a) Statistics on Internationally Trained Individuals

Table 1 shows the number of internationally trained individuals (ITIs) who obtained a post-secondary diploma, by country where it was obtained. In 2006, roughly 1.3 million Canadians between the ages of 25 and 54 obtained their highest post-secondary diploma abroad.^[1] The vast majority (91%) were immigrants or non-permanent residents. There were also approximately 120,000 non-immigrants who obtained their highest post-secondary diploma abroad, a large proportion of them (70%) in the United States.

Among recent immigrants (immigrated between 2001 and 2006), the most common countries of study are China, India and Philippines. The proportion of ITIs who graduated in China is much higher among immigrants who arrived between 2001 and 2006 (15.3%) than among non-recent immigrants (7.3%), whereas the opposite is true for ITIs who graduated in the United States (4.8% among recent immigrants, 7.7% among non-recent immigrants) or the United Kingdom (3.6% among recent immigrants, 7.4% among non-recent immigrants).

Table 1 – Number of Internationally Trained Individuals by Immigrant Status and Country of Study, Ages 25 to 54, 2006

Country of study	Non- immigrants	Recent immigrants (2001 to 2006)	Non-recent immigrants (before 2001)	Non-permanent residents	Total
United States	84,545	20,640	50,850	12,015	168,055
India	255	51,475	65,615	4,030	121,375
Philippines	175	38,375	69,445	12,135	120,135
China	30	66,070	48,495	3,860	118,455
United Kingdom	16,780	15,530	49,005	6,360	87,670
Pakistan	130	20,290	20,800	1,365	42,585
France	3,220	12,350	16,080	4,800	36,455
Other	16,080	206,190	343,200	46,965	612,455
Total	121,215	430,925	663,495	91,530	1,307,165

Note:    Non-immigrants are Canadian citizens born in Canada and may include a small number of individuals born abroad to Canadian parents. Non-permanent residents are individuals from another country who held a work permit or study permit or were claiming refugee status, as well as members of their family living with them in Canada.

Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census, Topic-based Tabulations, Immigrant Status and Period of Immigration (9), Labour Force Activity (8), Highest Certificate, Diploma or Degree (7), Location of Study (16), Age Groups (9) and Sex (3).

Table 2 shows the number and proportion of ITIs by field of study. Fields are ordered by decreasing order of the number of ITIs. Architecture, engineering and other technologies has the highest number of ITIs.

Overall, ITIs accounted for 15.2% of the Canadian labour force aged 25 to 54 who hold a post-secondary diploma. The proportion of men (15.4%) is more or less the same as the proportion of women (15.0%).

Table 2 – Number and Proportion of Internationally Trained Individuals
by Field of Study and Sex, Ages 25 to 54, 2006

Field of study	Men		Women		Total
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Architecture, engineering, and related technologies	257,565	15.1	61,205	34.6	318,770	16.9
Business, management and public administration	104,605	15.5	161,375	12.9	265,975	13.8
Health, parks, recreation and fitness	41,755	19.6	105,305	11.6	147,060	13.1
Social and behavioural sciences and law	46,830	15.5	83,895	13.9	130,725	14.4
Humanities	31,265	19.0	68,040	25.4	99,300	22.9
Education	17,120	13.6	63,070	15.1	80,195	14.8
Mathematics, computer and information sciences	46,900	17.2	33,295	19.0	80,190	17.9
Physical and life sciences and technologies	37,430	24.5	38,020	26.5	75,455	25.5
Visual and performing arts, and communications technologies	18,445	12.5	28,690	16.2	47,130	14.5
Personal, protective and transportation services	17,940	7.0	16,330	6.2	34,265	6.6
Agriculture, natural resources and conservation	17,310	13.0	10,690	15.5	28,005	13.9
Total	637,185	15.4	669,975	15.0	1,307,160	15.2

Note:    The aggregate for the various fields is different from the overall total because “Other”, which includes multidisciplinary programs, the number of which is very
small, was not included.

Source: Authors’ calculations based on Statistics Canada, 2006 Census, Topic-based Tabulations, Activity; highest certificate, diploma or degree; location of study;
major field of study.

The proportion of ITIs is highest in physical and life sciences and technologies (25.5%) and humanities (22.9%) and lowest in personal, protective and transportation services (6.6%).

Finally, in architecture, engineering and related technologies, the proportion of workers who studied outside Canada is much higher among women (34.6%) than men (15.1%).

Table 3 shows the unemployment rate among ITIs from the same countries and in the same fields of study shown in tables 1 and 2. In 2006, the unemployment rate among individuals age 25 to 54 with a post-secondary degree or diploma was 4.7%. The rate was 7.1% among ITIs and 4.2% among individuals trained in Canada.

