Uncertainty and Columbian Immigrants' Encounters with the Foreign Credential Assessment System in London, Ontario

My research examines the experiences of Colombian immigrants, who have settled in London, Ontario, in negotiating professional qualifications and aspirations in Canada, as well as the subsequent impact to their family unit’s spatial integration and their individual identities. The study specifically assesses how educated Colombian immigrants were able to attain the accreditation necessary for employment in their professions and what were their experiences in doing so? Participants’ journeys demonstrate a gap in cultural education in workplace practice and reveal a need to attend to the relationship between local contexts, professional identities, and workplace ethics to ameliorate the issues in accreditation that plague the Ontarian socio-economy. Participants and their families demonstrate diverse capacities to cope with the demands and adverse effects of accreditation. Participants confront challenges with steadfast determination and tenaciously seize every opportunity available to them. The testimonies of participants are of undeniable value to shape the approach to immigration policy and program development. To construct a comprehensive story of credentialing and capture the diverse narratives of Colombian immigrants, participants partook in either or both the focus group and semi-structured interviews, which proved fruitful methods for the sharing of stories. In the end, I successfully gathered 15 participants for 2 focus groups. My study sought to share knowledge among and with participants with an overarching goal of returning some of the autonomy that has been eroded by participants’ credentialing experiences in Canada. Participants generously shared their experiences.