Certain jobs require a licence
There are two types of occupations in Canada:
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 in the province or territory where you plan to work.
About 20 percent of Canadian jobs are in regulated occupations. Each regulated occupation sets its own requirements for obtaining a licence or certificate, usually through the provincial or territorial regulatory body or professional association. These jobs are regulated in order to protect public health and safety, and to ensure that professionals meet the required standards of practice and competence.
Regulated occupations are also called professions, skilled trades or apprenticeable trades.
If your occupation is regulated, credential assessment and recognition is usually done by a regulatory body. This takes time and costs money. Check with the regulatory body or other organization for your occupation to determine whether you need an assessment before spending money on an assessment that is not required or recognized.
Most regulatory bodies and apprenticeship authorities have their own websites that provide information on:
- Licensing
- Eligibility requirements
- Foreign credential recognition
- Registration fees
Contact information for your regulatory body can be found by using the Working in Canada Tool.
Note: Health care, financial services, law and legal services and engineering are some common regulated fields in Canada.
In Canada, some provinces and territories regulate certain professions and trades while others do not. If you have a licence to work in one province or territory, your licence may not be accepted in others.
Requirements for entry into a regulated occupation are different between provinces and territories. They usually include:
- Examinations
- An evaluation of your language and communication skills
- A specified period of supervised work experience
There is an agreement between the federal, provincial and territorial governments that makes it easier for people, goods and services to move across Canada. One of its goals is to ensure that workers who are licensed, certified or registered in one part of the country will have their qualifications assessed and recognized in any other province or territory where their occupation is regulated.
Non-regulated occupations
If your occupation is not regulated, employers will be interested in learning about your competencies, education and work experience in order to decide whether you are suitable for a job. This information can be summarized in a résumé or curriculum vitae (CV). Employers may also be interested in the Canadian equivalency to your international educational credentials. A provincial credential assessment agency can assess your credentials for a fee.
What you can do
- Find out more about how to get your credentials recognized.
- Find Canadian job titles that are comparable to your experience by using the Working in Canada Tool, since job titles are often different in different countries.
- If you are in Canada, contact an immigrant‑serving organization.
- Make a list of your skills, and be prepared to give employers examples of how you have demonstrated those skills.