Category Archives: federal skilled worker

Top 6 questions asked about Express Entry

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We frequently receive emails, comments to our web site and phone calls about the Express Entry system. Of course, we don’t have time to answer every question, so we have put together the top 6 questions asked about Express Entry:

1 – Is Express Entry replacing Federal Skilled Worker (FSWP) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC)?

No. Express Entry is a new system of choosing Permanent Residents. One must first be qualified for one of the economic programs such as Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience Class in order to be able to get into the Express Entry pool.

2 – What is the minimum score for language under Express Entry?

If you want to qualify for Express Entry, then you must first qualify for one of the economic programs such as Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class or Federal Skilled Trades. Your language score must meet the threshold of any of those programs you are trying to qualify for. For more on language score, go here.

3 – Can I qualify under Express Entry without a valid job offer (LMIA) or PNP nomination?

Yes. An LMIA or a PNP nomination will give you enough points to basically guarantee that you will be picked from the Express Entry pool. However, there aren’t nearly enough people with LMIA or PNP nominations, so those without them do have a chance.

On November 6, 2014, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced that Canada will welcome between 260,000 and 285,000 new permanent residents in 2015. Most of them (63%) will come under economic categories. That’s more than 163,000 people. Of those, 47,000 to 51,000 of them will be Federal Skilled Workers who are majority applicants from outside of Canada with no Canadian work experience.

4 – What’s the minimum number of points do I need to qualify?

That’s a question that cannot be answered as there is no minimum threshold. However, it is estimated that those above 400 points will have a decent chance of being selected.

5 – Besides getting a PNP nomination or an LMIA, are there ways for me to improve my total points?

Yes. Some of the ways you could increase your points would be to:

– Increase your language test score
– Even if you don’t need it for the program you are qualifying for, have your credentials assessed
– Make sure your application is properly submitted into the system
– Consult with a professional

6 – Are there occupations that are not qualified under Express Entry?

Any occupation considered to be skilled under the National Occupational Classification will be considered.

Submitting the Express Entry application is the backbone of your full Permanent Residency process. Be sure that you know what you’re getting into as any mistakes made at this point could potentially ruin the application down the road.

Express Entry Update: First non-LMIA/LMO, non-PNP Nomination Invitations have been Released

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Close to three months after the new Express Entry system started, and after four invitations, the first set of instructions have been released, where some of the invitees did not have LMIA/LMO’s or PNP nominations.

On March 20th, 2015, Express Entry system, round #5 was released. The number of invitees totalled 1620. The minimum score of those invited is 481.

This is great news for the majority of applicants in the Express Entry pool as many have started to feel discouraged by the high number of points in the previous four invitations.

What do the Experts think?

As licensed immigration consultant Alex Khadempour points out, there is no need to panic: “This is just the start. Immigration Canada did not want to open the floodgates by inviting a high number of people at the beginning. This is why only those with PNP nominations or LMOs/LIMAs were invited at first to make sure the system works. You will now see the minimum score start to go down.”

Immigration Canada accepts over 160,000 applicants a year under the economic programs such as Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Trades and some PNP programs. Only a small fraction of these applicants have LMOs/LMIAs or PNP nominations.

Tips for Applicants

Alex Khadempour adds: “Calculated patience is always necessary when it comes to dealing with immigration, especially when a new program or system is launched. You should keep your eyes on the minimum scores and see how close you are. At the same time, if there is an opportunity for you to receive a provincial nomination or an LMIA, which guarantee that you will be selected and invited, you should take advantage of that opportunity.It’s also very important to approach this process with caution and precision. One tiny mistake in one of the steps can ruin your chances in the future.”

Be sure to go over all the guidelines, regulations and seek professional help, if necessary, to make sure you don’t make any errors in how you submit your information and approach the multi-step application process.

779 candidates have been selected under the Express Entry system

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The 779 candidates who were selected, have two months to submit a complete application for permanent residence after receiving a letter, requesting that they submit a full application. This is the first draw from the Express Entry pool where candidates who are qualified under one the economic immigration programs, which consist of Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Trades and a portion of nominated applicant through the provincial programs.

