Employer’s roadmap to hiring and retaining internationally trained workers

Section 4: How do I assess and select internationally trained workers?

In this section, you will find information on:

• 4.1 Addressing perceived barriers for internationally trained workers
• 4.2 Assessment
• 4.3 Language standards
• 4.4 Certification and licensure
• 4.5 Selecting internationally trained workers
• 4.6 Related resources
  • General
  • Credential assessment and evaluation
  • Competency assessment, skills training and development
  • Language
  • Diversity and employee integration

---

4.1 Addressing perceived barriers for internationally trained workers

There are many barriers that make it difficult for internationally trained workers to find suitable employment. As an employer, you can take steps to identify and remove these barriers in your process of recruitment, assessment and selection.

• Make sure everyone involved in hiring is aware of the value and transferability of international skills and credentials.
• Provide diversity and cross-cultural training to all employees, including those who will be involved in the hiring process.
• Focus on the skills and job experience of the candidates rather than on where they came from or where they gained their education and experience. Establish skill-focused criteria and do not screen out résumés just because an applicant’s credentials and experience were obtained outside Canada.
• Explain the selection and interview process and the selection criteria to candidates in advance or include the process and criteria on your job posting.
• In advertising the job opening and required qualifications, let workers know that you value international credentials and competencies.
• Let potential candidates know that your workplace is an inclusive workplace that welcomes diversity.
• Post health, safety and employment standards in multiple languages to make employees feel welcome.

---

4.2 Assessment

As an employer, you have experience in assessing the qualifications of candidates for a job. This section will help you assess qualifications for internationally trained workers. You will be able to make sure your assessment procedures are as fair, accurate and equitable as possible so that you can find the best candidate for the job.

For the assessment process to be fair, accurate and equitable, and to lead to the selection of the best candidate for the job, you will need to:

• Recognize the value of international credentials and experience;
• Focus on the skills, behaviours and knowledge required for the job;
• Develop assessment criteria based on a good job description; and
• Address perceived barriers for internationally trained individuals.

Assessment of international qualifications should measure accurately the candidate’s competencies, skills and language abilities and allow you to determine if they meet the standards required to do the job. Certification needs (if any) and how they can be addressed must also be part of the assessment process.

How can you verify the candidate’s education, training and job experience obtained in another country? How can you know how these credentials compare to Canadian standards?

The term credential usually refers to paper qualifications: certificates, diplomas and degrees. While it is important to know how paper credentials compare to Canadian standards, employers usually want and need to know more when considering a candidate whose work experience and training have been acquired outside Canada. Employers need to know if the candidate can do the job. Does the candidate have the necessary competencies for the job?

4.2.1 Assessing and verifying international credentials

There are organizations that can assess the credentials of internationally trained workers and establish their equivalencies in Canadian standards for you. Some of these organizations are provincially mandated to assess credentials. The availability and type of credential assessment services offered will vary by region.

You can help internationally trained workers by using the services of credential assessment agencies and paying the fees for their services, or you can ask that potential employees have their credentials assessed as part of their application for a job.

For occupations that require licensing or certification, some regulatory bodies provide advice and assistance to internationally trained workers on the assessment and recognition of international credentials.

For non-regulated occupations in certain sectors, there are voluntary certification systems that can assess and recognize the abilities of internationally trained workers.

Many colleges and institutes have prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR) services. PLAR is the identification and measurement of skills and knowledge acquired outside formal educational institutions. It could be formal credits or credentials, skills and knowledge gained through work and life experience, or prior learning acquired in formal education institutes. The PLAR process can establish credential equivalencies for the skills and knowledge gained outside of Canada by internationally trained workers. Assessments are most often used to grant academic credit or determine eligibility to practise in a trade or profession. PLAR may also include the determination of future goals and individual training needs.

Assessing international credentials:

• Don’t assume applicants will know what they need to submit to apply for a job. Be specific about documents you want to see included with résumés from internationally trained workers (e.g., credential equivalencies, diplomas, reference letters, etc.).
• Inform applicants about credential assessment services in your job advertisement and put a link to these services on your organization’s website.

4.2.2 Assessing and verifying competencies

Employers can use competency-based testing to assess all candidates for the job. Here are some tips on how to measure competencies.

A competency is a measurable skill or set of skills, level of knowledge, and behavioural practices obtained through formal, non-formal or informal learning; ability to perform occupation-specific tasks and duties.

Source: TASC FCR Workshop Materials

• Make use of available resources such as occupational standards and the Test of Workplace Essential Skills (TOWES). Many sector councils have developed competency-based occupational standards for their industries. You can assess the competencies of internationally trained workers against these standards for specific occupations.

TOWES uses workplace documents to accurately measure the three essential skills that are needed for safe and productive employment: reading text, document use and numeracy. TOWES is used for entry-level assessment of skills. There are also sector-specific TOWES assessments customized to individual sectors. A growing national network of 33 colleges across Canada distributes the TOWES assessments.

• Distinguish between job competencies and language competencies. An internationally trained worker may have the technical skills to do the job but may not have the right level of language skills. Do not let the candidate’s language proficiency affect your assessment of job competencies unnecessarily. Language ability may be required, but other non-language competencies are also often needed to do the job.
• Develop practical tests when possible. Practical skills tests are a useful way of assessing whether or not a worker can do the job. Practical tests allow you to see the candidate “in action.” If properly designed, the candidates’ actual abilities are tested.
• Overcome barriers in competencies and work experience. In your job advertisement, explicitly state that you recognize and value experience gained outside of Canada. If, however, work experience in Canada is a prerequisite for the licensing required for the job, consider recruiting candidates at an associate level until their licensure requirements are met.

