Facilitate foreign healthcare credentials
Canada targets to welcome 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024, therefore it is vital that newcomers can fully use their skills, experience and talents.
Challenges for Foreign Healthcare Professionals
Facilitate foreign healthcare professionals face major problems such as complex health insurance eligibility and entitlement rules as well as International healthcare practitioners are confined to using general-purpose English language examinations for immigration purposes under current IRCC rules. This leads to a situation where qualified foreign-trained healthcare professionals, prepared with the necessary OET scores, are forced to take an extra, less advanced general-purpose English language test that is approved by the IRCC in order to apply for immigration.
Government Measures to Address Healthcare Workforce Challenges
The Canadian government pledged in October to reinforce and carry out the measures that will accommodate the challenges in order to balance the healthcare workforce for the newcomers and to accommodate the obstacles. The first action plan was unveiled on January 15, 2024, when Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development, and Official Languages, announced financing of $86 million to 15 organizations across Canada. The Canadian Government is aiding 6,600 foreign health professionals in their transition to working in Canada. These fifteen organizations focus on the following professions: respiratory treatment, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, and laboratory technicians.
“The Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry is thrilled to receive this support from the federal government to fund the development and testing of a new program to speed the qualification and licensing of dentists trained elsewhere in the world so they can practice in Canada,” Jim Lai, President of Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry, said in a media release.
Addressing the Healthcare Workforce Shortage
In order to meet the urgent need to fill 90,000 open positions in the facilitated foreign healthcare industry, this effort seeks to speed up the qualifying and licensing procedure for these experts. The goals of funding 86 million dollars are as follows:
- streamlining the process of recognizing credentials and providing more opportunities for field practice
- Incorporate services like child care, transportation, mentorship, and coaching while matching globally qualified health professionals with appropriate Canadian work experience in their preferred professions.
- Support labor mobility between jurisdictions in Canada for health professionals to reduce barriers for health professionals who wish to work in another area in Canada.
- Cut down on how long it takes for facilitate foreign healthcare workers with foreign training to enter the workforce
Facilitating the integration of internationally qualified health professionals is the goal of the investment, which will offer Canadian career options and streamline the credential recognition procedure. This money is in line with Canada’s ambitious goal to improve healthcare, which calls for an expenditure of more than $200 billion over the next ten years.
