Canadian COLLEGES & INSTITUTES

May 2005

The Association of Canadian Community Colleges

March 2004

INTRODUCTION The Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) welcomes the opportunity to present its views to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration with respect to its consultations on the “Recognition of the International Experience and Credentials of Immigrants”. Representing over 150 publicly- funded community colleges, institutes of technology, cégeps and university colleges, ACCC is the national and international voice of Canada’s colleges and institutes. Colleges are the largest suppliers of advanced adult education and training with 2.5 million full and part-time students and campuses in over 900 communities in all regions of Canada. They represent the primary national network mandated to support government, business, labour and community organizations in the design and implementation human resource development programs and services. Canadian colleges and institutes have long been the collaborative partners of Immigrant and Refugee Serving Agencies and governments in the provision of assessment, language, settlement, workforce bridging, and workplace upgrading programs for new Canadians. For over thirty years our system has developed the expertise and credibility with all the partners and most importantly with the immigrants themselves. These institutions have a depth and breadth of knowledge and experience emanating from their partnerships in the largest centres of immigrant settlement of Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, to the special refugee settlement initiatives in smaller centres, through to support for skilled workers coming in to areas such as the oil sands of northern Alberta. Individually, and as a pan-Canadian network through the Association of Canadian Community Colleges, they are an incredible resource to help accelerate immigrants successful entry into the Canadian labour market - successful from the immigrant’s own perspective as an employee or business owner, and also from the perspectives of employers and governments.

RESPONDING TO THE NEEDS OF IMMIGRANTS In the winter of 2004 the Association, with the support of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, undertook a Diagnostic Survey of College and Institute Programs and Services for immigrants and created the college and institute portion of the Immigration Portal. In March 2004 ACCC held an invitational roundtable with a reference group of institutional members from across the country, partner organizations and officials from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, and Citizenship and Immigration, Canada. We have included the “Responding to the Needs of Immigrants - Final Report ” for the consideration of the Committee. It contains a wealth of detail on the system’s capacity, the challenges and the opportunities. We have extracted the College/Institute Process Model for the Integration of Immigrants shown here from the report to draw it to the attention of the Committee. This Process Model demonstrates the comprehensive view in which Foreign Credential and Work Experience Recognition are important however, they must be situated within a wider framework for successful immigrant settlement and integration into the labour market.

COLLEGE/INSTITUTE PROCESS MODEL FOR THE INTEGRATION OF IMMIGRANTS

The Association of Canadian Community Colleges www.accc.ca

CREDENTIALS, COMPETENCIES, COMMUNICATION As the Committee is currently more specifically addressing the “Recognition of the International Experience and Credentials of Immigrants” the following addresses these areas - but again we wish to stress the importance of the wider parameters for successful integration. We further wish to emphasize that any initiatives must be focused on those already in Canada as well as future immigrants. Yes...credentials, competencies, communication/language skills and Canadian work experience are immense barriers for immigrants. As noted below some progress has been made, however significant investments to accelerate addressing each of these areas is absolutely essential. Sector Councils/College and Institute Affinity Groups Over the last several years the Canadian government has supported the emergence of National Industry Human Resource Development Sector Councils. Our Association has established sector specific College/Institute Affinity Groups comprised of Vice-Presidents, Deans, Program Heads and faculty, which work with the Councils. Sector Councils have made significant contributions particularly on the front of identifying pan-Canadian occupational standards for a wide range of occupations. These standards are competency based and articulated in such a manner that colleges and institutes can design curriculum to meet the expected skill and knowledge outcomes. The Association is working in collaboration with various Sector Councils on their initiatives aimed at accelerating the movement of immigrants into the labour force. This an important development and has real potential for alleviating barriers - however it is very complex and resource intensive and needs greater financial support to ensure success in the for-seeable future including for the sector specific assessment processes, language training and bridge to work programs offered through colleges and institutes. Regulated Professions Approximately 15% of the immigrants coming into the Canadian Labour Market are in those fields where meeting the Canadian standards is grounded in legislation/regulatory processes tied to primarily health and safety assurances served. While progress is slower than may be ideal with the regulatory bodies, it is being made and with the recent federal and provincial/territorial investments we anticipate Canada will be better positioned to evaluate foreign credentials with respect to regulated fields. As noted in our report, colleges and institutes are working closely with the regulatory bodies to provide bridging programs for foreign trained professionals be they in health professions such as nursing or in the engineering and engineering technology fields. We have included a brief description of one of the collaborative approaches as an appendix - in the allied health area.

