Thank you very much. This is a subject that's near and dear to my heart. I've been working on it since I arrived the first time at HRSDC, almost six years ago, and while I've been in other ministries. I've maintained my interest and involvement in it for a couple of very simple reasons.
Number one, we are facing and will be facing in the next 10 years a critical shortage in labour and skills right across the country, in a wide range of sectors. Some of these shortages were rather acute even during the worst of the recession in different sectors and in different parts of the country.
While we do need to make sure we're doing everything to help Canadian-educated people and people who are already here in Canada get those jobs or fill those jobs and have the skills they need to fill those jobs--and by the way, we're a doing a lot on that front--we also have to make sure that those who are coming to our country with aspirations of working in fields where they've had significant professional training have the opportunity to use those skills. It's good for them, it's good for their families, and frankly it's the best thing for their communities here in Canada and for our country.
That's why we've done a number of things, primarily through two programs. One is through the Foreign Credentials Referral Office, which is under the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. The office helps people find their way to places where they can get their credentials evaluated, see what opportunities exist within Canada for different jobs, and get a sense of how big the labour market is for them, but also through the foreign credential referral program.
This is something I was very proud to participate in, with the unanimous agreement of all of our premiers and our Prime Minister a few years ago. It consists of two parts. One is establishing national standards for regulated professions so that instead of having a hodgepodge of standards across the country for nursing, let's say, we'd have one standard. So people who are here and trained in New Brunswick, let's say, can work in Alberta if that's where they choose to live, and they can work in their field and have their credentials recognized. It also makes it easier for newcomers who want to work. They have to choose only one standard and they can apply.
The second part is making sure--and we have some 67 agreements in place now--that we meet what's known as the new framework. This is a guarantee to newcomers who apply to professions and have participated in the framework that they will have their credentials evaluated against the Canadian standards and get an answer within one year as to whether they qualify. If they don't, they will be told what they need to do to qualify and perhaps even how to get those credentials.
These are ways in which we can help newcomers get evaluated before they get to the country and help them get to work as soon as they get here. It's in everybody's best interests.