Eligibility

The Federal Skilled Trades Program is for people who want to become permanent residents based on being qualified in a skilled trade.

Minimum requirements

To be eligible, applicant must:

• Plan to live outside the province of Quebec (Note: The province of Quebec selects its own skilled workers. If you plan on living in Quebec, ask our counselor about.
• Have at least two years of full-time work experience (or an equal amount of part-time work experience) in a skilled trade within the five years before you apply,
• Meet the job requirements for that skilled trade as set out in the National Occupational Classification (NOC).
• Have an offer of full-time employment for a total period of at least one year and/or a certificate of qualification in that skilled trade issued by a Canadian provincial or territorial authority.

Skilled work experience

Skilled Trades currently eligible for the Federal Skilled Trades Program are organized under these major and minor groups of the NOC:

• Major Group 72, industrial, electrical and construction trades
• Major Group 73, maintenance and equipment operation trades
• Major Group 82, supervisors and technical jobs in natural resources, agriculture and related production
• Major Group 92, processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and central control operators
• Minor Group 632, chefs and cooks
• Minor Group 633, butchers and bakers

These major NOC groups are subdivided into different occupations. (All are NOC skill type B.)
Applicant must show that he/she did the duties set out in the lead statement of the occupational description in the NOC, including all the essential duties and most of the main duties listed.
If he/she does not show that his/her experience meets the description in the NOC, Canada will not accept the application.
Federal Skilled Trades Program applications must be made based on the 2011 version of the NOC. However, if the application includes a Labor Market Impact Assessment from Employment and Social Development Canada based on the 2006 version of the NOC, it will be accepted by Canada as long as the applicant’s occupation corresponds to a 2011 NOC code that is eligible for the program.

Education

There is no education requirement for the Federal Skilled Trades Program. But, if applicant wants to earn points for his/her education under Express Entry, he/she either needs:

• A Canadian post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree

OR

• A Canadian post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree
• A completed foreign credential, and
• An Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report from an agency approved by Canada. [The report must show your foreign education is equal to a completed Canadian secondary (high school) or post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree.]

Language ability

Applicant must:

• Meet the minimum language level of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5 for speaking and listening, and Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 4 for reading and writing
• Take a language test approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) that shows he/she meets the level for speaking, listening, reading and writing

Applicant must show that he/she meets the requirements in English by including the test results when he/she completes the Express Entry profile. The test results must not be more than two years old on the day he/she applies for permanent residence.

Principal applicant
If applicant is married to a person who also meets the above conditions, he/she can decide which one of the two will apply as the principal applicant.

Other requirements

• Applicant must be admissible to Canada
• Applicant must plan to live outside the province of Quebec

Applicant will likely have to go to the province or territory to be assessed. He/She may also need an employer in Canada to give experience and training.
Applicant should ask the counselor about the body that governs trades for the province/territory where he/she would like to live and work. The process is different depending on where the applicant wants to go.
Each province has different details about whether the applicant needs a certificate of qualification to work in that province or territory in a specific skilled trade:

• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Manitoba
• New Brunswick
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Northwest Territories
• Nova Scotia
• Nunavut
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Saskatchewan
• Yukon

​For more information, please contact us.

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