Apprenticeship As noted in previous testimony before the Committee, the Red Seal Program with its panCanadian standards for apprenticeship provides an excellent base against which international credentials and experience can be measured while guaranteeing mobility across the country. Colleges and institutes are the primary provider of the in-school component of apprenticeship and thus work closely with the provincial/territorial apprenticeship boards to enhance the movement of internationally trained tradespeople into their respective occupations. Other non Red Seal trades are regulated on a provincial/territorial basis and while competencies can be assessed and gap programs provided mobility across the country is more limited. It is worth noting however, under the Inter-provincial trade agreement worker mobility is being addressed. In the trades, as in many regulated fields, demonstrating periods of related work experience -- an integral part of the licensing -- is also a barrier. There are far too few initiatives across the country providing special mentors for immigrants in the skilled trades. Our institutions are active in several initiatives of this nature and have the capacity to contribute further. Canadian Work Experience Canadian work experience is a requirement for the completion of licensing/certification in many regulated fields, additionally it is frequently deemed as a requirement by Canadian employers. Thus, the provision of work placements, coaching and mentoring approaches has become a critical element in bridging to the workplace programs - yet all too rare. Of course, as the Committee knows, there are real limitations in the capacity of the Canadian workplace to provide the clinical or work experience components. Credential Review Organizations We note that the regional credential review organizations have individually and collectively made significant progress in equating foreign credentials - both academic and non-academic to Canadian standards. To some extent this has been enabled through the partnership of Canadian post-secondary institutions with counterpart institutions in other countries, including where Canadian content/curriculum has been the base or where a joint credential with a Canadian institution has been issued. In other situations Canadian institutions have campuses overseas and Canadian credentials are awarded. Our members have indicated that having a one-stop pan-Canadian resource for them to go to when needing information on overseas academic programs and credential equivalencies would be most beneficial. Communication/Language Skills With respect to communication/language skills the Canadian Language Benchmarks have become a highly regarded resource against which to measure, and to which language program outcomes can be designed. These Benchmarks are now used by many institutions, sector and regulatory groups and businesses. Recently the Canadian Language Benchmarks organization has received some resources with which to begin expanding the Benchmarks to address language requirements within particular sectors such as in the health and tourism areas. Our member institutions, regulatory bodies and Sector Councils are collaborating to ensure the quality of these more specific benchmarks

which we believe will be immensely valuable in assessing skills, identifying gaps and developing language training for specific career applications. Development of specific Language Benchmarks for a much broader range of Canadian labour market sectors would be highly valuable. Equally, it is important to undertake workshops within our institutions on the existing and new benchmarks and their connection to assessment and curriculum within the institutions. The more consistency in the use of common benchmark across the country the easier it is for immigrant language assessment and language training provision. Applying the principles and methodologies of Prior Learning Assessment Recognition, colleges and institutes can undertake individual assessments and identify gaps for successful movement into the workforce. Where necessary, an immigrant can then enter labour market bridging programs to address the skill gap areas - including understanding of the Canadian context with respect to their particular field.

National Partners In addition to Sector Councils and Regulatory Bodies the Association works closely with numerous other partners in our shared commitment to immigrant success. Some of our key relationships are with the Maytree Foundation, the National Visible Minority Council and Labour Force Development, the Canadian Labour Congress, the Canadian Labour Business Centre, the Public Policy Forum, the Canadian Federation of Municipalities, the Conference Board of Canada, the Canadian Manufacturing and Exporters and, of course, our sister organization the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.

