On January 2, 2013, the Federal Skilled Trades Class (“FSTC“) began accepting applications. This is a new program from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
From January 2, 2013, to January 1, 2014, the FSTC will be limited to 3,000 applications. As described in more detail below, the program will also contain numerous occupation specific sub-caps.
To be eligible for the FSTC, applicants must:
- Have twenty-four months of work experience (after being qualified/certified in the country where the work was performed, where applicable) in an eligible skilled trade during the five year period preceding the application;
- Have an offer of employment for continous full-time work for a total period of at least one year from up to two employers in that skilled trade occupation, or possess a Certificate of Qualification from a provincial or territorial Apprenticeship Authority;
- Satisfy employment requirements as described by the occupation’s National Occupational Classification, except for certification and licensing requirements
- Meet or exceed the minimum language threshold; and
- Intend to reside in a province other than Quebec.
Eligible Occupations
Forty-three occupations are eligible under the FSTP.
Within the total FSTP cap of 3,000 applications, seventeen of the forty-thirty occupations are further capped at 100 applications per occupation. These occupations are:
- 7202 Contractors and supervisors, electrical trades and telecommunications occupations
- 7204 Contractors and supervisors, carpentry trades
- 7205 Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers
- 7271 Carpenters
- 7301 Contractors and supervisors, mechanic trades
- 7302 Contractors and supervisors, heavy equipment operator crews
- 8211 Supervisors, logging and forestry
- 8221 Supervisors, mining and quarrying
- 8222 Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling services
- 8241 Logging machinery operators
- 8252 Agricultural service contractors, farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
- 9211 Supervisors, mineral and metal processing
- 9212 Supervisors, petroleum, gas and chemical processing and utilities
- 9214 Supervisors, plastic and rubber products manufacturing
- 9231 Central control and process operators, mineral and metal processing
- 9241 Power engineers and power systems operators
- 9243 Water and waste treatment plant operators
The remaining twenty-six occupations eligible under the FSTP are not individually capped. These occupations are:
- 7231 Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors
- 7233 Sheet metal workers
- 7235 Structural metal and plate work fabricators and fitters
- 7236 Ironworkers
- 7237 Welders and related machine operators
- 7241 Electricians (except industrial and power system)
- 7242 Industrial electricians
- 7243 Power system electricians
- 7244 Electrical power line and cable workers
- 7245 Telecommunications line and cable workers
- 7246 Telecommunications installation and repair workers
- 7251 Plumbers
- 7252 Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers
- 7253 Gas fitters
- 7311 Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics
- 7312 Heavy-duty equipment mechanics
- 7313 Refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics
- 7314 Railway carmen/women
- 7315 Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors
- 7318 Elevator constructors and mechanics
- 7371 Crane operators
- 7372 Drillers and blasters – surface, mining, quarrying and construction
- 7373 Water well drillers
- 8231 Underground production and development miners
- 8232 Oil and gas well drillers, servicers, testers and related workers
- 9232 Petroleum, gas and chemical process operators
A Qualifying Offer of Employment
The rules for what constitutes a qualifying offer of employment under the FSTP are quite complicated, and can be summarized as follows:
| If the applicant | And… | Then the foreign national.. |
| is currently working in Canada on a work permit based on a positive Labour Market Opinion or an international agreement, and the applicant’s current employer makes the applicant an offer of full-time, permanent employment in an occupation which is eligible for the FSTP that is the same occupation that the foreign national is currently working in | the work permit is valid at the time of the FSTP application; | The applicant has a valid offer of employment.The applicant must hold a valid work permit or be otherwise authorized to work in Canada at the time the permanent resident visa is issued. |
| is not currently working in Canada | up to two employers have made an offer of full-time, permanent employment in an FSTP eligible occupation for a total period of at least one year once a permanent resident visa is issued; andService Canada has issued a positive Labour Market Opinion to the employer(s) | The applicant has a valid offer of employment. |
| is working in Canada, but not in a FSTP eligible occupation, or for an employer that is willing to offer them full-time permanent employment | up to two employers have made an offer of full-time, permanent employment in an FSTP eligible occupation for a total period of at least one year once a permanent resident visa is issued; andService Canada has issued a positive Labour Market Opinion to the employer(s) | The applicant has a valid offer of employment, and must hold a work permit or be otherwise authorized to work in Canada at the time the visa is issued. |
Language
The language requirements for the FSTC are much lower than they will be for the Federal Skilled Workers Program when it relaunches in May. Currently, applicants must achieve Canadian Language Benchmark (“CLB”) 4 in Speaking and Listening, and CLB 5 in Reading and Writing. For those taking the International English Language Testing System (“IELTS”), this corresponds to a 5.0 in Listening, a 5.0 in Speaking, a 3.5 in Reading, and a 4.0 in Writing.
The Federal Skilled Trades manual can be found here.