Re: canada or not
 

Agreed. I have no sympathy for anyone who gets here, usually after years of waiting, and only *then* discovers they can't practise their profession...with the exception of those fleeing persecution and opressive regimes of course, but they're not the ones moaning on all these "Canada is crap" websites.

I haven't been through the skilled worker program obviously, but from what I've seen of it, all of CIC's documentation states that x, y or z may be a regulated profession in Canada and the candidate should make enquiries of their own to determine whether they can work in their respective field.

Re: canada or not
 

Too right - it does state this.

But peeps fear the reading of the small print and the morbid trivia of the detail and instead look in awe at the glossy brochures and hear the giddy spin of the shiny-suited snake-oil salesmen selling their sweet dreams :eek: :zzz:

The best that most of us can do here is to pass on the reality-check advice and help peeps overcome the real obstacles, avoid the pitfalls, then maybe they won't need to switch to the volume 10 rant and rave mode, post arrival and when it's a little too late.

The only suggestion I would make is that CIC could act more proactively in cross referencing the NOC code of the applicant and directing them to support groups, professional/certification orgnisations, networks, resources etc that would improve transition or prevent disappointment, but with CIC resources and costs being how they are, the present focus is on numbers/backlog/quotas, not neccessarily on the quality of overall process and immigrant retention levels.

Or you could add a further stage of the process to assess professional qualifications and credentials to Canadian standards to ensure immigrant retention levels and overall transition was better - in fact maybe that is exactly what is lacking and if the entire thing was done quicker this could be the 'missing link' to the whole immigration/skills problem ? Hmmm...

So presently the onus does fall on the applicant to obtain and use any resources. Changing that status quo of responsibility would put the onus fully on CIC and probably open up a flurry of liability cases from further aggreived, naive, pro-litigate grumblers. Not good.

So, in all cases, keep the receipt ;)

Rich.

Re: canada or not
 

However there is in reality a huge difference between (in decreasing order of likelyhood)

A: CIC recognising your qualifications as acceptable.

B: The local professional organisation recognising your qualifications as acceptable.

C: An employer knowing enough about it to take a chance on someone with an unfamiliar qualification.

Its point C that is the major stumbling block, along with the general need to know someone in the business here to land a good job, and thats really totaly out of CICs control.

Re: canada or not
 

Agreed. I was really just referring to those who fail to check requirements for conversion/additional study/etc before they land. And then moan loudly about how mean Canada is to them.

If I had B, I'd be pretty hopeful of achieving C...but haven't done this, so I'll shut up now :D

Re: canada or not
 

To get my UK radiography training and qualifications recognised i have had to submit various forms etc to the Ontario MRT people, this costs $$$$$ then once that is accepted i have to take a qualifying exam, this also costs $$$$$. So i only get my training/education recognised, not my qualification. I can see that for patient safety you need to check the standard of foreign trained applicants, but why do i have to qualify again??? Its taken me a year so far to get close to taking the d*** exam. You can only take the exam at one of 3 sittings a year, so if you miss one thats more months without a job. In one sense its good i can take the exam here, but its still a gamble on whether or not we get accepted, so, do you spend £1000 on a hope of getting PR or wait till you are there and then spend more $$$ while you cant work in your field. Australia, NZ and South Africa all accept UK qualifications and experience. All the hospitals i have written to all say lovely to hear from you, write again once you are living here. Its very discouraging and if it weren't for my Canadianfriends who are also MRTs saying i wont have any trouble getting a job, i would be having serious doubts about going. I know i wont get my seniority recognised, and am looking forwards to no responsibility apart from the day to day stuff.

Its even more annoying for my husband who is a plumber and gas fitter, we cant do anything to check his qualifications until we get out there, so yes they want plumber and gas fitters but no they wont tell you if they recognise your qualifications until you get here.

oh heck, what a rant, but if there are any Ontario plumber/gas fitters out there who can help throughthe maze please let us know.

xx

Re: canada or not
 

I am a qualified teacher here in the UK, and have found out from the powers that be that I won't be able to register (in BC anyway) without taking more exams. However, I am still emigrating!

I am wondering about getting a professional resume written, as they seem to be quite different from our CVs. Has anyone else done this, or is it a waste of money??

