted with the Order of Nurses of Quebec, aims to develop a program to help foreign-trained applicants prepare for the professional examination, in the hope of increasing the pass rate. The third, conducted with the Order of Chemists of Quebec, will lead to the design of a self-assessment tool to help applicants identify the relevant elements of their training and experience for optimal recognition of their prior learning in keeping with the specific competencies required by the profession. The fourth, carried out with the Order of Agrologists of Quebec, will produce a self-training guide to help in preparation for the qualifying examination.
The fifth, conducted with the Centre d évaluation des sciences de la santé de l Université Laval (CESSUL), consisted of organizing a training workshop in Montreal to help foreigntrained applicants prepare for the typically North American format of the oral and clinical part of the clinical science examination of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Quebec. The applicants have given positive feedback on the value of this preparation and according to information obtained from the College, the exam results appear to confirm this. - In addition to the projects just described, the MRCI is supporting the steps taken by the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) [Ministry of Health and Social Services] and health care institutions to make greater use of the skills of foreign-trained health professionals, with priority given to those already living in Quebec. - Concerning physicians, the MRCI, MSSS and College of Physicians and Surgeons of Quebec have agreed that the recruitment procedure for foreign-trained personnel should be as simple as possible and the individuals selected should be given more rapid access to positions in our health care institutions. Those wishing to obtain a restricted license are directed to the Recrutement Médecins-Québec service of the MSSS, which guides them through the process. We have not yet obtained any detailed results, but it appears that they are encouraging. - To assist the professional orders and other stakeholders in recognition of the prior learning and skills of foreign-trained immigrants, the MRCI is producing a series of 25 Comparative Guides to Education Acquired Outside Quebec, which provide information on foreign educational systems and compare foreign
diplomas to those granted by the Quebec educational system. The first three guides will be available on the Internet this winter. - Lastly, the Ministry will continue issuing the Évaluation comparative des études effectuées hors du Québec. Some of the orders use it already to determine the level of foreign studies completed. The MRCI will consult with the orders and other users to ensure that the Évaluation comparative meets their needs. The Évaluation comparative application kit has been thoroughly redesigned to better explain the scope of the Évaluation comparative and its utility. 11
3. To provide easier access to training, the following actions have been implemented: - Since 1999, Emploi-Québec has been involved in a tutorial project, operated jointly with the CAMO-Immigrants, the Order of Engineers of Quebec, the École Polytechnique de Montréal and a work transition agency catering to immigrants, to help foreigntrained engineers pass the Order s exam and obtain licensing; the project includes transitional training in CAD, which facilitates access to the job market. Every year, 60 candidates participate in the project, which has helped raise the pass rate of the exam from 66% to 85%. - Supplementary training for foreign-trained nurses has also been made available thanks to a co-operative project involving Emploi Québec, the CAMO-Immigrants, the Order of Nurses of Quebec, and a community agency serving new arrivals. - The MRCI is working jointly with the MSSS, Emploi-Québec and the MEQ to increase the supply of supplementary training available to foreign-trained nurses. As a result, this autumn, two additional training measures will be in place, allowing the intake of 24 additional applicant nurses (giving a total of 42). Applicants who need French language training are directed to the MRCI linguistic service for services adapted to their needs. Recruitment initiatives have been organized in France. The next one will take place at the Salon infirmier de Paris (October 2003).
- Since 2002, Emploi-Québec has been involved in a supplementary training project, operated jointly with the CAMO- Immigrants, the Order of Nursing Assistants of Quebec, the Commission scolaire de Montréal, the École des Métiers des Faubourgs and a community agency serving new arrivals, for two groups of foreign-trained nursing assistants to facilitate their access to licensing by the Order. The results of the first group of applicants have been received: of the 19 applicants, 14 passed the Order s exam. The results concerning the second group of 20 applicants will be available soon. - All these one-off experiments have given positive results and validate the objective of developing such projects on a regular basis. 13
CONTINUING ACTIONS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF A GOVERNMENT COMMITMENT In May 2002, Quebec adopted the Lifelong Learning Government Policy on Adult Education and Continuing Education and Training. The policy confirms the government objectives for the entire Quebec population, but additionally, acknowledges the particular situation of immigrants, many of whom are highly educated and for whom social integration and job entry depends on the full recognition of their prior learning and competencies. Rapid access by immigrants to flexible supplementary training which would enable them to practice their profession or trade in Quebec is presented in the policy as an essential complement to the recognition of prior learning. During the implementation of the action plan flowing out of the policy, the MRCI will work with the MEQ and Emploi-Québec to establish mechanisms giving rapid access to upgrading training related to employment, in particular, at the college and university levels. To deal effectively with this issue, we need innovative projects based on co-operation between the professional orders and teaching institutions, support by community agencies of persistent efforts made by immigrants and fair evaluation of the prior academic and experiential learning of the immigrants.