The unemployment rate among ITIs who studied in certain countries, such as Pakistan (10.2%) and China (9.4%), was higher than the average for all ITIs, whereas the opposite was true among ITIs who studied in the Philippines (4.0%), the United Kingdom (4.2%) and the United States (4.3%)

Finally, the unemployment rate among ITIs who studied in certain fields was roughly double the rate among individuals trained in Canada. Those fields are education, physical sciences, health and social sciences.

Table 3 – Unemployment Rate, by Country and Field of Study Where The Highest Post-Secondary Diploma Was Obtained, Ages 25 to 54, 2006

Country and Field of Study	Unemployment Rate
Country of Study
Pakistan	10.2
China	9.4
India	7.5
France	6.6
United States	4.3
United Kingdom	4.2
Philippines	4.0
Other countries	8.4
Field of Study	Outside Canada	In Canada
Social and behavioural sciences and law	8.6	4.2
Visual and performing arts, and communications	8.0	5.3
Mathematics, computer and information sciences	7.9	5.2
Humanities	7.8	4.6
Physical and life sciences and technologies	7.6	3.9
Business, management and public administration	7.4	4.1
Agriculture, natural resources and conservation	6.5	4.6
Education	6.3	2.5
Health, parks, recreation and fitness	6.2	3.2
Personal, protective and transportation services	6.1	5.7
Agriculture, natural resources and conservation	6.1	4.8
Total (all fields of study)	7.1	4.2
Total (Canada and outside Canada)	4.7

Source: Authors’ calculations based on Statistics Canada, 2006 Census, Topic-based Tabulations, Activity; highest certificate,
diploma or degree; location of study; major field of study.

b) Data on Foreign Qualifications Recognition

Between 2001 and 2005, Statistics Canada conducted the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada. Immigrants who came to Canada between October 2000 and September 2001 were interviewed six months, two years and four years after they landed. The survey included questions pertaining to the recognition of foreign credentials and experience. After four years, 28% and 12% of the immigrants respectively reported that their credentials had been fully or partially accepted, and 39% and 18% respectively reported that their foreign professional experience had been fully or partially recognized. In addition, 40% had not had their credentials assessed because they did not need to, did not think they would be recognized, or for some other reason.^[2]

Table 4 shows the probability that an immigrant’s credentials and experience were recognized four years after the immigrant landed based on a series of explanatory variables. These probabilities are based on a statistical analysis that takes all other explanatory variables into account. For example, the difference between the probability of a diploma obtained by a man or woman being recognized is statistically insignificant when other characteristics (age, region, etc.) are taken into account.

The following groups were particularly less likely to have their credentials recognized: individuals age 45 to 59, individuals in a class of immigrants other than skilled workers (especially refugees), individuals who did not speak English or French well and residents of Alberta, British Columbia or the territories.

On the other side of the coin, immigrants who lived in Canada before they landed (as temporary workers, for instance) or had a job waiting for them in Canada before they arrived were more likely to have had their credentials recognized. Immigrants who studied in the United States or the United Kingdom and immigrants with a university degree (as opposed to some college or other post-secondary education) were also more likely to have their credentials recognized (not shown in Table 4).

Women, older individuals, immigrants other than skilled workers, visible minorities, immigrants not fluent in English or French, and residents of Quebec were less likely to have their foreign experience recognized.

Table 4 – Probability (%) of an Immigrant’s Credentials and Experience Being Recognized Four Years after Landing, by Selected Characteristics, 2000-2005

Characteristics	Credentials	Work experience
Sex
Men (reference)	36	56
Women	32	48**
Age at landing
18 to 24	39	50
25 to 34 (reference)	32	48
35 to 44	28*	43*
45 to 59	21**	35**
Visible minority status
No (reference)	28	52
Yes	31	42**
Immigrant category
Skilled immigrant, principal applicant (reference)	39	56
Skilled immigrant, spouse and dependents	23**	39**
Family class	20**	37**
Refugee	12**	17**
Provincial nominees, business immigrants, other	18**	24**
Lived in Canada at least one year before landing
No (reference)	29	44
Yes	43*	51
Job arranged prior to landing
No (reference)	29	42
Yes	40**	87**
Self-assessed spoken language knowledge
Very well (reference)	32	50
Well	32	46
Fairly well	21**	34**
Poorly, not at all	23**	41**
Region
Ontario (reference)	32	47
Atlantic	59*	52
Quebec	28	32**
Prairies	48	39
Alberta	24**	54
British Columbia and territories	23**	49

Note: statistically significant from reference category, at a level of: *95%; ** 99%.

Source: René Houle and Lahouria Yssaad, "Recognition of newcomers’ foreign credentials and work experience", Perspectives, Vol. 11, No. 9, September 2010, No. 75-001-X in Statistics Canada catalogue.