Recently, Meadow Lake MLA and immigration and career training minister Jeremy Harrison announced changes to The Employment Program Regulations, bolstering Saskatchewan’s recruitment of internationally educated workers.

This is another step in the government’s plan to reduce the red tape and regulatory burdens associated with the assessment of credentials in regulated occupations.

The new International Credential Recognition Grant (ICRG) will assist newcomers with foreign qualification recognition costs required to obtain licensure. Providing up to $6,000 per application, this program will target internationally trained, healthcare workers — including those who have not yet arrived in Saskatchewan — who have not been able to obtain licensure.

“Improving our ability to attract internationally educated workers to Saskatchewan is critical in this global market where everyone is competing for the same talent,” Harrison said. “With these regulatory amendments, we will be able to provide direct support to incoming professionals, removing some of the financial barriers they face when seeking credential recognition to practice their profession in our province.

“Every day I hear from employers in this province the biggest challenge they are facing is an acute labour shortage. These changes directly address barriers to people filling those labour shortages.”

In a subsequent interview, Harrison told Northern Pride the new changes to The Employment Program Regulations will bolster Saskatchewan’s ability to attract internationally educated workers.

“These regulatory changes will ensure certainty for newcomers entering our job market,” he said. “Here in Meadow Lake, our expectation is these changes will result in attracting and licensing new healthcare workers for the Northwest Community Lodge and the Meadow Lake Hospital, as these regulations will provide up to $6,000 per applicant who is obtaining their license. These regulatory changes will allow the government to work with newcomers to have their credentials assessed and recognized before they land in Saskatchewan, which will allow them to enter the workforce immediately upon arrival.”

In addition to these measures, as a part of the 2023-24 budget, the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training has established the Labour Mobility and Fair Registration Practices Office.

This office will work with regulators to ensure compliance with the new measures. The office will also work with newcomers and applicants in pathfinding and related credential recognition activities.

“Under these regulations, regulatory bodies will be mandated by law to assess an internationally trained applicant’s training, experience and qualifications and give a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer within 50 days,” Harrison said. “Additionally, workers certified in other provinces or territories will receive recognition of their certification within 20 days. These are the fastest and most aggressive processing times in Canada.”

Over and above the mandated timelines, regulators are required by law to provide a detailed written reason to the applicant if an application is not successful. The regulatory body will be further mandated by law to provide a remediation path to have that credential recognized.

By implementing aggressive timelines and providing navigation and financial supports for internationally trained newcomers, Saskatchewan aspires to become the top destination of choice for skilled workers.

“The Labour Mobility and Fair Registration Practices regulations introduced maximum timelines for assessment and registration decisions, as well as reducing the requirements associated with the credential recognition process,” Harrison reiterated.

“Under these regulations the Government of Saskatchewan is ensuring the province has the shortest legislated timelines for labour mobility and foreign credential assessments in Canada.”

All of these changes, Harrison added, align with the Government of Saskatchewan’s Health Human Resources (HHR) action plan, which aims to recruit, train, incentivize and retain health care workers. The Ministry of Immigration and Career Training’s 2023-24 budget included an additional $5.2 million to support HHR initiatives, including recruiting internationally educated nurses to the province. Two recent missions to the Philippines in December 2022 and March 2023 resulted in 400 job offers extended to internationally educated nurses.