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For eligible candidates, gaining experience in a qualifying trade occupation may create another opportunity through the Express Entry Trades category.
Historically, Trades category draws have had significantly lower CRS cut-offs than Canadian Experience Class draws.
This can create an important opportunity for candidates who have a reasonable CRS score but are still not competitive enough for CEC.
You have already invested time building your Canadian career. You don’t necessarily have to give it up just to pursue another PR strategy.
For eligible candidates, qualifying trade employment may be a second job while they continue working in their existing career.
Trade employment may also offer evening, weekend or flexible schedules, particularly in occupations where services are required outside standard business hours. This can make it possible for some candidates to combine their existing career with qualifying trade employment.
Your trade job does not have to become your new career. It can be part of your PR strategy.
Keep building your existing career. You don’t necessarily have to leave the job you’ve worked hard to obtain.
Get matched with an occupation that is currently eligible under the Express Entry Trades category.
Depending on the occupation and employer, the work may be available during evenings, weekends or other flexible hours, allowing some candidates to combine it with their existing employment. We have clients who gain required experience literally during the weekends and evenings.
Gain the qualifying trade experience required for the Trades category.
Under current rules, you need at least 12 months of full-time (30 hours per week) work experience, or an equivalent amount of part-time experience in a single eligible trade occupation.
Once you have the required qualifying trade experience — and you otherwise meet the requirements of an Express Entry program — your profile may become eligible to be considered in Trades category-based Express Entry draws.
If your CRS score is competitive in a future Trades category draw, you may receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Permanent Residence.
Your qualifying trade occupation does not have to be your primary occupation for the Trades category.
That means an eligible candidate may be able to:
Instead of spending the remaining time on your work permit simply waiting and hoping that CEC cut-offs fall or investing time and money in French that you don’t need, you may be able to use that time to actively build another potential pathway to Permanent Residence.
EverNorth can assess your immigration profile, determine whether a Trades strategy is realistic for you, assist with your employment strategy and manage the process from A to Z.
Express Entry uses the National Occupational Classification to define skilled trades: electricians, welders, plumbers, mechanics, machinists, carpenters, along with supervisors in manufacturing and natural resources, and chefs, cooks and butchers. What matters is the work you actually performed, not your job title — IRCC compares your duties against the NOC description.
No. You need either a valid full-time job offer of at least one year from a Canadian employer, or a certificate of qualification in your trade from a provincial, territorial or federal authority. Applicants without Canadian employer contacts usually take the certificate route.
Two years of full-time paid experience in your trade within the last five years. Language requirements are lower than for other Express Entry programs: CLB 5 in speaking and listening, CLB 4 in reading and writing. No degree is required, though a credential assessment can add points.
The program decides whether you can enter the Express Entry pool. Category-based selection decides who gets invited out of it — IRCC holds draws limited to candidates with recent trades experience, usually at a lower score than general draws. You can be invited through a trades draw even if you entered under a different program.
You apply to the trade authority in the province where you plan to work. Most require proof of your hours and experience plus a written exam; some provinces let you write it from abroad, others don't. It can take several months, so we start it early.
Often, yes. Trades candidates typically score below the general cut-off because the CRS rewards degrees and Canadian experience — trades category draws exist to offset exactly that. A provincial nomination adds decisive points, and several provinces run streams aimed at construction and industrial trades.
info@immigrationtocanada.com
1275 Finch Ave W unit 406, North York, ON M3J 3J7
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