Skilled newcomers lacking domestic credentials get help from feds in B.C.

WEST VANCOUVER, B.C. — Federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney says it’s an unacceptable waste that skilled workers who come to Canada can’t find jobs.

In West Vancouver today, Kenney announced a .

3 million funding package for the B.C. government to improve the recognition of foreign credentials, helping more of those immigrants find work.

The cash is slated to fund over 30 projects that will help remove barriers faced by newcomers who are trained overseas, with a particular focus in B.C. on the energy and resource sectors.

The projects include helping employers close obstacles for new Canadians entering the workforce, putting more information online that promotes in-demand jobs in Canada and working with regulators to speed up the credential-recognition process.

B.C. Attorney General Suzanne Anton says with 1 million job openings expected in the province by 2020, it’s not good to let a group of people languish who are skilled but weren’t certified in Canada.

Kenney says the government also wants to benefit from the “dysfunctional” American immigration system, including scooping up young graduates from abroad by offering an expedited visa track to this country.