BBOT supports BC Government’s action to identify barriers to foreign credential recognition
The Burnaby Board of Trade applauds the BC government’s announcement to launch a ‘What We Heard’ engagement process to identify barriers facing internationally trained professionals who need their credentials recognized to work in British Columbia’s regulated sectors.
The Burnaby Board of Trade has been a leading voice advocating for a streamlined process that quickly recognizes the foreign credentials of recent immigrants to the province. In 2020, the Burnaby Board of Trade introduced a policy position in support of foreign credential recognition that was adopted at the BC Chamber of Commerce AGM that year (see Expanding Foreign Professional Credential Recognition to Address Our Labour Shortages and Support Economic Growth (2020)). Given the importance that foreign credential recognition plays in inclusive economic growth, the Burnaby Board of Trade will be re-introducing their foreign credential recognition policy at the BC Chamber’s upcoming AGM at the end of May.
With ongoing labour shortages, BC will have to rely on newcomers to our province as immigrants are expected to fill nearly 38% of future job openings. However, many of these newcomers attracted to our province still find the recognition and appropriate valuation of their foreign professional credentials a problem that is undermining their economic success and holding back our local business communities.
The Burnaby Board of Trade looks forward to engaging with the provincial government as part of their foreign credential recognition engagement process and encourages all internationally trained professionals, along with the businesses that would employ these workers, to participate in the survey to ensure their voice is heard on possible improvements.
The survey is available until 4 p.m. on May 26, 2023. It is available in English, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Punjabi, French and Tagalog.
Click here to participate in the government’s Foreign Credential Recognition engagement survey.
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