Re: canada or not
 

This issue is not unique to Canada. I moved from the UK to the US five years ago. I have a teaching degree and had been teaching in the UK for 7 years prior to my move. However, when I got to the US my qualifications were no adequate to teach in the public school system.I worked as a teachers aide for a year while doing classes and getting licensed to teach in Massachusetts. I will relocate to BC next year and have done my research so know that it is likely that I will need to go through a similar process in order to teach there. Thats just how the system works. There is plenty of opportunity to research these things so those professionals that arrive in another country and are surprised that they need to become recertified or their qualifiactions are not recognised have obviously not done their homework. My advice would be to fins this stuff out BEFORE deciding to relocate to another country...

Tracey

Re: canada or not
 

Immigrant settlement groups (Federally funded) in Vancouver, Kelowna, etc will offer you advice on this and job hunting. If you want it done before arriving check out online resources first, $0.

Save your $.

Rich.

Re: canada or not
 

The obvious question is then why not do what lots of others do instead - go to Australia?




Jeremy

Re: canada or not
 

Australia goes much further - the authorities insist that most skilled migrants have an "in principle" acceptance of their qualifications from the relevant Australian authority before they are given a visa. In fact it's before they're even allowed to *apply* for a skilled migration visa.

Canada may do the same sooner or later, but will that please people or not?



Jeremy

Re: canada or not
 

I agree with Rich_007's advice to use online resources.

Something a web site may not mention, because it may be taken for granted, is that a resume for the North American job market should be printed on North American letter sized paper. At 8.5" x 11" (21.59 cm x 27.94 cm), it's shorter and slightly wider than A4 sized paper. If you create a PDF version of your resume, in order to e-mail it to someone in Canada, the PDF document should be formatted for letter sized paper.

Re: canada or not
 

Hi,
Having opted to go to Canada, we now fully concede it was our mistake. Having said that the regulatory bodies do not make communications readily accessable without renumeration. That's been our experience only.
We are now unsure whether to return to the U.K. or relocate to Australia. This is based on employment prospects.
Husband found a job in Canada low paid after 3 months..Tool and Die. I was informed I would have no problem getting a job in Canada also...but nearly 3 years on...Nah!
We are both on the skills in demand list for Australia and New Zealand.
So why did we opt for Canada...We were mislead..simple as.
The W 5 programme cited that the immigration system in Canada is broken.
There is no relationship, between the points system and the ability to practise your profession. It was further suggested that the point system not working was an absolute understatement.
The immigration minister agrees the points system needs to change, in favour of the immediate work force requirements such as truck drivers, welders, bricklayers etc.
These are not the professionals sought after through the current points system.
The programme also advocated that the current influx of skilled immigrants, having secured residency are not prepared to throw away years of education and experience, to 'start at the bottom', ie an orthapeadic surgeon from the U.K.
If the Canadian government advocates a skill shortage such as doctors, nurses, teachers, whatever...the regulatory bodies can advocate...no canadian qualifications/experience, and hence jumping through absurb hoops.
I have to admit I'm not an avid fan of this forum . I've looked back, and it does appear that most posters on here with a less than happy outlook with Canada tend to not post after a while.

Re: canada or not
 

because we want to live near our friends and enjoy the lifestyle,canada has many goo d points that i have rasied in other posts. just because i was complaining about bureaucracy doesnt mean i dont like the country. but yes, we are seriously considering NZ now.

i was joining in a thread discussing "canada or not", i am sure that every potential immigrant has pros and cons about emigrating- so i am not sure why my previous post deserved an attack

Re: canada or not
 

It's wasn't an "attack" (unclear how you came to that conclusion). Rather it was a reasonable question pointing out that many UK people, when looking at both Australia and Canada, find Australia a more attractive location. If they qualify to migrate.




Jeremy

Re: canada or not
 

If you feel that Australia is the right option, and you can get in, then look hard at it.

If you do decide to relocate I would suggest that if you've been in Canada almost 3 years, you make the point of obtaining your Canadian citizenship before leaving. Things may change and you might want to return (maybe even to retire).

And the problem is that a "skilled" migrant who is unable to get any credit for his overseas training and experience and has to 'start at the bottom' is not really a skilled migrant at all.

The federal goverment cannot control what provincial bodies choose to do - at least not without an enormous effort to bring them under national control which probably wouldn't work. But what it could at least do is stop issuing skilled immigrant visas to people in professions or trades who have not got an 'in principle' acceptance of their qualifications by the relevant Canadian body.


Jeremy