This draw indicates that the new Express Entry system is working and that submitting a profile can truly lead to permanent residence.

Canada has purposely kept the first draw small as this is the first time where Immigraiton Canada can fix any potential glitches or problems and to test and make sure that the process moves forward without issues.

Candidates in the Express Entry pool are ranked according to a Ranking System (CRS) based on a number of factors and only top ranked candidates are invited to apply.  For this first draw, the candidates selected had relatively high scores. The candidates all had either a provincial nomination or an LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment – Qualifying job offer), which guarantees that you will have enough points to be selected under Express Entry.

CIC has indicated its intention to conduct up to 25 draws this year and plans on meeting its immigration targets 285,000 under the 2015 immigration plan. Of that, it is expected that over 180,000 will be selected under the Express Entry system. Future draws are expected to occur more frequently and the government is expected to issue a much greater number of invitations to apply to a wider array of candidates in the Express Entry pool.

CIC expects that a significant proportion of invitations to apply for Canadian permanent residence will be issued to people without job offers from Canadian employers as there simply are not enough people with validated job offers or provincial nominations to fill the need for skilled immigrants.

Alex Khadempour, senior immigration consultant at CICS Immigration Consulting Inc. advises: “If you’re planning to apply under Express Entry, do it as soon as you can show that you are qualified for one of the economic programs. This includes having your IELTS test score, and if trying to qualify under Federal Skilled Worker, your Education Credential Assessment. However, it’s important that you don’t rush into the first step of the process, as this is where you need to make sure that you are able to present the best possible and strongest application with your work experience as the focal point. Mistakes at the beginning of the process can severely damage your following plans.”

Express Entry – How It Works and the Ranking System

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Express Entry

Express Entry will manage applications for permanent residence under these federal economic immigration programs:

Provinces and territories will also be able to recruit candidates from the Express Entry system through their Provincial Nominee Programs to meet local labour market needs.

Ministerial Instructions set out the rules for governing the Express Entry application management system.

The Express Entry system has two steps:

Step 1) Potential candidates complete an online Express Entry profile

Potential candidates will complete an online Express Entry profile. This is a secure form that they will use to provide information about their:

  • skills,
  • work experience,
  • language ability,
  • education, and
  • other details that will help us assess them.

Those who meet the criteria of one of the federal immigration programs listed above will be accepted into a pool of candidates.

Anyone who does not already have a job offer supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) (if you need one), or a nomination from a province or territory, must register with Employment and Social Development Canada’s (ESDC) Job Bank. Job Bank will help connect Express Entry candidates with eligible employers in Canada.

Candidates are also encouraged to promote themselves to employers in other ways, such as using job boards, recruiters etc.

In most cases when there is a job being offered to a candidate, employers will need an LMIA from ESDC. The LMIA process ensures employers have made an effort to hire Canadians for available jobs. There will be no LMIA fee for permanent resident applications.

Step 2) The highest-ranking candidates in the pool will be invited to apply for permanent residence

Candidates will be ranked against others in the pool using a point-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System. Points are awarded using the information in their profile.

Candidates with the highest scores in the pool will be issued an Invitation to Apply. Candidates will be awarded points for:

  • a job offer, and/or
  • a nomination from a province or territory, and/or
  • skills and experience factors.

A candidate can get additional points for:

  • a job offer supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment, or
  • a nomination by a province or territory

These additional points will make a candidate rank high enough to be invited to apply at the next eligible draw of candidates.

If someone is invited to apply, they will have 60 days to submit an online application for permanent residence.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada will process the majority of complete applications (meaning those with all the necessary supporting documents) in six months or less.

Candidates can stay in the pool for up to 12 months. If they do not get an Invitation to Apply for permanent residence within 12 months of submitting an Express Entry profile, they may submit a new profile. If they still meet the criteria, they can re-enter the pool. This will prevent backlogs and ensure quick processing times.