Overseas Head Start The Association has long been an advocate for the establishment of centres overseas which could help accelerate the entry of immigrants into the Canadian labour force upon their arrival in Canada - to short cut the time lag. Models of Accelerated Labour Market Integration of Immigrants is a project led by the Association and funded through the Foreign Credential Recognition Program of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. The project brings together major stakeholders representing the post-secondary education system, sector councils, various levels of government and immigrant-serving agencies to discuss ways to accelerate the integration of immigrants. In particular an implementation plan for an overseas approach is being developed. The intent is for those who have received approval to immigrate to be able to begin credential and language assessment, introduction to the Canadian work milieu, regulatory context, sector specific language training, etc during the period prior to departure to Canada and then to bridge as necessary into the complementary programs and services upon arrival, or directly into the labour market in their areas of qualifications, skills and experience. We are optimistic that the Government will use the results of this work to establish Centres overseas initially testing the different models for their effectiveness, efficiency and most importantly success in accelerating the transition of immigrants into the Canadian labour market in a timely fashion upon arrival in Canada.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN CANADA’S COLLEGES AND INSTITUTES ACCC’s member institutions are deeply committed to working with their partners locally, regionally, and nationally. They are integrally involved in all of the initiatives mentioned above - however, even these are severely limited by resources - resources for institutional and system wide assessment standards, for collaboration in a wider range of sectoral approaches, for the development of sector bridging programs, for assessment services, counselling and advisement. Equally, for the immigrants themselves, the resources to actually access assessment services, gap filling and bridging to work programs is a major barrier. In addition to the ACCC’s pan-Canadian work, there is complementary work being undertaken by our member institutions within their respective provinces/territories - again in a collaborative approach with regional consultative processes, inputs to governments and professional development endeavours. Investments by all levels of government in these areas of shared jurisdiction have recently been announced and are beginning to make a difference - however far more can and should be done .

RECOMMENDATION As noted earlier, the Association views Foreign Credential and Work Experience Recognition within the larger Process Model for Integration of Immigrants. However, they are key lynch pins for successful entry into the Canadian Labour Market. Canada’s colleges and institutes have the knowledge, skills and expertise locally, regionally and nationally to provide a readily mobilized capacity, linked to other programs and services for immigrants. The Association of Canadian Community Colleges recommends: The creation of a Pan-Canadian Network of Immigrant Knowledge, Skills and Credential Assessment and Recognition Centres in Canadian Colleges and Institutes •

Developed in collaboration with and linked to local/regional Immigrant Serving Agencies

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Linked nationally through the Association of Canadian Community Colleges

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Using the resources of the credential evaluation agencies and the standards/ credential evaluation frameworks of regulatory bodies and industry sector councils

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Developing and implementing standard language assessment processes to meet the Canadian Language Benchmarks, including sector specific assessments

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Referring immigrants to appropriate services to help them address skills and experience gaps

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Sharing knowledge, exemplary practices, tools and techniques across the country

CONCLUSION The Association of Canadian Community Colleges is pleased to have this opportunity to present our perspectives to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. Again, we would like to draw the Committee’s attention to our “Responding to the Needs of Immigrants – Final Report”. ACCC reiterates our commitment to working with the committee to ensure the success of Canada’s immigrants.

The Association of Canadian Community Colleges www.accc.ca

APPENDIX The Canadian Association of Allied Health Programs (CAAHP) is an affinity group of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) and is focused on programs in allied health which respond to the human resources needs in the health care system. The crisis situation in the health care system has serious implications for education and training of new professionals, in terms of both shortages of personnel as well as shortages of clinical placement for students in training and foreign trained professionals. Assisted by ACCC, the Canadian Association of Allied Health Programs, has formed a “Collaborative Forum on Allied Health” bringing together educators, the professions through their national associations, namely: CSDMS - sonographers, CAMRT - imaging technologists, and CSMLS - medical laboratory technologists as well as the Canadian Medical Association Conjoint Accreditation unit of the CMA. This group is interested in conducting evidence based research to gather data in order to address the current training and education constraints in the system including those impacting on immigrants. The priority allied health initiatives currently being developed are as follows: Simulation-Enhanced Clinical Training and Clinical Competence

This is intended as an analysis of the efficacy of simulation-based training as a training tool to achieve clinical competence, which to date has only been looked at with physician and nursing training. This study will develop an assessment tool using radiological technology in sites around the country in order to develop a reliable and valid measurement process. Health Care Promotion Web Site

This proposal is responding to the very serious shortages in allied health professionals in the diagnostic technologies, currently being experienced in the health care system. This proposal will use the internet as the current tool of choice to profile allied health as a career. In addition information linked to our training programs in the colleges and to our partner national professional groups will be articulate, current and will direct applicants to the relevant contacts and content. The linkages will also include regulatory bodies, the Immigration Portal and possibly the Job Futures web information.