---

4.3 Language standards

• Establish the level of proficiency needed for the job you are trying to fill. Some jobs may not require a high level of language skills, while others may need a specific job-related level of skills. Consider selecting workers who do not speak fluent English or French for positions where basic language skills are sufficient. The Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks has developed national standards in English and French for describing, measuring and recognizing the second-language proficiency of adult immigrants and prospective immigrants for living and working in Canada. These standards can be useful in developing language requirements in job descriptions. The Centre is currently developing occupational language analyses that describe job tasks using the Canadian Language Benchmarks and the nine essential skills (see Section 3.2). Several sector councils have also developed sectoral or occupation-specific language testing and training materials.
• Ignore the superficial aspects of communication and concentrate on what the applicant is trying to say. Internationally trained workers may actually be very proficient in English or French but they may speak with an accent, use different vocabulary or express themselves differently. Be aware of cultural differences in communication styles. The candidate’s weakness in language skills can be overcome through language training or on-the-job experience. Also consider that a candidate’s weakness in language skills may be made worse by nervousness in the interview process.
• Overcome barriers in language proficiency and different communication styles. In advertising the job, use simple, direct and plain language, free of jargon and slang. You may want to consider advertising the job in languages other than English or French, especially for jobs that do not require a high level of language skills. You will “cast a wider net” for potential candidates this way. Also, give candidates advance notice of interviews so that they can properly prepare.

---

4.4 Certification and licensure

The job you are trying to fill may be a regulated occupation that requires a licence to practise. Even if the job you are trying to fill is not a regulated occupation, you may be interested in voluntary certification to establish a certain standard of job proficiency.

Many resources on credential assessment are provided by regulatory bodies and professional associations. Some industries have also developed certification tools.

In some cases, licensing requires Canadian work experience. In such cases, consider recruiting candidates at an associate level until their licensure requirements are met when they can be fully employed at the appropriate level.

---

4.5 Selecting internationally trained workers

Having good job descriptions, good recruitment practices and fair, equitable and accurate assessment processes will give you the tools you need to select the best workers for the job. Here are a few tips on selection:

• Base your selection on an assessment process that recognizes the value and transferability of international skills and credentials.
• Consider all aspects of a candidate’s profile, balancing pros and cons rather than focusing on just a few factors.
• Use a consistent, equitable set of criteria for selecting workers applying for the same type of position. For example, create an evaluation table to use for each candidate to ensure consistency.
• Be clear as to how you will make the final selection and be honest with yourself and the candidate about the basis for selection. When rejecting applicants, explain clearly and honestly why. If you are rejecting them because of poor communication skills, insufficient credentials or other reasons, provide the actual reason and do not say “lack of Canadian experience” if it is not the real reason.
• To ensure a fair and equitable selection process, invite a human resources advisor or hire a consultant to assist in the interview process.
• You may want to make a specific commitment to hiring internationally trained workers for your organization. You can also allocate a number of positions to work transition programs.

---

4.6 Related resources

General

• Alliance of Sector Councils (Pan‑Canadian)
• Construction Sector Council Strategy Paper (Pan‑Canadian)
• Educational Testing Service Canada, Inc. (Pan‑Canadian)
• Engineers Canada (Pan‑Canadian)
• Immigration Programs – Foreign Credentials Referral Office – Citizenship and Immigration Canada (Pan‑Canadian)
• Going to Canada Portal – Citizenship and Immigration Canada (Pan‑Canadian)
• Immigration et Communautés culturelles Québec (Quebec)

Credential assessment and evaluation

• Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada (Pan‑Canadian)
• Canadian Association of Prior Learning Assessment (Pan‑Canadian)
• Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials (CICIC) (Pan‑Canadian)
• University of Toronto – Comparative Education Service (Pan‑Canadian)
• International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS) (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Northwest Territories)
• International Credential Evaluation Service (ICES) (British Columbia, Institute of Technology) (British Columbia)
• Academic Credentials Assessment Service (ACAS) (Manitoba)
• World Education Services (Ontario, with pan-Canadian applicability)
• Centre d’expertise sur les formations acquises hors du Québec (CEFAHQ) (Quebec)

Competency assessment, skills training and development

• Assisting Local Leaders with Immigrant Employment Strategies (ALLIES) (Pan‑Canadian)
• Canadian Automotive Repair Service Council (Pan‑Canadian)
• Canadian Aviation Maintenance Council (Pan‑Canadian)
• Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (Pan‑Canadian)
• Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council (Pan‑Canadian)
• Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (CCLB) (Pan‑Canadian)
• Electricity Sector Council’s Foreign Credential Recognition Research Project (Pan‑Canadian)
• Enhanced Language Training – Citizenship and Immigration Canada (Pan‑Canadian)
• Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) – Citizenship and Immigration Canada (Pan‑Canadian)
• Textiles Human Resources Council’s Global Skills Connection (Pan‑Canadian)
• Multicultural Helping House Society – Bamboo Network (Construction) (British Columbia)
• Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) (Ontario – Toronto)
• Waterloo Region Immigrant Employment Network (WRIEN) (Ontario – Waterloo)

Language

• Canadian English Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses (CELBAN) (Pan‑Canadian)
• Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (CCLB) (Pan‑Canadian)
• Test de connaissance du français (Pan‑Canadian)
• Test de français international (Pan‑Canadian)
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) (Pan‑Canadian)
• Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) (Pan‑Canadian)

Diversity and employee integration

• Cultural Profiles Project – Citizenship and Immigration Canada (Pan‑Canadian)
• Integration-Net – Citizenship and Immigration Canada (Pan‑Canadian)
• Integration Resources Canada (Pan‑Canadian)
• Intercultural Insights (Pan‑Canadian)

 

<< Previous | Contents | Next >>