Cyclone27

Hi everyone!

I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction because I feel so confused right now.

So I'm currently living in Alberta on an IEC visa, I work as a manager in a restaurant and have been there for around 16 months. I have applied for AINP and am awaiting a result from them.
The issue I'm having at the moment is getting an ECA. I studied hospitality and catering at college for 3 years and came out with NVQ level 2s in food service and preparation & cooking and an NVQ level 3 in restaurant supervision.
My first problem is finding an assessment body who will recognise vocational studies, from what I can see from the CIC recommended bodies is that non of them do it. After searching the web I have found a few threads in forums saying that WES and ICAS sometimes assess them though.
My second problem (and this is the big one) is that my college no longer has my transcript available. I spoke with them and they issued me a letter confirming that I was a student and what I studied and why my transcript is unavailable (a merger of two colleges, a lot of previous records now unavailable).
So after talking with WES they basically said no transcript, no assessment. I contacted IQAS and they have said I can submit everything I have and the worst that would happen is that I'd have my application denied and refunded, but from what I can gather is they don't assess vocational studies. I've also emailed ICAS to check what their stance is on all this too and I am awaiting their reply.

So that's my situation in a nutshell, not gonna lie but I'm getting so lost and stressed over this. If anyone has any advice or has encountered problems like this before and can help me out then I'll be super grateful.

christmasoompa

Cyclone27

I was considering sending my GCSEs along with my other certificates, I don't have the results with me but from what I've been reading I can contact Edexcel and they can send them to the Canadian awarding bodies. I'm hoping they still have my results available because I finished school in 2003. Do all the main assessors assess GCSEs?

Cyclone27

So after talking with IQAS I've been told I can apply for a high school equivalency but they need a transcript from my school along with my GCSE results from AQA. My school doesn't have a transcript for me anymore and they told me they don't keep students files for that long. I left school in 2003. I'm trying to get my old year head and tutor to write me a letter confirming I was a student and I completed my education but I don't know if this will be enough.
Has anyone on here had issues like this before? What is there that can be done?

Siouxie

Usually we would recommend getting them done IF you really need the points.. but as chrismasoompa said, if you obtain Provincial Nomination then you won't need the additional points that an ECA would give you - and GCSE's are not equivalent to Grade 12 in Canada (A levels are about the same), so you would get very few points.. it's probably not worth the stress, the expense nor the time to bother with trying to get it done unless it's a requirement under the stream you are applying.

christmasoompa

Agreed. OP, exactly which AINP stream have you applied under? As you've already applied and it's being processed I assume an ECA wasn't required (i.e. if you applied under the EE stream, you'd have to already be in the EE pool for that, and of course you'd have needed an ECA, or if you applied under the AOS you'd need secondary education, etc). So on the assumption that you've applied for a stream with no such requirement, if it's that much hassle just to get your secondary education assessed, I'm not sure I'd bother.

But

Cyclone27

I applied under the AOS, when gathering my documents I included my college certificates and a letter from my college explaining why a transcript is unavailable. I also wrote a cover letter explaining my situation for the reviewing officer.

christmasoompa

I thought a minimum of secondary education and an ECA proving it was required for that stream? I didn't think you could apply for it without the ECA?

Cyclone27

On the education requirements for the stream it said I needed a minimum of high school. I called AINP when I was gathering my documents and they told me I didn't need to include an ECA, just my certificates and transcripts. I told them about my transcript problem and was advised to include evidence from my college that I couldn't provide a transcript.
On the document checklist under education it says this:

Candidate only:
ƒ Do not include educational documents for family members.
ƒ Submit all your degrees, diplomas and certificates (from Canada and outside of Canada).
ƒ If you have a valid Alberta Qualification Certificate or a trade certificate recognized by Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AIT) you may use it to demonstrate you meet the minimum high school requirement. You can check if your trade certificate is recognized by AIT at Tradesecrets.alberta.ca/experiencedworkers/recognized-trade-certificate ƒ If you are a Post-Graduation Work Permit holder you must submit sealed transcripts for your Alberta education credential to demonstrate your education is related to your current occupation and work experience.
ƒ If your transcripts do not include your date of enrollment for your program (the date you started attending your program) you must submit an official document from your institution that proves your enrollment date. Confirmation documents vary by institution; contact your institution to determine available documentation to meet this requirement.

I was advised by an Immigration Consultant to try and get an ECA in the interim because I might need it in the future, it's better to have it just in case of any problems.

christmasoompa

Cyclone27

I think that one is one of the old versions.
On the one I was working off you don't have to do an income calculation anymore, you need to submit 3 months of pay stubs.
Was kinda annoying because I had done my income calculation and then they brought out an updated checklist where you didn't need it anymore. Oh well.
The checklist I was using was on here...
https://www.alberta.ca/ainp-how-to-apply.aspx