On May 23, the Ontario Minister of Labor, Immigration, training, & skill development declared that PEO, i.e., Professional Engineers Ontario will remove the Canada work experience requirement from the application criteria. The minister says that removing Canada work experience requirements will enable the professionals to enter a job in which they have received training.
The recent data on Canada work experience shows that the applicants applying for a license should showcase at least 48 months of experience in engineering after graduation. Moreover, out of these 48 months, 12 months of engineering experience must be shown in a Canadian jurisdiction, that too under an authorized/ licensed professional engineer.
McNaughton asserts that there are over 300,000 unfilled jobs across the province. This includes thousands of applicants in engineering that can cause billions in lost productivity.
The change follows the Working for Workers Act of 2021. Under this act, engineers must assess their competencies in a non-discriminatory way. As a result, this will ensure that newcomers are able to carry on with their careers in Ontario.
The president of PEO, Roydon Fraser, asserted that over 60% of the license applications received yearly are from foreign-trained engineers. Thus, the steps taken to remove the Canada work experience requirements will enable competent foreign engineers to be licensed.
If we look closely at the 2019 data from PEO, we will see over 85,649 licensed engineers in Ontario. Having 24,258 members, this was the second-highest number of members/ individuals having international training.
The province states that dismissing the Canada work experience requirement will enable competent individuals to follow/ pursue their careers along with maintaining licensing & exam needs of Ontario.
Under the present system, a professional with skills and technical abilities must pass the license exams. However, they might still be barred from registering in their profession without Canadian work experience. This implies that individuals must gain this experience through the occupations they can get. This includes work in an unrelated sector, like hospitality/ retail.
Other Registered Professions
Ontario is Canada’s most populous province & is dealing with severe labor shortages in numerous sectors. One of the consequential barriers to filling vacant jobs is offering individuals the accreditation required in regulated/ controlled professions.
Ontario is taking several steps to make it easier for newcomers to work in regulated fields. For instance, it has passed legislation that will enable nurses from different Canadian jurisdictions to work in the province without registering with health regulatory colleges.
Moreover, it also allows internationally educated nurses to register for temporary classes. However, they can start working readily while they work towards complete registration. The report offered by the College of Nurses in Ontario shows that out of 12,385 new nurses the college registered, 5,124 got their training outside Canada.
In addition, the college has changed its language proficiency policy & has collaborated with various colleges & universities to help applicants meet the educational requirement.