As previously discussed here, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC“) will be introducing a new Federal Skilled Trades Class (“FSTC”), which will facilitate the immigration of certain skilled tradespersons in Canada. The Government of Canada originally “announced” the creation of the FSTC in August through the publication of regulatory changes, however, CIC today released new information which will be relevant to prospective applicants.
The FSTC will be open to individuals with experience in the following National Occupation Classification (“NOC“) B occupational areas:
- Industrial, Electrical and Construction Trades;
- Maintenance and Equipment Operation Trades;
- Supervisors and Technical Occupations in Natural Resources, Agriculture and Related Production;
- Processing, Manufacturing and Utilities Supervisors and Central Control Operators;
- Chefs and Cooks; and
- Bakers and Butchers.
Applicants to the FSTC will be required to meet the following four minimum requirements:
- Be working in Canada, or possess a LMO-supported offer of employment from up to two employers in Canada of at least one year duration, or possess a Certificate of Qualification from a provincial or territorial Apprenticeship Authority;
- Meet the same minimum language threshold as required by the concurrently to be introduced new Federal Skilled Worker Class, namely a 7.0 on every language ability;
- Have twenty-four months of work experience (after qualification/certification in the country where the work was performed, where applicable) in the same skilled trade as which they are applying under in the last five years; and
- Have qualifications that satisfy employment requirements as described by the NOC, except for certification and licensing requirements.
The FSTC will be capped at 3,000 applications in its first year.
Individuals who are keenly anticipating the launch of the new Federal Skilled Worker Program (“FSWP“) should note that when the Government of Canada in August announced the creation of the FSTC, they did not indicate that the program would be capped. The capping of the FSTC will presumably be done through Ministerial Instructions. I strongly believe that at the same time that these Ministerial Instructions will be published officially capping the FSTC, concurrent Ministerial Instructions will also be published capping and limiting who can apply to the new FSWP. Prospective applicants should be aware of this possibility while they prepare their FSWP applications.