Most foreign health professionals in Canada find jobs in their fields

Nurses attending to a Covid patient inside the intensive care unit of Humber River Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada April 19, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio 

Statistics Canada’s latest findings reveal that of the 259,694 foreign healthcare professionals, including nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and dentists, 76%  were employed while 60% find jobs within their field in Canada. .

This employment rate, however, was lower than that of Canadian-educated healthcare professionals, which was 80%. The data includes individuals working in healthcare occupations who may not necessarily be IEHPs.

Immigration makes up a quarter of the total workforce in the healthcare sector, according to IRCC data. This figure is expected to rise in the coming years, considering that approximately 500,000 healthcare workers are over the age of 55 and are expected to retire within the next decade, thereby creating opportunities for new arrivals.

Several Statistics Canada studies show seven out of ten IEHPs in Canada are female, reflecting the diversity of gender within this profession.

Ontario has emerged as the main location for internationally educated healthcare professionals (IEHPs), with 116,310 people opting to live there. British Columbia and Alberta came in second and third with 45,235 and 42,035 IEHPs, respectively, .

Around 63% received their schooling in Asian nations and 11% had continued their education in English-speaking Western countries. One-third of IEHPs chose nursing as their area of study, according to Statistics Canada.

Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia reported high employment rates for IEHPs in healthcare occupations, with both jurisdictions having employment rates above 65%.

Just 46% of IEHPs found employment in the healthcare industry in the remaining areas of Canada, which showed a lower employment rate for IEHPs. Statistics Canada, there were 147,100 job openings recorded in June of the current year.

The difficult procedure of being licensed in Canada’s regulated professions is one of the biggest obstacles that IEHPs encounter while looking for work in their particular industries.

Nevertheless, Canadian provinces have initiated policies that will reduce obstacles for IEHPs. For instance, Nova Scotia has implemented an accelerated pathway for licensed and registered foreign nurses.