The Government of Yukon is addressing health care labour shortages by facilitating the recognition of credentials for internationally educated health professionals.
On February 20 in Whitehorse, Premier Ranj Pillai, alongside the federal Minister of Small Business Rechie Valdez, on behalf of federal Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages of Canada Randy Boissonnault, alongside Yukon MP Dr. Brendan Hanley, announced the $3.6 million Foreign Credential Recognition Project for internationally educated health care workers.
This initiative is a step towards achieving actions 2.3 and 2.6 of the Government of Yukon's Health Human Resources Strategy and aims to support the integration of internationally educated health professionals into the Yukon's labour force. This will help strengthen the health and social service systems and fill crucial health care roles across the Yukon. Insights from this four-year pilot project may also inform an approach to foreign credential recognition for occupations beyond the health care sector.
This funding agreement will enable the Government of Yukon to better support internationally educated health professionals who wish to work in the Yukon. This includes creating opportunities for individuals to gain Canadian work experience and providing tailored employment services to skilled newcomers. Reducing barriers for these professionals to work will help efforts to fill vital health care positions in the territory.
Objectives of the agreement include raising awareness of available support for internationally trained newcomers, reducing barriers to foreign credential recognition, streamlining regulatory processes and facilitating labour mobility across Canadian jurisdictions. This pilot initiative is one of the ways that the Yukon government is addressing the current labour shortage in health care across the territory.
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This agreement includes $3.6 million in funding provided by the Government of Canada.
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Recruitment was identified as one of the pillars in the recently launched Yukon's Health Human Resources Strategy. This agreement helps to address Initiative 2.3. - Streamline licensing pathways and Initiative 2.6 - Establishing a clear internationally educated health professionals integration pathway.
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On a recent mission to India, Premier Pillai signed a letter of intent laying the groundwork for collaboration with a Kerala state government agencies that supports the recruitment of health care professionals by international governments and met with officials from the Government School of Nursing to promote opportunities for health care professionals in the Yukon.
