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BioSkills Recognition Program

Stand out from the crowd – have your skills recognized.

If you are a bio-economy professional new to Canada, a new graduate fresh out of university, or someone with bio-economy work experience looking for a change, you know it can be hard to prove you have the skills for the job you want.

Through the BioSkills Recognition Program, you can showcase your abilities to employers in Canada’s growing biotech sector by being recognized as BioReady^TM

Being BioReady lets employers know you have the skills to work in certain biotech jobs in Canada’s bio-economy.

Now, the BioSkills Recognition Program has been enhanced with the inclusion of National Occupational Standards. These are a set of more than 50 standards for Canada’s bio-economy that have been recently validated by industry professionals and identify the skills, education, and experience needed to perform a specific role.

Benefits

Successfully transfer your skills from other occupations such as physician, surgeon, nurse, veterinarian,pharmacist, or medical laboratory technologist
Showcase your skills to employers with an industry-wide recognized BioReady^TM certificate
Have your profile added to the BioSkills Match database of job seekers and get noticed by employers looking to recruit skilled talent into biotech jobs
Have the advantage over other job seekers with your BioReady status

BioTalent Canada is proud to announce that access to the BioSkills Recognition Program is now free for individuals who hold refugee status in Canada. For more information, contact Soufiane at [email protected].

Process

Step 1: Creation – Create an online ePortfolio through the easy-to-use BioSkills Recognition Program. You must enter your:
a. Education,
b. Experience,
c. Competencies or transferable skills (based on BioTalent Canada’s National Occupational Standards for the Bio-economy)
d. Language proficiency,
e. Supporting documentation including a resume and/or research papers.

This takes about 1-2 hours to complete and it can be saved to complete at a later time.

Step 2: Submission – Confirm for accuracy, submit and pay for your ePortfolio review.

Step 3: Review – A team of biotech professionals will review your ePortfolio to determine if you are BioReady for a specific function in the bio-economy. This may take up to 10 business days. You may be asked to provide more information to the reviewer during this stage.

Step 4: Recognition – If you are recognized as BioReady™ you will:
a. Receive notification and a certificate identifying the your BioReady function.
b. Be added to the BioSkills Match which employers use to find skilled talent.
c. Be able to promote your BioReady status in job applications, your resumé and your LinkedIn profile.

How it works

Build an ePortfolio with your education, experience, language, competencies, transferable skills, and documentation.
Be reviewed by a BioReady expert against National Occupational Standards for the Bio-economy.
Become recognized BioReady™.

For any questions, please contact BioTalent Canada at [email protected]

Price

$200 per ePortfolio

You may also qualify for FREE submission. Clients of the Immigrant Employment Council of BC (IEC-BC), participating in the FAST Program might qualify to submit a BioSkills Recognition Portfolio for free. For more information or to request your coupon code, please contact [email protected] or 1-604-629-5364.

Start your ePortfolio today

Helping internationally educated professionals take the first step

“Usually, you have HR managers looking at resumes, and they don’t have a lot of time for each one, and they’re looking for specific things that international candidates’ resumes may not have — even if they’re completely qualified,” Nate Stepner explains. “What I bring as a BioReady reviewer is the time and the knowledge to really dig into a candidate’s resume and background and draw the connections between their international experience and the requirements to work in the bio-economy in Canada.”

Making farming more sustainable with international experience

Fast Genetics is a Canadian company helping pig farmers maintain control costs and improve sustainability. When the firm lost a key team member, it needed to find a replacement who could get up to speed quickly with minimal training. BioTalent Canada’s BioSkills Recognition and BioReady Paid Internship programs were a powerful draw for Fast Genetics. The funding support made it possible to bring on a paid intern even with a tight budget.

Getting a foot in the door

Despite her highly valuable qualifications as a molecular biologist and more than a decade of experience as a researcher in infectious diseases, Rasvinder Kaur knew she might face challenges in finding a good job in her field in a foreign country. Undaunted, Kaur did some Internet research and found BioTalent Canada’s BioSkills Recognition Program. With the BioReady status and the support of an immigrant-serving agency to help her make contacts, Kaur was able to secure a paid internship with iProgen Biotech Inc.

A little preparation goes a long way

Abhishek Udawat is not inclined to wait around for opportunities to find him. With his BioReady recognition prominently displayed on his resume and online job profile, he quickly secured a job with food bioculture company Noblegen — thanks in part to the funding of the BioReady Paid Internship Program.

Giving visibility to high-value talent

Instead of focusing on what immigrants need to do to fit into the Canadian labour force, Immigrant Employment Council of British Columbia (IEC-BC) works with employers to help them understand the value of including newcomers in their organizations and make the changes required to facilitate their integration.