Survey on access to the first job in professions of internationally educated professionals

The Survey on access to the first job in professions of internationally educated professionals is a technical and scientific support project. Quebec and Canada have established immigration policies to attract highly skilled workers. However, these skilled immigrants face multiple barriers in the labour market, particularly if they are members of regulated professions. They are also called Internationally Educated Professionals (IEPs).

This project was conducted on behalf of the Quebec Interprofessional Council (QIC).

The objective of this research is twofold. Initially, it was to document, from a large sample of respondents, all the difficulties faced by IEPs. The members of four professional associations were targeted:

• Chemists
• Chartered Professional Accountants
• Engineers
• Professional technologists

The questions focused on their process for accessing the first job in their profession in the Quebec labour market. We also looked at the solutions available to them. Secondly, the project also aimed to sound out, based on these same questions, the community stakeholders that support them throughout their professional integration.

This report on the challenges of IEPs also made it easier to obtain a comprehensive view of the critical steps they face in gaining access to the first job in their profession. In addition, this project helped formulate IEP employability recommendations and solutions.

Type of service: Technical support
Person responsible: Sarah Mainich
Funding source: Conseil Interprofessionnel du Québec (CIQ)
Project start date: December 2015
Project end date: April 2016