Eligibility conditions for competency recognition financial assistance

To receive financial assistance under the Programme d’aide financière pour la formation d’appoint en reconnaissance des compétences (PAFFARC), you must meet certain conditions and take eligible refresher training.

You must meet the following conditions for the entire duration of the refresher training or internship.

List of eligible professions or regulated trades

The profession or regulated trade that you want to practise must appear on the list of eligible professions or regulated trades.

Take training required by a regulatory body

You must take or have already taken the refresher training prescribed or required by a regulatory body after the evaluation of your competencies. The training must be taken in French.

The training must allow you to upgrade the competencies you acquired abroad so you can practise your profession or trade in Québec.

You must present the regulatory body’s instructions when you apply for financial assistance.

Have received a diploma or taken training abroad

You must have received a diploma or taken training, outside of Canada, that leads to the practice, in Québec, of one of the eligible professions or trades.

Have one of the identification documents

You must have one of the following documents:

• Social Insurance Number (SIN)
• Individual Tax Number (ITN)
• Temporary Tax Number (TTN)

Be 18 years of age or older

You must be at least 18 years old at the start of your refresher training, taken abroad or in Québec.

Have the required knowledge of French

You must demonstrate that you have the required level of oral and written French to be able to take your refresher training in French.

Have an eligible immigration status

You must be in one of the following situations:

• You are a naturalized Canadian citizen.
• You are a person authorized to submit an application for permanent residence in Canada.
• You hold a Certificat de sélection du Québec.
• You are a temporary resident and you have a work permit issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
• You are in Québec as a temporary worker and you have a Certificat d’acceptation du Québec (CAQ-travail).
• You are a foreign student in Québec and you have a Certificat d’acceptation du Québec (CAQ-études).
• You have an exemption from the obligation to have a Certificat d’acceptation du Québec and you have a work permit issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
• You have an exemption from the obligation to have a Certificat d’acceptation du Québec and an exemption from the obligation to have work permit issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

If you are in Québec as a temporary worker or foreign student, you must make sure you comply with all the conditions related to your status.

Only refresher training given in French is eligible for the program.

You must take one of the following kinds of refresher training:

Refresher training

The refresher training must be prescribed or required by a regulatory body. It must allow you to acquire the missing competencies required to obtain an authorization to practise an eligible profession or regulated trade.

Refresher training taken in Québec must comply with the following maximum durations:

• Refresher training offered by an educational institution: 62 weeks for full-time and part-time training
• Refresher training offered or overseen by a regulatory body, in the form of courses: 45 hours of training per course

Training taken abroad must comply with the following maximum durations:

• Online refresher training offered by a Québec educational institution: 15 consecutive weeks for full-time and part-time training
• Online refresher training offered or overseen by a Québec regulatory body, in the form of courses: 45 hours of training per course

Refresher training in the form of an unpaid internship

The internship must be prescribed or required by a regulatory body. This internship must be unpaid. It must allow you to acquire or check the skills required to practise one of the eligible professions or regulated trades.

Your internship must be taken full time for a maximum duration of 26 consecutive weeks.

Non-eligible refresher training

The following kinds of training are not eligible:

• Refresher training that leads to a profession or trade that is not on the list of professions and trades targeted by the program
• Immersion internships to learn about a trade or sector or to experience real working conditions
• Training funded by the programs or measures of one of the following organizations:
  • Ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale (MESS)
  • Commission des partenaires du marché du travail (CPMT)
• Training that leads to a licence to practise and that is common to all candidates to the profession (mandatory training for both people who earned their diploma in Québec and those who trained abroad)
• Specialized refresher training that is not required to obtain a licence to practice the intended profession or trade;
• Refresher training given in a language other than French or internship that constitutes refresher training and taken in a language other than French.