liftman

The differnce between A profession and THE Professions seem to have been lost to people nowadays.

discouraged

Without wishing to sound disrespectful, your line of reasoning suggests that people employed in any walk of life could regard themselves as being "a professional". Whilst I have no reason to doubt that, in a subjective sense, you are professional in the way you do your job, it does not mean that you are a "professional" in the context of what we are discussing.

By definition, a professional is a person who is required to be licensed by, and be subject to the rules and regulations of, a recognised professional body in order to carry out their trade or business. With the greatest respect, advertising does not fall within this definition.

Pretty Flowers

Actually I'm an acreditted member of the MRS - Market Research Society, which is a recognised trade body and also does have stringent rules and regulations. Market Research happens to be a quite highly regulated profession. Fortunately the UK MRS has links and has its qualifications recognised by the Canadian MRS....

Add to that the fact that I hold a Master's degree I would strongly dispute that I do not work in a profession....

Iginla

The moral of this thread seems to be:

Ensure 100% that your qualifications are acceptable and transferable from the appropriate body before applying for visas and that job offers are genuine.

There is no law/rule (that I'm aware of) that states that it is a pre-requisite to have a visa, PR status in order to have your qualifications/application for membership of the appropriate body assessed and transferred.

This sort of stuff happens to Canadians also. In the past year I have had 3 colleagues that have returned to PEI, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland because they were promised "tons" of work by managers. They then returned about 3 months later after working about 8 hr weeks as the jobs offers had been completely misleading. Canadian managers are notorious for painting rosy pictures regardless of nationality.

discouraged

Unfortunately, as pointed out by CalgaryAMC, your claim to be a member of a profession as defined fails because there is no requirement for you to be formally licensed or accredited in the same way as, say, a Doctor, lawyer or accountant.

However, you should rejoice in this fact, as it has clearly allowed you to avoid the problems I have suffered!

Good luck in Canada and best wishes for your future career.

oceanMDX

Now how is doing "market research" a regulated profession in Canada? Do you have to obtain licensure to work in that field? If not, then the occupation of "market research" is not a profession in Canada even if you hold a Phd - plain and simple, end of discussion!

Jonny

After December 13th it will be illegal to work in the UK as a doorman without a license. Does this mean being a bouncer is a profession?

JAJ

Accountancy is considered one of the 'professions' but unless you work as a statutory auditor or in one of a few other specialisms it is not a regulated profession in Canada. Many accountants, even if they have a professional designation, do not hold any kind of professional licence.

Engineering is 'regulated' in Canada, but is not generally so in Australia. Is it less a profession for that?

Jeremy

oceanMDX

My comments refer to the Canadian context only. In Canada if you do not require a license to work, then you cannot be considered a "professional" in the legal sense.

mrs. liftman

This is the difference between profession and the Professions.

I know we are becoming anal about this but the distinction is important.

Doctors are in one of the Professions. Nurses are professional(s).

oceanMDX

Accountancy is not considered one of the 'professions' in Canada. I have never taken a single course in accounting, but there is nothing stopping me from doing accountancy for myself, another individual or a business in Canada. I can prepare someone's tax returns, or prepare financial statements and corporate income taxes for a business. Does that make me a professional? I think not.

Requirements to practise may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. For example, there are licensing bodies in several provinces (e.g., British Columbia, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland). In some provinces, however, it is not illegal to practise certain parts of the profession. In Manitoba, there are no restrictions on who may practise. In British Colombia listed audits are regulated, but reviews or compilations are not.

Furthermore: There are three types of accountants in Canada: chartered (CA), certified general (CGA) and certified management (CMA). Generally speaking, they plan, organize and administer accounting systems for individuals and establishments. They may also provide a variety of services for individuals or organizations, including audit, review, compilation, accounting, management consulting, financial and tax planning, bankruptcy and receivership.

And: Generally speaking, licensing bodies in the provinces or territories regulate very few of the activities or fields of practice. Only public accounting (i.e., audits, in certain jurisdictions audits and reviews, and in other cases audits, reviews and compilations) is regulated. An individual needs a licence, permit or certificate from the appropriate provincial or territorial licensing or other regulatory body to do public accounting in that province or territory.

And: Generally speaking, they are recognized under provincial or territorial government legislation as self-regulating organizations and as such the professional designations (i.e., CA, CGA, CMA) are restricted to the members in good standing of each organization. The professional organization has the authority to discipline its members in the event of a breach of the code of ethics.

http://www.dfat.gov.au/apec/prof_ser...anada_acc.html

So it's the person using the professional designation of CA, CGA or CMA that is regulated (by licensure when required), rather than most acts of accountancy - in some provinces, some acts of accouting are restricted without a license. Those with the license are in the accounting 'profession', not those merely doing 'accountancy'.

In some cases, certainly, the act of engineering could be less professional in Australia than in Canada. If any Tom, Dick and Harry is permitted to do engineering, it's pretty hard to consider 'engineering' to be a 'profession' in Australia, even though most people in Australia working as engineers are professionals.

Shadow_Dancer

I agree with you Sarah. Immigration is an individual experience. It's a lottery. But how many people would be willing to wager their future on a roulette wheel they suspect to have been 'fixed'?

Shadow_Dancer

One of the problems with both Australia and Canada in running their protectionist schemes is that potential British immigrants know that the UK is a level playing field (at least in my profession). It rubs to work alongside Australians and Canadians in London who are very quickly welcomed onto the team and then find yourself excluded in their country.

However, the Canadian or Australian who goes overseas is NOT the same sort of guy or gal protecting themselves back home. The immigrant or traveller tends to be more adventurous, open-minded welcoming and adaptable (as a generalisation). As proof of this an article in Melbourne's Age recently pointed out that returning Australians with overseas qualifications and experience have as much trouble finding suitable employment as immigrants. In a sense they have assumed the threatening aura of an 'outsider'. Many have formed self-help groups.

oceanMDX

The distinction is very important, because it can be the difference between being able to earn a living in your field or having to do something else to earn a living in Canada - like driving a taxi.

oceanMDX

Understand one thing about the professions in Canada; it's not the average 'professional' who is protectionist. In any given profession (in Canada), you find a very small clique of politically active elitists who end up setting the rules for the majority. On paper, it's supposed to be very democratic (all members in a profession have a vote), but in reality, it very seldom works that way. The point being, you can't blame the average member of a profession for the licensing policies of that profession because he ends up having no real say in the matter.