On January 2nd 2013 Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) began accepting applications for permanent residence under its widely anticipated Federal Skilled Trades Program. The program is quota based and limited to 3000 applications per year with sub quotas in many of the 43 targeted occupations.

Requirements

Eligibility under the Federal Skilled Trades Class is assessed on a pass or fail basis, with applicants required to fulfill the following four requirements:

1. Have offers of employment from one or two Canadian employers for a duration of at least one year in an eligible skilled trade (NOC Skill level B), OR Hold certification of qualification for that trade from a Canadian provincial or territorial regulatory body;
2. Provide evidence of sufficient language proficiency in one of Canada’s two official languages;
3. Have 24 months of work experience in the last five years in the skilled trade, after trade qualification, where applicable;
4. Be qualified to meet the requirements of the job offer(s) or trade in Canada, as defined by the NOC;

The Federal Skilled Trades Class is not open to applicants wishing to establish themselves in the Province of Quebec which has its own authority to select applicants.

Certification or Offer of Employment

Trade certification in Canada falls under provincial jurisdiction. Each province outlines which professions will be regulated and establishes regulatory bodies where applicable. Provincial certification is often difficult to obtain from outside Canada and accordingly this program will be most beneficial to tradespeople who obtain an approved offer of employment from a recognized employer, or who are already working in Canada as temporary foreign workers. Not all trades are regulated in all of the provinces. Where a trade is not regulated, an offer of employment becomes mandatory.

Tradespeople who obtain an approved offer of employment for one year or more in their trade from a Canadian employer are also eligible to apply. The offer of employment will be evaluated to ensure that it is an eligible trade and that the hiring will have a neutral effect on the Canadian Labour Market.

Language Requirement:

Applicants must provide evidence that they have at least a basic proficiency in the English or French language for all four language abilities, including speaking, listening, reading and writing. Only test results from a CIC designated language testing agency will be considered to establish proficiency.

Two of the most commonly used language tests are the IELTS for English and the TEF for French. Applicants must obtain the following scores in each respective language ability:

Eligible Trades and Caps on application

CIC will accept a maximum of 3000 applications in the Federal Skilled Trades Class in each calendar year. Eligible trades are separated into two categories: Those with individual sub-caps of 100 applications and those with no sub-cap.

Applications in the following trades will be accepted up to a maximum of 100 or until the total Class cap of 3000 applications is reached:

• 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.

Applications in the following trades will be accepted until the total Class cap of 3000 is reached, with no sub-cap applying:

• 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;

Persons interested in applying under the Federal Skilled Trades Class are invited to communicate with us at their convenience and/or to complete an assessment questionnaire. Upon receipt we will assess your options.