Do You Work in the Profession You Were Trained For?

If you ever had the pleasure of watching The Office you might recognize this quote: “From his humble beginnings as a prominent surgeon, he risked it all to become the most successful telemarketer in the lipophedrine industry.”

This is an all-too-common story: Highly-trained professionals come to Canada and lose their certification and end up struggling to make ends meet in low-paying jobs.

To help prevent more people from sharing Vikram’s fate, the federal government is introducing a program to help internationally trained health care professionals get their credentials recognized faster.

“Helping newcomers obtain Canadian work experience in their professions will allow them to join the Canadian workforce faster, which is critical to growing our economy and strengthening the middle class,” said Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. “That’s why we are supporting newcomers to get work experience so they can kick-start their careers in Canada.”

The announcement was made in Oakville on May 4.

Oakville MP John Oliver announced that the government is investing $812,000 over the next two years in the Career Accelerator for Internationally Trained Health Professionals program.

This funding will enable the Halton Multicultural Council to help 160 foreign-trained medical professionals gain experience in the Canadian workforce and secure employment equal to what they had in their home countries.

The strategy has three main parts: pre-arrival services, a loans program and a project to help highly skilled newcomers obtain their first Canadian professional work experience.

“I am proud that our government is helping to reduce barriers and supporting newcomers as they put their skills to work across communities in Canada,” said Oliver. “This is especially important for people trained in the health care sector who can help fill growing vacancies in the field.”

The program aims to address the shortage of healthcare workers in Ontario.