Pharmacists are among the types of employees covered by changes to professional certification processes announced Monday.Pharmacists are among the types of employees covered by changes to professional certification processes announced Monday. (CBC)

Certain groups of foreign-trained workers will know within a year of applying for certification whether their training will allow them to work in Canada, the federal government said Monday.

Beginning in December 2010, foreign-trained architects, engineers, financial auditors and accountants, pharmacists and registered nurses will be among the groups that fall under the new framework, Minister of Human Resources Diane Finley said in Toronto.

“It used to be that it could take two years after someone got here just to find out where and how to get their credentials evaluated,” said Finley.

"We recognize how important it is for newcomers to put their training and their knowledge to work here in Canada…. It's vital for them, and it's vital for their families and it's vital for our economy."

The move is meant to deal with the problem of professionals who received their training outside Canada working at jobs that don't make use of their skills.

The eight occupations that will have their applications for credentials processed within a year, starting Dec. 31, 2010, are:

  • Architects
  • Registered nurses
  • Engineers
  • Financial auditors and accountants
  • Medical laboratory technologists
  • Occupational therapists
  • Pharmacists
  • Physiotherapists

Another group of six occupations will be added to that list starting Dec. 31, 2012:

  • Physicians
  • Teachers of kindergarten to Grade 12
  • Dentists
  • Engineering technicians
  • Licensed practical nurses
  • Medical radiation technologists

Statistics Canada says six out of 10 immigrants work in jobs in a field differing from the one in which they worked in abroad.

In addition, 42 per cent of newcomers between ages 25 and 54 have a higher level of education than their job requires. For Canadian-born employees, that figure is 28 per cent.

Media reports have long highlighted the problem of doctors working as pizza makers or cab drivers, for example. Many provinces and territories are struggling to make do with too few physicians, especially family doctors.

Doctors are among the second group of professionals that will be covered under the one-year timetable by the end of 2012.

However, the NDP’s citizenship and immigration critic, Olivia Chow, said Monday the federal initiative is not comprehensive enough, and isn't being instituted soon enough.

“I urge the government to speed up the process of recognizing foreign credentials. The majority of the professionals won’t see concrete results until December 2013. That is a long time to wait,” Chow said in a release.

The new system is a joint effort of federal, provincial and territorial governments, which will work in concert with professional regulatory bodies, colleges and universities to ensure certification, said Finley.

The 2009 federal budget set aside $50 million over two years to work with other levels of government to address barriers to foreign credential recognition in Canada.