I am British Citizen, married to a Canadian, and now a permanent resident of Canada. Before coming to Canada I achieved a Psychology 2:1 Hons BSc degree, a CertHE in Counselling and a DipHE in Mental Health Nursing, and have worked as a health care assistant in residential care for the elderly, a support worker for young people with Dementia and a Mental Health Nurse on an adult acute ward. Working with people, and caring for people is my passion.
Over the last five I have tried over and over to be accepted into a Canadian University, in order to retrain in general nursing here. Despite my experience and my training, including having a reference from the head of Nursing for the Trust I worked for, I am rejected because I don’t have Canadian high school qualifications, and the lack of understanding these universities have in the grading systems used by British institutions. This makes me wonder how many other skilled immigrants are here, and unable to get ahead because of inflexible admissions departments, that don’t value experience?
Britain has a reputation for higher education. It is available to all who want it. That being said there is also an understanding that sometimes experience trumps grades.
I am working as a receptionist. I met a man a couple of years ago, a Nurse in his home country, working as a driver here. In my view there is something wrong with an educational system that doesn’t give people a chance, and ignores experience.
There is something wrong when someone who is willing and able to contributed to society is held back from doing so.
My life is wasted, and to me is meaningless, because what I love to do, and what I am good at is unattainable. I am sure there are many more skilled immigrants here who feel the same way.
