One powerful way the receiving countries can take advantage of the Venezuelan migration is acknowledging academic credentials. Here are three examples to explore.
By Caracas Chronicles – Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian
Aug 27, 2021
The issue of the socioeconomic inclusion of Venezuelan migrants and refugees is undoubtedly one of the political dilemmas facing the region, but it’s also a policy dilemma.
This is because, as I’ve said before, the capacity of the host countries to take advantage of the arrival of Venezuelans is directly proportional to the public policies that are designed and implemented to respond to their arrival.
And among all the things that need addressing, the issue of the recognition of degrees and education credentials seems to be a never resolved problem. Every time I speak with a Venezuelan migrant or refugee, in every panel or seminar on the subject, this keeps coming up.
Why is this important? Because in order to achieve social and economic inclusion of this displaced population, nothing works better than ensuring they can work in their fields of study along with, of course, the possibility of having a work permit, and a job in the formal economy. But having an electric engineer as a taxi driver, or an oncologist as a physician’s assistant, or a psychologist waiting tables does nothing to make the best of this migration.
From my interviews with Venezuelan migrants in various countries of the world, whether they are doctors, teachers, engineers or specialists in information technology (IT), all those with higher education aspire to continue working in their professional fields, and hence the need to be able to validate their degrees obtained abroad.
There are a number of impediments to this legalization of titles. The main impediment remains how long these processes can be; the second impediment has also been the high cost; the third, relates to the differences between the variety of processes depending on each field; this can be confusing for newcomers, and the last one is applicable to the Venezuelan case is that migrants and refugees don’t always have the actual physical title, and how difficult (and expensive considering the coimas you need to pay) it is to get an official copy with apostille.
We always point out the existence of the problem, but we talk little about its solution.
So, what strategies can be considered on this subject of recognition of titles? I mention three examples that we could continue to explore.
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Read More: Caracas Chronicles – Venezuelans need their education recognized abroad
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