What is the Skilled Workers Program?
The Federal Skilled Workers program is the most common and popular permanent residence stream of the Express Entry Program. Each year, thousands of Express Entry candidates are invited to apply for permanent residence under this category.
Similar to the Comprehensive Ranking System of the Express Entry program, the Federal Skilled Workers program selects immigrants using a point system. The system and points attribution differ, however, from the Express Entry scoring system. The minimum number of points you will need to qualify is 67.
What are the minimum requirements to apply?
For you to immigrate to Canada under the skilled workers category, you must meet three critical minimum requirements to determine your eligibility.
Work Experience: does your experience count as skilled work experience?
Language ability: can you meet the language benchmark of 7 in all bands?
Level of education: points attributed to your level of postsecondary education.
The comprehensive selection factors are based on a 100-point system used to determine if you qualify to immigrate to Canada under the skilled workers category. Points are attributed based on the applicant’s information and credentials, following these 6 factors:
Selection requirements, what does it mean?
Let’s have a look at some of the points breakdown. Please note that these are selected examples, and they differ from the Express Entry scoring. This is not an exhaustive list.
Education: Maximum 25 points
A 3 years bachelor’s degree or a college degree can give you 21 points.
A Master’s degree can give you 23 points, while only a Ph.D. will grant a maximum of 25 points.
Language Proficiency: Maximum 28 points
You must meet the language requirements in either French or English, both official languages of Canada. The language benchmark for the Federal Skilled Workers Program is set at a minimum benchmark of 7 in each band.
If you obtain the minimum benchmark score required, it gives you 16 points; the higher the score, the higher the points. If you have proficiency in both languages, you can get 4 extra points.
Work Experience: 15 points
You must have work experience in a skilled job of at least 1 year within the last 10 years. In addition, the job must qualify under category 0, A, or B of the National Occupation Classification (NOC).
If you intend to immigrate to Canada under the Quebec Skilled Workers category, you must obtain a Certificat de sélection du Québec.
Do I need to prove I have sufficient to resettle in Canada?
Applicants without arranged employment, in other words, an offer of employment from a Canadian employer, must demonstrate that they have enough settlement funds to support themselves and their dependents in Canada for the first six months after they arrive.
The resettlement funds requirements are calculated based on the applicant’s family size. Therefore, the larger your family is, the more significant the required funds will be.
Therefore, the requirement for settlement funds must be met before applying and must be maintained throughout the application process.
What type of employment qualifies for the Skilled Workers category?
Three employment categories qualify to help you immigrate to Canada under the skilled workers category. The National Occupation Classification (NOC) list defines the types below. Therefore, your past employment experience, if they fall within the correct classification of skilled employment, will qualify to help you immigrate to Canada under the skilled workers category.
Skill type 0 = Management jobs. This includes jobs in industries like science, manufacturing, construction, business, trades, or even food and beverage. The position can vary from entry-level management to specialized management and qualify as skilled work experience for the Express Entry scoring.
Skill type A = Professional jobs that usually require a university or college degree. Highly skilled workers and licensed professionals would fall within this skill type of the Express Entry program.
Skill type B = Technical or skilled trades jobs that usually require a college education or specialized apprenticeship training such as plumbers or electricians. You can accumulate points in the Express Entry scoring system for these types of jobs.
