Good news for nurses who have chosen Canada to work and who have been trained abroad, many of whom are of Moroccan nationality. The Canadian government is providing more than C$2.3 million for three projects that will help them get their credentials recognized and reduce the time it takes to get certified or licensed to practice in Canada in order to find quality jobs.
If the white coat of the nurse and the Moroccan nurse seems to look good internationally, in Canada to claim to be a happy chosen one of the profession, an integration course of more than two months (75 days), is essential. It is necessary to obtain the definitive recognition of the diploma and a possible tenure. This applies to many nationalities. However, foreign nurses, despite the urgent need for nurses in the Canadian health care system, are repeatedly disqualified for employment because of the certification of their credentials, which does not does not conform to the Canadian system.
That said, it was Canada’s Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, who made the announcement of the 2.3 million dollars to these recognition projects on the occasion of International Nurses Day. The minister who in a statement called nurses “heroes of the health system” in tribute to their extraordinary resilience in the response to Dame Covid in Canada is a believer in the use of internationally trained nurses. She indicated that it is to reduce the time it takes to obtain their certification or their license to practice in Canada that the government is providing support to the three projects.
“Helping skilled nurses find and keep safe, well-paying jobs is part of our plan to get Canada back on track after the pandemic. Our funding today will help internationally educated nurses get their credentials recognized and get jobs, and address the nursing shortage we are experiencing. Their experience and expertise will keep Canadians safe and sound”, said Carla Qualtrough.
For the government, these measureswill help newcomers land quality jobs faster, advance their careers, support their families and give back to the community as we work to build back better after the Covid-19 pandemic.Internationally educated nurses represent 8.9% of regulated nurses in Canada. Over the past 10 years, more than 25,000 nurses have immigrated to Canada.
A year ago, the Canadian Ministry of Health launched a mission to recruit 4,000 health workers abroad, many of whom would come from Morocco. The demand in 2022 for nurses was 3,500 people of all nationalities. The province of Quebec being one of the most assiduous applicants. With the advent of Covid, the Quebec government already estimated that it needed to recruit, over the five-year term, 30% of the total workforce of 75,000 nurses.
That said, in rural areas, many communities are already ready to welcome immigrants, but for some there are some difficulties with infrastructure, lack of housing, Internet and cellular connectivity, transportation… Newcomers can therefore feel isolated. In Canada, a challenge that comes up all the time is the lack of manpower to overcome. Also, it is necessary to wonder where and how these immigrants will live once they arrive on the spot in order to fill the vacant positions.