Express Entry – Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) criteria

A) Summary of points per factor for Express Entry candidates
A. Core / human capital factors Points per factor – With a spouse or common-law partner Points per factor – Without a spouse or common-law partner
Age 100 110
Level of education 140 150
Official languages proficiency 150 160
Canadian work experience 70 80
B) Summary of points per factor for Express Entry candidates
B. Spouse or common-law partner factors Maximum 40 points
Level of education 10
Official language proficiency 20
Canadian Work Experience 10
A. Core/human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner factors Maximum 500 points (with a spouse or common-law partner) Maximum 500 points (without a spouse or common-law partner)
C) Summary of points per factor for Express Entry candidates
C. Skill Transferability factors Maximum 100 points
Education Maximum 50 points
With good/strong official languages proficiency and a post-secondary degree 50
With Canadian work experience and a post-secondary degree 50
Foreign work experience Maximum 50 points
With good/strong official languages proficiency and foreign work experience 50
With Canadian work experience and foreign work experience 50
Certificate of qualification (for people in trade occupations) Maximum 50 points
With good/strong official languages proficiency and a certificate of qualification 50
A. Core/human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner + C. Transferability factors Maximum 600 points
D) Summary of points per factor for Express Entry candidates
D. Additional points (maximum 600)
Arranged employment 600
PN nomination 600
A. Core/human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner factors + C. Transferability factors + D. = Grand total – 1,200

CRS – Core factors

Core / human capital factors With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 460 points) Without a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 500 points)
Age Number of points (100 maximum) Number of points (110 maximum)
17 years of age or less 0 0
18 years of age 90 99
19 years of age 95 105
20 to 29 years of age 100 110
30 years of age 95 105
31 years of age 90 99
32 years of age 85 94
33 years of age 80 88
34 years of age 75 83
35 years of age 70 77
36 years of age 65 72
37 years of age 60 66
38 years of age 55 61
39 years of age 50 55
40 years of age 45 50
41 years of age 35 39
42 years of age 25 28
43 years of age 15 17
44 years of age 5 6
45 years of age or more 0 0
Level of Education With a spouse or common-law partner – Number of points (140 maximum) Without a spouse or common-law partner – Number of points (150 maximum)
Less than Secondary school (high school) credential 0 0
Secondary school (high school) credential 28 30
One-year post-secondary program credential 84 90
Two-year post-secondary program credential 91 98
Post-secondary program credential of three years or longer 112 120
Two or more post-secondary program credentials AND at least one of these credentials was issued on completion of a post-secondary program of three years or longer 119 128
University-level credential at the Master’s level OR an entry-to-practice professional degree. CIC only accepts as an entry-to-practice professional degree, those degrees issued in relation to an occupation listed at NOC Skill level A and for which licensing by a provincial regulatory body is required. 126 135
University-level credential at the Doctoral level 140 150
Official languages proficiency – first official language
Reading, writing, speaking and listening total points for each ability:

  • 32 with a spouse or common-law partner
  • 34 without a spouse or common-law partner
 With a spouse or common-law partnerMaximum 128 points Without a spouse or common-law partner Maximum 136 points
For each ability 32 34
Less than CLB 4 0 0
CLB 4 or 5 6 6
CLB 6 8 9
CLB 7 16 17
CLB 8 22 23
CLB 9 29 31
CLB 10 or more 32 34
Official languages proficiency – second official language
Reading, writing, speaking and listening total points for each ability:

  • 5.5 with a spouse or common-law partner
  • 6 without a spouse or common-law partner
 With a spouse or common-law partnerMaximum 22 points Without a spouse or common-law partner Maximum 24 points
For each ability 6 6
CLB 4 or less 0 0
CLB 5 or 6 1 1
CLB 7 or 8 3 3
CLB 9 or more 6 6
Canadian work experience With a spouse or common-law partnerMaximum 70 points Without a spouse or common-law partner Maximum 80 points
None or less than a year 0 0
1 year 35 40
2 years 46 53
3 years 56 64
4 years 63 72
5 years or more 70 80
Subtotal – Core / human capital factors Out of 460 points Out of 500 points

CRS – Spouse or common-law partner factors (if applicable)

