Alberta's Immigrant Access Fund (IAF) was created in Calgary in 2005 to provide small loans to internationally-trained and educated newcomers to help them gain the accreditation they need to work in their fields of expertise. Certain trades and professions are regulated in Canada. To work in a regulated trade, newcomers may need to get licensed and registered in the province where they will be working.
"IAF loans are helping people pay tuition and exam fees, purchase books, have qualifications assessed, and even helps their living costs, if that's where the need is," says Dianne Fehr, executive director of the IAF.
The IAF allows immigrants an easier access to credit in a new country at a time when immigration and settlement expenses have taken their toll. The program provides immigrants with the means to put their internationally-obtained skills to use in their trade or profession, maximizing their potential to contribute to Alberta's workforce.
An Alberta Government report has predicted a shortfall of as many as 111,000 workers within the next ten years, with job opportunities expected to grow by 441,000 and only 330,000 workers expected to join the work force over that time.
The IAF has seen remarkable progress over the past few years. To date, 305 loans totaling over $1.2 million have been approved and recipients from 56 countries have used them to become accredited in Alberta. The fund repayment record is 99 per cent.
