Evaluating Foreign Skills: Effects of Credential Assessment on Skilled Immigrants’ Labour Market Performance in Canada

Rupa Banerjee, Feng Hou, Jeffrey G. Reitz, Tingting Zhang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Formal educational qualification is increasingly built into immigrant selection systems in many countries, but in a global context, the transferability and portability of such qualifications has been questioned. In 2013, Canada introduced the requirement for a formal assessment of educational credential equivalence for applicants in the skilled worker category. In this study, we use a Canadian national immigration database and difference-in-differences methodology to investigate whether requiring formal Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) as part of the selection process for skilled immigrants has improved labour market outcomes. Our results indicate that the ECA requirement is positively related to early employment rates and earnings for both men and women. However, this effect is limited to those with no previous employment experience in Canada. We also find that, even with the ECA requirement, significant differences in the earnings of immigrants from different source regions remain. Implications and recommendations are discussed.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere2021014
Pages (from-to)358-372
Number of pages15
JournalCanadian Public Policy
Volume47
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2021

Keywords

  • Educational Credential Assessment
  • employment rates
  • earnings
  • immigrant labour market outcomes
  • skilled immigrants
  • Skilled immigrants
  • Immigrant labour market outcomes
  • Earnings
  • Employment rates
  • Educational credential assessment

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Public Administration

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