NigenAmy

My partner and I will be made redundant in approx 18 months time and we are looking to move to Canada (east coast). My partner is a Logistics Operations Manager in a large blue chep company. I work for a brewery and have just recently got my Nebosh qualification but I also have my AAT qualification from around 5 years ago although I've not worked as an Accounting Technician since then.

Does anyone know if either of these are recognised in Canada? As this will determine my area of concentration over the next 18 months. We have only just started researching the whole process and are visiting a Canadian Immigration fair next Month so any info would be very helpful.

Many Thanks

JAJ

I doubt AAT is recognised in any specific way, probably the best you can hope for is some general academic recognition as credit towards further study.

What's Nebosh?

Mikelesley

No AAT is not recognised - I had to re-test here.

NigenAmy

Thanks for this. Would either of you happen to know if CIMA is recognised rather than ACCA as this is what I was going to start on a year prior to moving out there and maybe looking to continue studying it out there whilst working. I'm not sure how easy that would be.

Nebosh is the National Examination Board of Occupational Safety & Health, I think it's only equivalent to a NVQ3 but it's very recognised in England. I would have to start on the Nebosh Diploma which I could also do this year but I'm not sure if Health & Safety advisor's are as desired in Canada.

Any further would be very much appreciated.
Many Thanks

ScottyB

Hi NigenAmy,

Firstly welcome.

I have my NEBOSH both Cert and Diploma and am just about to finish my MSc with Strathclyde in Safety and Risk Management.

I have started looking at what if any conversions are available to Canadian Qualifications. I have not had any luck so far.

It looks like i may need to start from the beginning and gain in Country Qualifications and experience which will be a major hurdle.

This makes sense to be honest because the legal framework related to HSE in Canada will be different with different Regs etc.

Any info i come across i will either post here or PM you.

On the job front there is a fairly big Oil and Gas Industry in Canada, which is my background and there are a few jobs coming up which require full PR status so it is very much chicken and egg scenario.

In General Health and Safety a quick search of Workopolis which i believe is one of the bigger recruitment sites in Canada?? I found the following for you.

Hope it helps.

http://www.workopolis.com/work.aspx?...chId=881656646

Regards

ScottyB

ScottyB

Hi NigenAmy,

The answer about our qualifications was bugging me so i called IOSH and had a chat with them.

In a nutshell NEBOSH is NOT recognised in Canada.

You need to be a CRSP - Canadian Registered Safety Professional to stand any chance of working in our field.

The Canadian version of IOSH for holding the register of professionals is the BCRSP

http://www.bcrsp.ca/

I managed to find a link to the Exam Handbook online it will give you some excellent info.

http://www.bcrsp.ca/pdf/CRSPEX%20CAN...20HANDBOOK.pdf

Looks like exams are very similar to NEBOSH e.g. twice per year (May and October) according to the BCRSP website.

Hope this info helps.

It could never be any harder than the NEBOSH exams surely????....

Regards

Scott

JAJ

It would probably be simpler to study for a Canadian qualification directly, CA, CMA or CGA. All of these have, at least for now, recognition in the UK.

NigenAmy

Hi Scott,
Thank you so much for all of this information, the links have been very helpful to me. It's more than I have found in the last few weeks!!
I'm swaying towards going back into Accountancy now as I've only just done my Nebosh and not had a great deal of experience in this field but wasn't sure whether to push further in this direction.

However, I have not come to decision as yet so please can you kept me updated on how you get on and any tips along the way.

Thanks
Amy

NigenAmy

Hi, Many thanks for this info, I am going to investigate this further now.

JonboyE

The equivalent of CIMA in Canada is CMA. You would need to check on their mutual recognition policies. The ACCA have a close relationship with the CGA in Canada and for a full member of ACCA the conversion process is quite straightforward.

ScottyB

Certainly Amy,

Good luck in which ever career you decide to pursue.

Regards

Scott

NigenAmy

Hi, thanks for this. I've always worked for a large company that only supported CIMA, however, I have been told that ACCA and CIMA are quite similar anyway so I'm currenly looking into starting studying ACCA, especially if this would be a straightforward conversion process in Canada.

If I start the studying in England over the next 18 months, do you think it would be easy to pick it up and finish off in Canada? I would be hoping to do this whilst working and gaining the Accounting experience.

Many Thanks

Howefamily

Hi, I am CIMA qualified and called the CMA in Halifax to ask about conversion as CIMA always advertises itself as a global qualification. My understanding from the conversation I had with CMA is that its a straight forward conversion with no extra exams as long as you also have a University degree.

Back a few years ago, I was doing ACCA before I switched to CIMA and I can honestly say, from my experience, that CIMA is more interesting and in my view less dry than ACCA. The exams are more palatable (to me). I dont think I would have completed ACCA but I stormed through CIMA (which two small children and a full time job, and I have to work to pass my exams)

Just my view, for what its worth

JonboyE

Unfortunately it is not that straightforward. When you get to Canada you will apply to join the CGA as a student. You then ask them to give you advanced standing based on the courses you have completed with the ACCA.

I did this quite a few years ago, before mutual recognition, and they were very stingy with the exemptions they gave me. Maybe with mutual recognition this has improved. You will also need a degree. Any subject will do and a degree from a UK university is perfectly acceptable. If you don't have a degree then you can combine your CGA study with a degree course.

The CGA courses are designed for people who are working full-time and gaining the experience needed to graduate. They say you should expect to spend 20 hours a week. IMO that is more than necessary for someone with a decent grasp of their subject. Even for the final papers I found 15 hours a week were perfectly adequate to prepare me for the exams.

For me, the biggest problem with the CGA courses is that they are all online. I know this is necessary to give everyone in Canada an equal opportunity to study but, even with the online community of students, you can feel very isolated. CGA-BC run lectures in Vancouver and this helped me a lot, but it is only any use to people within commuting distance. Check to see if your province does something similar. Also look at local tertiary educational places. Many colleges and institutes run courses that are recognized by the CGA, especially for levels 1/2/3.

I took several courses at BCIT in Vancouver. The BCIT pace is slower than the CGA (you take two semesters to pass a course that is only 12 weeks long in the CGA program) but it did mean I could do one CGA course, one BCIT course, do a full-time job, and still have (some sort of) a life. And, BCIT was a great place to meet people in a similar situation. I made several study buddies, and a couple are turning out to be life-long friends.

JAJ

No such thing as "globally recognised". There is some recognition for CIMA in Canada, however you do have to have an acceptable university degree and also have at least 1 year managerial experience in Canada.

For example, CMA Ontario:
http://www.cma-ontario.org/index.cfm?ci_id=7783&la_id=1