STEM association survey reveals appeal of Alberta for internationally trained tech professionals

24, Jul, 2024

EDMONTON, July 24, 2024 – A recent survey by the Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta (ASET) of members who are internationally trained professionals revealed that Alberta is an attractive live/work destination for engineering technology professionals from other countries.

Almost three-quarters (73.53 per cent) of survey respondents arrived in Alberta when they first came to Canada. Among those who initially landed elsewhere - such as Ontario and BC - the majority relocated to Alberta for better employment opportunities.

An overwhelming majority of respondents (92.65 per cent) said they like working in Alberta, and cited, in order of importance, the following reasons: abundance of job opportunities in their field; strong economy; proximity to oil and gas industry; and no Canadian work experience required to attain an ASET designation.

Because of ASET’s efforts, Alberta was the first Canadian province to eliminate the Canadian work experience requirement for engineering technology professionals. Since then, other Canadian provinces have followed suit, adopting the approach to assessing professional competencies that ASET developed.

“At ASET, we realized how difficult it is for internationally trained professionals who are qualified in their countries of origin to get recognized in Canada,” said ASET CEO Barry Cavanaugh. “With Canada facing a significant deficit in STEM talent and one-fifth of our national population on the brink of retirement, we need the skills and expertise of internationally trained professionals more than ever.”

According to the survey results, well over one-third (35.29 per cent) of survey respondents weren’t able to find work in their professional field when they arrived in Canada. Within that subset group, more than half (53.66 per cent) said it was because employers required Canadian work experience. As a result, more than three-quarters of that subset group (76.74 per cent) had to take work outside their professional field in order to meet living expenses.

ASET member Mila Wagner faced the Canadian work experience hurdle when she arrived in Alberta from Ukraine in 2016.

“When I was applying for jobs, nobody called me for an interview,” said Wagner. “My friends told me that I wouldn’t be able to find a job in my professional field without Canadian experience or credentials and certification.”

Not knowing about ASET at the time, Wagner ended up returning to school to earn an engineering technology diploma.

The top two factors that enabled survey respondents to find work in their field were that their employer decided to give them a chance (25 per cent of respondents) and that they earned their ASET designation (20.31 per cent).

When survey respondents were asked what they would tell a newcomer who just arrived in Canada/Alberta the most important thing they do in order to find work here, the number one response they gave (33.82 per cent) was contact ASET and apply for its competency-based assessment program.

Launched in 2016, ASET’s competency-based assessment program offers internationally trained and other engineering technology professionals a faster route to earning ASET designations and establishing careers. The first of its kind in Canada and pioneered by ASET, it enables them to gain purchase in their career fields without having to return to school full-time.

After survey respondents contacted ASET, close to 40 per cent of them took six months to one year to earn their ASET designation (though it can be done in as little as four months). The majority of respondents (51.47 per cent) said that having their ASET designation made a difference in their job search. More than four-fifths of respondents (80.88 per cent) hold the certified engineering technologist (CET) designation.

While most survey respondents were from the Philippines, India and Pakistan, some hailed from Romania, Poland, Sri Lanka, Germany, Ireland, Australia, Vietnam, China, Ukraine, South Africa, Ghana, and Russia.

About ASET
ASET is the professional self-regulatory organization for engineering technologists and technicians in Alberta. ASET currently represents over 17,000 members, including full-time technology students, recent graduates and fully certified members in 21 disciplines and more than 120 occupations across a multitude of industries.

Media Contact:
Michele Penz, Calico Communications for ASET
1.778.888.2249
calicocomm@telus.net