Manitoba Labour and Immigration

Not all internationally educated immigrants in Manitoba are recognized and practicing their professions. These are some common barriers they face:

• Lack of consistent information about Canada's system of regulated professions leaves applicants unprepared for assessment
• Information is written in English or French only, at a language level too high for many applicants to understand

Qualifications Assessment Recognition Practices

• Original documents required are difficult to obtain, especially when applicants are already in Canada
• Failure to meet the requirement of occupation-specific English leads to a catch-22 when the workplace is the only place to learn yet applicants cannot practice until they are fully licensed

• Exams use complicated English or unfamiliar testing methods such as multiple choice
• Poorly constructed or inappropriate tools assess test-taking skills over content knowledge
• Tests on subjective skills such as bedside manner are open to different interpretations by different evaluators

• Length of the registration process defeats applicants who need work now and must settle for survival jobs
• High registration costs make success unattainable
• Qualifications go unrecognized, calling on experienced professionals to face the emotional and financial burden of starting post-secondary education all over again
• Unsuccessful applications lead to a dead end due to lack of advice about where to go or what to do to address gaps or weaknesses