WES Blog

Written by Sifat Yusuf, WES Mariam Assefa Fund Program Manager; Cristina Lara-Agudelo, WES Investments Platform Manager; and Subaita Rahman, WES Communications & Public Policy Specialist The New Power Labs team presenting their research in Toronto on May 5, 2025, pictured with Fund Program Manager Sifat Yusuf.  With immigrants making up 23 percent of Canada’s population—and […]

A decade ago, a multi-sector roundtable convened in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area to address a critical question: How could Canada’s growing population of forcibly displaced Syrian refugees access meaningful employment in their new home country?    Representing 40 organizations, this group sought to bridge the gap between refugees and the jobs that matched their […]

If you completed your education outside of the United States or Canada, obtaining a credential evaluation report is a key step toward having your academic qualifications recognized in both countries. Whether you’re pursuing further education, professional licensing, or immigration opportunities, choosing the right credential evaluation service will set you up for success.   There are […]

If you’re looking for a job in the United States or Canada and earned your degree in another country, you will likely need a credential evaluation. Let’s discuss why an employer might ask you for an evaluation and how a report can support you throughout your career.  How credential evaluations help employers  There are a […]

WES continues to adapt and enhance its offerings to assist applicants pursuing their academic, career, and immigration goals in the United States and Canada. We’ve compiled five important things for you to know—from new partnerships we’ve established to expanded resources—about WES credential evaluations in 2025.   1. Electronic Document Submission In recent years, many institutions have […]

The United States faces a significant shortage of registered nurses (RNs) due to high turnover, rising demand for health care, and the lingering systemwide toll of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without effective policies and programs in place, the projected shortage for 2030 is 63,720 RNs. Not only do nursing shortfalls result in longer patient wait times for health […]

After your documents arrive at WES, our team checks to ensure that they have been sent from the official source and include all required information. If the documents are not in the correct format or are missing information, you will receive an email and a message in your WES account with a status update outlining […]

  We sometimes receive calls and emails from applicants concerned about undelivered or missing evaluation reports. While these issues are typically resolved, we understand how stressful this can be, especially for applicants facing important deadlines.   When an applicant has been informed that their institutional recipient hasn’t received their evaluation report but our system shows that […]

The year 2025 has marked a significant turning point for Canada, beginning with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing his resignation in January after more than a year of rapid policy change and rising public discontent. New challenges, such as strained Canada-US relations and economic uncertainty, have raised the question of what role immigration and the […]

Many newcomers in Canada holding foreign credentials face significant challenges when seeking meaningful employment. Provincial credentialing requirements, often complex and difficult to navigate, can leave qualified immigrants feeling overwhelmed. Mentorship programs are an effective solution, providing essential guidance and networking opportunities to help newcomers develop the confidence and tools they need to secure meaningful employment. […]

Did you know that you can easily upgrade your completed credential evaluation in your WES Account? An upgrade is like an update. Keep reading our guide to understand your upgrade options and how to upgrade your WES credential evaluation report.   What Are the Upgrade Options? You can think of an upgrade as an update to […]

After experiencing the challenges of adapting to a new country firsthand, Ximena Velez became passionate about helping others navigate the same journey. Her work is dedicated to sharing valuable information and resources to support newcomers—not just for finding jobs and settling in the United States, but also for leveraging their education to pursue career and […]

Every year at the National Immigrant Inclusion Conference (NIIC), leaders and advocates in the immigrant and refugee space gather to address challenges and opportunities affecting the field. This past December, WES joined the conversation with over a thousand changemakers who met in Houston, Texas, at a moment of political uncertainty.  WES entered the convening with […]

World Education Services (WES) is excited to announce a new name for the SIIP program, reflecting its growing impact and ongoing commitment to fostering inclusion and opportunity. Formerly standing for Skilled Immigrant Integration Program, SIIP will now stand for Strengthening Immigrant Inclusion Program. This change aligns with WES’ evolving strategy to support the educational, economic, […]

Written by Ashley Taylor, Senior Partnership & Strategy Associate for the Mariam Assefa Fund NEW YORK—(December 19, 2024) This year, we proudly celebrate the fifth year of the Fund Ambassadors Program alongside the WES Mariam Assefa Fund’s five-year anniversary. Since its launch in 2020, the Fund Ambassadors Program has empowered WES staff to have a […]

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and World Education Services (WES) have signed an agreement to streamline the verification and transfer of digital academic records from India. Under the partnership, NSDC will enable the fast and secure transfer of verified digital academic documents from Indian education institutions and boards to WES.   NSDC is a non-profit […]

Simbarashe Muzariri, a WES credential evaluation applicant who works as an engineer in Zimbabwe, has a long-term goal of continuing his career abroad in Canada.  Education has played a defining role in Simbarashe’s life, greatly influencing his career path and goals. Now he’s preparing to unlock new opportunities by getting a WES credential evaluation.   Realizing […]

In June 2021, Colorado’s General Assembly took a vital step forward by passing HB21-1150 with bipartisan support, creating the Colorado Office of New Americans (ONA). In creating the office, the state recognized the importance of the social and economic inclusion of its immigrant population, which comprises nearly 10 percent of the state’s population. Leveraging the […]

In 2019, a network of Texas-based adult educators led by the Texas Workforce Commission’s Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) program joined the Skilled Immigrant Integration Program (SIIP) to ensure that the state’s adult education system was providing optimized support for its 894,000 college-educated immigrants and refugees, an estimated 21% of whom are unemployed or underemployed […]

Written by Olivia Fox, Program Intern at the WES Mariam Assefa Fund When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, racialized essential workers at the Cargill meatpacking plant in Alberta faced a disproportionately high risk of contracting the virus. The existing exploitative and dangerous work conditions in the meatpacking sector, such as crowded industrial spaces and […]