The Pennsylvania Department of State has launched a survey for new Pennsylvanians to better understand their experiences in gaining professional licensure in the commonwealth and to reduce unnecessary roadblocks to licensure in the future.
The New Pennsylvanians Occupational Licensure Survey will study the effects of occupational licensure on the immigrant, refugee and asylee communities. The survey is part of a $422,000, three-year grant Gov. Tom Wolf secured from the U.S. Department of Labor in 2018 to reduce excessive occupational licensing requirements and explore alternative approaches, such as professional certification, that maintain public health and safety.
To understand the experiences and needs of new Pennsylvanians, the DOS survey asks about topics such as language access, education, occupational licensing, licensure portability, employment and barriers related to professional licensing. Feedback from survey participants will be used to develop recommendations to assist the immigrant, refugee and asylee communities in obtaining professional licensure in Pennsylvania.
“Immigrant communities are part of the lifeblood of America, enriching the area where they live and work,” said Acting Secretary of State Veronica Degraffenreid. “As the agency that licenses professionals across the commonwealth, it is the Department of State’s responsibility to improve licensure processes so that new Pennsylvanians can find employment and thrive here.”
The survey is available in multiple languages, including Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Hindi, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese. All responses will be kept confidential. The survey for new Pennsylvanians will run until the end of July and the findings from this survey will be made available by the end of 2021.
Click here for more information.
