Maybe Not!
It seems to be a ridiculous notion, that, by having to move from one location to another, one might become less valuable in the economic marketplace. This concept becomes even more ridiculous when considering the level of highly competent individuals who have worked diligently to earn formal professional credentials and carry with them years of professional training, expertise, and experience. Yet, when these highly competent and trained individuals move from their home location to a new part of Canada, this is exactly what happens.
A recent report, Brain Gain 2015: The State of Canada’s Learning Recognition System issued by the Conference Board of Canada focuses on this issue.
Click Here to Read the Full Report
Click Here to Read a Summary Article
As noted in this article, Canadian workers stand to gain billions of dollars in economic gains should provinces recognize formal accreditation, training, and standards acquired from different places around the world. When Canadian workers gain economically, there is a direct connection to the Canadian economy gaining as a whole. However, this seems to be an untapped area of possibilities and opportunities.
This lack of recognition of credentials and learned expertise is not a new concept. We see, hear, and read numerous accounts about the loss of employment credentials particularly focused on internationally trained immigrants coming to Canada. There are numerous stories of dedicated and trained professionals landing in Canada who end up taking employment opportunities well below their career capacities.
What is not often highlighted, however, is the notion of province to province employment migration resulting in a similarly significant potential loss of credential recognition.
As Human Resources professionals, we too must face this challenge. For those of us practicing in Ontario, we are able to earn credentials through the Human Resources Professionals Association resulting in one of three Canadian designations; CHRP, CHRL or CHRE. Other provinces have their own credentialing bodies or professional association requirements.
It would certainly be a shame to lose the credibility of these earned credentials if one moved from Ontario to another province or vice versa. Should fully trained, competent Human Resources professionals with years of experience, knowledge, expertise, and credentials expect to lose economically when transferring from one province to another?
There does not seem to be any benefit from this potential loss to anyone. The gains, on the other hand, from recognizing what has been legitimately earned seem to be significant.
Discussion Questions:
- Would you move to another location/country for work purposes if you knew your earned credentials or learned experience would not be recognized?
- How would provincial economies benefit from recognizing external credentials?
- Why do you think out of province and/or out of country credentials are not recognized?
- What is the value of learned experience from your perspective?
- Would you rather get advice from an HR professional who has ‘education’ credentials and ‘minimal’ experience or from an HR Professional who has years of experience and ‘minimal’ credentials?