Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today that more skilled immigrants to Canada will be able to access the help needed to jump-start their credential recognition process through expanded overseas orientation services. The Canadian Immigration Integration Project (“CIIP”), run by the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (“ACCC”), will receive additional funding of $15 Million over the next three years to expand services in India, China and the Philippines. A new office will also open in London, United Kingdom, in the fall of 2011, which will also serve various Nordic and Arab states according to demand.

The CIIP, run by the ACCC, began offering orientation services in the Philippines, China and India on a pilot basis in early 2007. The existing sites, along with the London office, will offer access to more than 70% of the selected federal skilled workers around the world. These locations will also offer access to approximately 44% of selected provincial nominees around the world.

Newcomers report foreign credential recognition as one of their top challenges once they immigrate to Canada. As part of the Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada has allocated $50 Million over two years (2009-2010) to support a common approach to foreign credential recognition to better integrate immigrants into the Canadian labour market.

Minister Kenney also spoke of advancements and successes of the federal government in the area of foreign credential recognition in Canada, including the recent announcement of the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications – a landmark agreement between the federal, provincial and territorial governments to speed up foreign credential recognition for newcomers to Canada.

The official press release is available here.