Spouse or common-law partner factors With spouse or common-law partner – number of points per factor Without spouse or common-law partner (0 points – does not apply)
Spouse’s or common-law partner’s level of education 10 0
Less than secondary school (high school) credential 0
Secondary school (high school) credential 2
One-year post-secondary program credential 6
Two-year post-secondary program credential 7
Post-secondary program credential of three years or longer 8
Two or more post-secondary program credentials AND at least one of these credentials was issued on completion of a post-secondary program of three years or longer 9
University-level credential at the Master’s level OR an entry-to-practice professional degree. CIC only accepts as an entry-to-practice professional degree, those degrees issued in relation to an occupation listed at NOC Skill level A and for which licensing by a provincial regulatory body is required. 10
University-level credential at the Doctoral level 10
Spouse’s or common-law partner’s official languages proficiency – first official languageReading, writing, speaking and listening– total points for each ability Maximum 20 points 0 (does not apply)
For each ability 5
CLB 4 or less 0
CLB 5 or 6 1
CLB 7 or 8 3
CLB 9 or more 5
Canadian work experience Maximum 10 points 0 (does not apply)
None or less than a year 0
1 year 5
2 years 7
3 years 8
4 years 9
5 years or more 10
Subtotal – Core / human capital + Spouse or common-law partner factors 500 500

CRS – Skill transferability factors

Skill Transferability factors Maximum 100 points for this section
Education Maximum 50 points for Education
With good official language proficiency and a post-secondary degree Maximum 50 points
Points for CLB 7 or more on all first official language abilities, one or more under 9 Points for CLB 9 or more on all four first official language abilities
Secondary school (high school) credential or less (levels 1 & 2) 0 0
Post-secondary program credential of one year or longer (levels 3,4 & 5) 13 25
Two or more post-secondary program credentials AND at least one of these credentials was issued on completion of a post-secondary program of three years or longer (levels 6,7 & 8) 25 50
With Canadian work experience and a post-secondary degree Maximum 50 points
Points for education + 1 year of Canadian work experience Points for education + 2 years or more of Canadian work experience
Secondary school (high school) credential or less (levels 1 & 2) 0 0
Post-secondary program credential of one year or longer (levels 3,4 & 5) 13 25
Two or more post-secondary program credentials AND at least one of these credentials was issued on completion of a post-secondary program of three years or longer (levels 6,7 & 8) 25 50
Foreign work experience Maximum 50 points for Foreign work experience
With good official language proficiency and foreign work experience 50 points
Points for foreign work experience + CLB 7 or more on all first OL abilities, one or more under 9 Points for foreign work experience + CLB 9 or more on all four first OL abilities
No foreign work experience 0 0
1 or 2 years of foreign work experience 13 25
3 years or more of foreign work experience 25 50
With Canadian work experience and foreign work experience Maximum 50 points
Points for foreign work experience + 1 year of Canadian work experience Points for foreign work experience + 2 years or more of Canadian work experience
No foreign work experience 0 0
1 or 2 years of foreign work experience 13 25
3 years or more of foreign work experience 25 50
Certificate of qualification (trade occupations) Maximum 50 points for this section
With good official language proficiency and a certificate of qualification Maximum 50 points
Points for certificate of qualification + CLB 5 or more on all first OL abilities, one or more under 7 Points for certificate of qualification + CLB 7 or more on all four first OL abilities
With a certificate of qualification 25 50
Subtotal:
A. Core + B. Spouse or common-law partner + C. Skill transferability factors		 600
Additional points Maximum 600 points
1) Arranged employment OR 600
2) Provincial or territorial nomination 600
Grand total Maximum 1,200 points

Breaking News: New Occupation List and Cap limits for Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

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April 23, 2014 —  Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander today announced new measures in key economic immigration programs to prepare for next year’s launch of Express Entry, Canada’s new active recruitment model.

To prepare for the launch of Express Entry in 2015, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will begin accepting applications under new caps for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC), starting May 1, 2014. These measures will ensure a steady supply of skilled workers who are settling in Canada permanently and helping to supplement the Canadian workforce in areas where there are skills shortages.

Federal Skilled Worker Program:

Federal Skilled Workers are chosen as permanent residents based on their ability to prosper in Canada. They are assessed according to a selection grid made up of six factors, including language, education, work experience, etc.

