Linda Ryan; Employment Liaison Specialist for BCCA-IN
For newcomers to Canada, knowing the difference between having your educational certificates independently evaluated and ensuring your professional credentials are assessed and approved for practice, is critical. If you have recently arrived in Canada and have time on your hands, or if you are planning to arrive in Canada soon and are looking for some smart and strategic things to do, I recommend you read on.
Education Evaluation
By having your education evaluated and by confirming this process is complete (e.g. listing it on your resume) you reassure Canadian recruiters and employers that the out-of-country certificate, degree, diploma, masters or PhD you have attained is from a recognized awarding educational institute. You also reassure them that the course content and duration matches an equivalent certificate, diploma, degree, masters or PhD educational award in Canada.
While employers or recruiters might be interested to see if your education is equivalent to similar areas of study in Canada, the organizations that insist on education evaluations are:
- federal and provincial regulatory bodies responsible for assessing and approving the status for regulated professions in Canada (often the education evaluation is only one of many steps required for this process), and
- academic institutions assessing the out-of-country education of potential students for the purpose of admission to higher education programs.
The most common service providers in Canada for education evaluation are: World Education Services, Comparative Education Service: University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies, International Credential Assessment Service of Canada, International Qualifications Assessment Service (AB), International Credential Evaluation Service (BC), Évaluation comparative des études effectuées hors du Québec.
Credential Evaluation or Recognition
On the other hand, credential recognition is a whole other story and it is typically used to enable you to use a professional title ('designation'). The evaluation process proves you have the status or credentials necessary to safely operate in a regulated profession e.g. Engineer, Architect, Accountant, Doctor, Dentist, Therapist, Nurse, HR Specialist, Lawyer, Technician/Technologist, trades-related Apprentice or Journeyperson etc.
Credential recognition can be federally mandated but provincially controlled, so in order to build your career in your desired (regulated) profession and compete on the same level as other Canadian educated or experienced professionals applying for the jobs you're interested in, you've got to show you meet the education, experience and specialized professional development requirements, in addition to understanding the Canadian codes, scopes of practice and legal standards of that regulated profession.
As you can imagine the 'challenge' process takes time and sometimes requires you to: prove your work experience (via documented hours, demonstrated skills/competencies, referenced supervision); present your educational awards (via independent credential evaluation); take 'bridging studies' or additional Canadian courses; and sit ('challenge') exams.
Canadian Immigrant has a handy list of licensing bodies for regulated professions in Canada.
Do I need to get my education evaluated or professional credentials recognized in Canada?
It's one of the most frequently asked questions I get as a Career Coach for technical and construction professionals coming to Canada. Here's how I like to answer it:
- As a minimum, get your education evaluated. It is a simple step and if nothing else, it will reassure you that your 'degree' is recognized as an equivalent 'degree' in Canada. It also shows employers and recruiters that you've done some basic preparations and you are aware of how your education compares.
- As a sign of commitment to your profession, I recommend you (1) confirm if your profession is regulated and (2) if yes, research the process of having your credentials recognized in the province or territory you're moving to (use the list provided above and contact the relevant awarding bodies to ask/answer your specific questions). Remember, knowledge is power and you can't make informed decisions about your career, if you don't commit a few hours of your time to learning about the standards of the profession you're interested in and the career you are considering committing to in Canada.
After that, choice and control is yours as to whether you need or want to proceed with credential recognition. And remember, if you decide to pursue your professional designation (credential evaluation) list that it is 'in progress' on your resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile. The evaluation process takes time, so just listing this fact often gets you included in a shortlist for an interview rather than excluded!