Planning to work in Canada? An essential workbook for newcomers
Glossary
Apprenticeship Authority: the organization that has information about trades training, and the licensing, certification or registration that you may need before you can work in Canada.
Certification: A formal document that recognizes that a person has a certain set of skills, knowledge and abilities. Certification often requires a person to complete education or training.
Credential Assessment Agencies (“Provincial Credential Assessment Agencies”): In Canada, provincial and territorial governments are responsible for assessing and recognizing credentials. Provincial credential assessment agencies evaluate foreign educational credentials.
Educational Institutions (“Post-Secondary Educational Institutions”): For a newcomer arriving in Canada and looking for a job, post-secondary educational institutions are places where you can go to upgrade your skills. Post-secondary educational institutions such as universities, colleges or vocational training centres complete foreign credential assessment and recognition when a newcomer applies for admission.
Employer: A person, partnership or company that is directly or indirectly responsible for hiring an employee. In non-regulated occupations, employers assess and recognize foreign credentials. Tip: It is a good idea to have your foreign credentials assessed by a credential assessment agency. This will help potential employers understand your qualifications better.
Health Card: The provinces and territories, rather than the federal government, are primarily responsible for the administration and delivery of health-care services. The health card is issued by the provincial or territorial government and allows access to insured health-care services.
Hidden Job Market: Many job openings are not advertised anywhere, creating what seems like a “hidden” job market. Information about available work is often circulated through managers, employees and business associates, as well as through family, friends and acquaintances.
Immigrant-Serving Organization: There are hundreds of organizations that serve immigrants in Canada. Many of these organizations are supported financially by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. They hire staff who were once newcomers to Canada and who understand the challenges that immigrants may face; they may have people available who speak your language and who can accompany you as interpreters; and they are located in major cities.
Intended Occupation: In Canada, similar jobs or occupations often have different titles. You will need to read the first page of the Working in Canada Report and confirm that the job title you have chosen correctly describes the work you plan to do in Canada.
Newcomers: This term refers to people who have recently landed as immigrants to Canada.
Non-Regulated Occupation: A non-regulated occupation is a profession or a trade for which you don’t need a licence, certificate or registration to work in. Most occupations in Canada are non-regulated. If you are applying for a non-regulated occupation, you must show your potential employer that you have the education and experience to do the job. Even if an occupation is not regulated, an employer can still ask that an applicant be registered, licensed or certified with a professional association.
Red Seal Trades (Skilled Trades): The Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program was established to provide greater mobility for skilled workers across Canada. The Red Seal program allows qualified tradespeople to practise their trade anywhere in Canada where the trade is designated without having to write further examinations. To date, 49 trades are included in the national Red Seal Program, accounting for over 88% of all apprentices and more than 80% of the total trades work force in Canada. To learn more about Red Seal trades available in your province or territory, contact your provincial or territorial apprenticeship authority.
References: A list of people who are in a position to recommend you or to vouch for your ability to do a job.
Regulated Occupation: Many professions set their own standards of practice. These are called regulated occupations. In Canada, about 20 percent of jobs are regulated by the government to protect public health and safety. For example, nurses, doctors, engineers, teachers and electricians all work in regulated occupations. If you want to work in a regulated occupation and use a regulated title, you must have a licence or a certificate or be registered with the regulatory body for your occupation. Some occupations are regulated in some provinces or territories but not regulated in others.
Regulatory Body: A regulatory body is an organization that sets the standards and practices of a profession. For example, the College of Nurses of Ontario makes sure that its members are qualified to do a nurse’s job. It also makes sure that members keep up their qualifications.
Résumé: Résumés, also known as CV’s (for curriculum vitaes), are a summary of an individual candidate’s skills and experience. They should also be viewed as marketing materials. The crucial consideration is to match the résumé with the target audience, ideally a hiring manager.
Service Canada Centre: Service Canada centres provide in-person services for individuals seeking information about where to go to get their credentials assessed in Canada. Service Canada agents help individuals identify more quickly their occupation’s appropriate regulatory and assessment body as well as provide important job-related information about specific occupations. To find the nearest Service Canada centre offering in-person information, path-finding and referral services, call 1-888-854-1805 or TTY 1-800-926-9105 (in Canada only).
Social Insurance Number: The Social Insurance Number (SIN) is a nine-digit number that you need to work in Canada or to have access to government programs and benefits.
Volunteer: A person who performs a service willingly and without pay.
Working in Canada Report: This report is produced through Working in Canada. It will help you identify the name of your occupation in Canada and provide you with a detailed labour market information report (containing job duties, skill requirements, wage rates, etc.) for a chosen location in Canada.