  • Overall cap of 25,000 applications in eligible occupations stream
  • Cap of 500 applications for PhD eligibility stream
  • No limit on applicants who have a valid job offer from a Canadian employer
  • Sub-caps of 1,000 applications for each of the 50 eligible occupations below (their 2011 National Occupational Classification (NOC) code is included in brackets):
  1. Senior managers – financial, communications and other business services (0013)
  2. Senior managers – trade, broadcasting and other services, n.e.c. (0015)
  3. Financial managers (0111)
  4. Human resources managers (0112)
  5. Purchasing managers (0113)
  6. Insurance, real estate and financial brokerage managers (0121)
  7. Managers in health care (0311)
  8. Construction managers (0711)
  9. Home building and renovation managers (0712)
  10. Managers in natural resources production and fishing (0811)
  11. Manufacturing managers (0911)
  12. Financial auditors and accountants (1111)
  13. Financial and investment analysts (1112)
  14. Securities agents, investment dealers and brokers (1113)
  15. Other financial officers (1114)
  16. Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relations (1123)
  17. Supervisors, finance and insurance office workers (1212)
  18. Property administrators (1224)
  19. Geoscientists and oceanographers (2113)
  20. Civil engineers (2131)
  21. Mechanical engineers (2132)
  22. Electrical and electronics engineers (2133)
  23. Petroleum engineers (2145)
  24. Information systems analysts and consultants (2171)
  25. Database analysts and data administrators (2172)
  26. Software engineers and designers (2173)
  27. Computer programmers and interactive media developers (2174)
  28. Mechanical engineering technologists and technicians (2232)
  29. Construction estimators (2234)
  30. Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians (2241)
  31. Industrial instrument technicians and mechanics (2243)
  32. Inspectors in public and environmental health and occupational health and safety (2263)
  33. Computer network technicians (2281)
  34. Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors (3011)
  35. Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (3012)
  36. Specialist physicians (3111)
  37. General practitioners and family physicians (3112)
  38. Dietitians and nutritionists (3132)
  39. Audiologists and speech-language pathologists (3141)
  40. Physiotherapists (3142)
  41. Occupational therapists (3143)
  42. Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists (3214)
  43. Medical radiation technologists (3215)
  44. Medical sonographers (3216)
  45. Licensed practical nurses (3233)
  46. Paramedical occupations (3234)
  47. University professors and lecturers (4011)
  48. Psychologists (4151)
  49. Early childhood educators and assistants (4214)
  50. Translators, terminologists and interpreters (5125)

Federal Skilled Trades Program:

This program is for people who want to become permanent residents based on being qualified in a skilled trade.

  • Overall cap of 5,000 applications
  • All 90 skilled trades from the following NOC Skill Level B groups are eligible (with sub-caps of 100 applications each):
    • Major Group 72: Industrial, electrical and construction trades;
    • Major Group 73: Maintenance and equipment operation trades;
    • Major Group 82: Supervisors and technical occupations in national 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.

Canadian Experience Class:

This program is for people who already have skilled work experience in Canada and want to immigrate permanently.

  • Overall cap of 8,000 applications
  • Sub-caps of 200 applications each for any NOC B occupation
  • Six ineligible occupations: administrative officers (NOC code 1221), administrative assistants (1241), accounting technicians/bookkeepers (1311), cooks (6322), food service supervisors (6311), and retail sales supervisors (6211).

The new Ministerial Instructions will also re-confirm the existing pause of applications to the federal Immigrant Investor and Entrepreneur Programs.

Immigration applications from victims of typhoon Haiyan in Philippines to be fast-tracked

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A satellite shot of hurricane Haiyan

Canada’s immigration department says it is giving special consideration to Filipinos affected by typhoon Haiyan.

Immigration Minister Chris Alexander’s office says it will give priority to applications from Filipinos who are “significantly and personally affected” by the typhoon that left thousands dead last weekend.

The note also says that Filipino citizens temporarily in Canada who want to remain will be assessed in a “compassionate and flexible manner.”

The announcement comes as the Canadian military’s Disaster Assistance Response Team, or DART, heads for the hard-hit Philippine city of Iloilo.

