Backgrounder: Targeted Employment Strategy for Newcomers

Targeted Employment Strategy for Newcomers

The Targeted Employment Strategy for Newcomers, announced in Budget 2017, has three components to help newcomers enter the job market. These are:

1. improved pre-arrival supports;
2. a loan program to assist newcomers with costs of getting their foreign credentials recognized; and
3. assistance to acquire first Canadian work experience in their profession or in a field related to their profession.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Settlement Program provides eligible newcomers with information about life in Canada and the community in which they intend to settle, language training, help finding a job, and connections with established immigrants and Canadians. IRCC’s investment of close to $778 million will further support the settlement needs of newcomers across the provinces and territories (outside of Quebec). IRCC announced $31.9 million for a three-year Visible Minority Newcomer pilot to further improve the employment and career advancement of visible minority newcomers in Canada by addressing the barriers they face.

Foreign Credential Recognition Program

The Foreign Credential Recognition (FCR) Program aims to improve the integration of internationally trained newcomers into the workforce. The Program provides funding to and works with the provinces and territories and other stakeholders—including non-profit organizations, regulatory bodies, post‑secondary institutions, sectoral stakeholders and employers—to implement projects that facilitate the assessment and recognition of qualifications acquired in other countries.

The FCR Program funds projects that:

• simplify and harmonize national credential recognition processes;
• provide microloans to offset the costs related to having foreign credentials recognized; and
• test the most effective and efficient ways to help highly skilled newcomers gain their first Canadian work experience in their profession and field of study.

Foreign Credential Recognition Loans

Overcoming financial barriers to foreign credential recognition is important to the successful labour market integration of newcomers. The Government of Canada allocates $7 million annually under the FCR Program to provide loans and support services such as career and financial counselling to newcomers so they can address barriers they face.

Work Experience Pilot Project

Helping newcomers eliminate barriers due to lack of first Canadian professional work experience will help them enter the job market faster. The Government of Canada invested $3.5 million in the Canadian Work Experience Pilot Project, helping 1,200 highly skilled newcomers, of which 50% are women, over a period of 24 months.

Call for Concepts – Innovation and Skilled Newcomer Employment

The Call for Concepts is open to eligible stakeholders involved in foreign credential recognition and the integration of highly skilled newcomers into the labour market, such as regulatory bodies, professional associations and unions.

The Government is soliciting concepts from eligible stakeholders that could lead to the design and implementation of innovative employment supports for highly skilled newcomers and/or improve foreign credential recognition processes. The Call for Concepts will select 15 projects over 30 months, with a maximum allocation of $800,000 per project.

The Call for Concepts is an easy two-step process:

• Eligible stakeholders submit an overview of their project concepts by April 11, 2019.
• Those whose applications are retained will be invited to develop full project proposals.

The deadline for submission of concepts is April 11, 2019, 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.