Colleges and institutes also indicated that the high resource requirements and costs associated with PLAR can be a barrier for colleges/institutes to offer such services effectively for immigrants. There is some institutional resistance to colleges/institutes delivering PLAR, but if they could afford to do it more effectively, this resistance could be broken down.
Mount Royal College in Calgary has a three year HRSDC funded research project that is assessing the impact of PLAR on the placement of foreign-trained nurses into education programs and employment in nursing. The college is partnered with Ryerson University, New Brunswick Community College and the University of New Brunswick and is also collaborating with nursing associations. The project will develop a prototype for applying PLAR to the credentialing of foreign-trained nurses that could be used by other colleges and institutes.
Bow Valley College has established the Employment Resource Centre for Immigrant Professionals (ERCIP) funded through Alberta Human Resources and Employment. The purpose of the project is to build relationships with credentialing associations and bodies in order to facilitate the recognition of credentials of foreign trained professionals. The centre will develop a website to allow potential immigrants better access to information about credentialing before they immigrate so that they have a more realistic perception of what they can expect upon arrival.
Grant MacEwan Community College in Edmonton provided another example of an assessment service: a in-house transcript evaluator position. This staff position is responsible for reviewing foreign credentials and making them appropriate for application to the college. The position was created as part of the college’s international student services.
Over 50 percent of colleges and institutes that participated in the diagnostic survey confirmed that they have been involved in initiatives related to Foreign Credential Recognition (FCR) or specific to immigrants’ prior employment. These institutions have provided some excellent examples of provincially-funded, innovative programs delivered by colleges and institutes to facilitate FCR. The diagnostic survey has also confirmed that the main role of colleges and institutes in FCR is that of facilitators of the credentialing process through their Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) services, building relationships with credential associations and bodies, and through the delivery of bridging or fast-track transition programs which will be described in Section 2.2.4.
Colleges and institutes have adopted some innovative practices and approaches to facilitating the FCR process for immigrants. It is clear that in order to effectively facilitate FCR in many contexts and depending on the needs of the foreign trained professionals, a combination of programs and services must be offered. The diagnostic survey confirmed that PLAR and bridging transition programs must be part of the mix of services offered. However these programs must be complemented with advisory and career counseling services and collaboration with credentialing bodies