Canada urged to recognize PHL-earned degrees to spur hiring

The Philippines urged Canada this week to recognize the academic degrees earned in the Philippines to boost the hiring of Filipinos.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said this would help fill the projected one million job vacancies across Canada by 2021 in sectors such as mining, oil, and health care.

In a news release, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Del Rosario made the suggestion to Canada’s Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney during their meeting at Canada’s Parliament Hill.

“Degrees earned in some foreign countries, including the Philippines, are downgraded when assessed in Canada, due to differences in curricula and required number of years. For instance, a college graduate in the Philippines is considered as having completed only two years of college education in Canada,” the DFA said.

Del Rosario said Canada would continue to attract Filipino workers who share close affinity with traditional Canadian values of hard work, respect for tradition, devotion to family, religious tolerance, and adherence to the law.

The DFA said the Philippines has been Canada’s largest source of temporary and skilled workers since 2010 (around 30,000 a year), beating India and China which previously dominated Canada’s labor market.

Meanwhile, Kenney praised the positive contributions of Filipinos in Canada, saying they are boosting the country’s economy and enriching its culture and society.

Kenney also said part of Canada’s success as a country of immigration is its focus on high levels of human capital, or people who can move upward in the economy. – VVP, GMA News