The Canadian Forces are also helping with the deployment of a separate 12-member Canadian Red Cross field hospital.

Philippine authorities say Iloilo, one of two major cities on the island of Panay, was in the direct path of the typhoon and suffered 162 deaths and the destruction of 68,543 houses as a result.

Canada’s skills gap continues to widen, according to study

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Skilled Workers are high in demand all over the world, including Canada.
Photo by ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash

According to a new study from global recruiting firm Hays PLC, which surveyed the skills gap in 30 developed countries around the world, Canada ranks ninth for the severity of its skills shortage, and its score deteriorated in the past year.

Countries such as Japan, the United States, Germany and Sweden top the list in skilled worker shortage.

The report highlights two key findings

First, the state and the efficiency of a labour market in any particular country is not necessarily driven by the state of the economy in that point in time. Rather, the data suggests through the index that the efficiency of the labour market is driven by more structural factors. That said, the governments can introduce reforms to improve those structural factors, regardless of where they are in the economic cycle.

The second key finding that the index illustrates is that there is a very strong link between the efficiency of an educational system and the ability of that economy to produce the talent that the nation’s industries require both today and in the future. Making sure that business and the educational systems are in sync to produce sufficient numbers of the right quality graduates in the right areas for future talent. That’s the fundamental part of what drives the efficiency in any particular market.

As the global economy recovers and as the Canadian work force continues to age, without a change in policy, the situation in Canada and other developed countries will likely get worse. Canada is falling behind in implementing enough changes to meet the demand for highly skilled migration.

How to improve the skilled worker shortage and avoid disaster in the future

As according to Alistair Cox, the chief executive of Hays PLC, there are three areas where business and the governments can work together to strengthen these labour markets and reduce these inefficiencies that we see in some of these economies:

The first is for the government to foster a business environment of flexibilities, where businesses can build the work force they need for the future. This can be achieved through flexible working arrangements and skilled immigration.

The second method is to make sure that the educational system in an economy are really tuned into what businesses are going to need in the future in terms of the number of right skills.

The third is for businesses to look at their own policy in terms of attracting and retaining staff. Not just younger staff but also retaining and retraining older staff within their own work force.

Immigration Canada making changes

It’s not yet known how effective it will be, however, Canada is working on some changes in the system that are expected to be implemented in late 2014. Last year, Immigration Canada and the provinces, reached an agreement on the future of Canadian immigration system. The system will give the provinces a central role in immigrant selection. This new system will be based on a model called Expression of Interest (EOI).

The EOI model is an immigrant selection process which requires those seeking to immigrate to first file a simplified application, with immigration authorities. From that pool of applicants, the most promising candidates, based on the immigration department’s selection criteria, are then selected, and invited to submit a full application which includes documentation to prove their claimed qualifications.

Men Outnumber Women 2-1 Among Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada

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Many temporary foreign workers are employed by immigrant-run businesses like the above, and data from Citizenship and Immigration Canada shows that the majority are men (CICS News)

The gender makeup of Canada’s foreign worker population is like that of foreign workers around the world, with men outnumbering women by a large margin.

The data, collected by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), shows that over 143,000 men entered the country in 2012 as temporary foreign workers (TFWs), over double the approximately 70,000 TFWs who were women.

Men, who are the primary breadwinner in most households around the world, are often driven to work abroad by pressure to provide for their families, when wages in their own country are inadequate.

A recent MacLean’s story on outgoing foreign remittance from individuals in Canada reports that the country has the highest foreign remittance rate in the world, at $667.57 per capita, suggesting that many of these TFWs are in fact sending the money they earn in Canada to family living in their country of origin.

Occupations of male and female temporary foreign workers

The CIC data also points to male and female TFWs tending to work in different types of occupations. While 75 percent of male TFWs worked in occupations that have well defined skill levels (e.g. managerial, professional, skilled and technical), only 40 percent of female TFWs did the same.

Six out of ten female TFWs were categorized as working in occupations where the skill level was not stated, which usually either means an individual is a family member of a foreign worker, or they are working in an unskilled occupation.

More women becoming permanent residents than men

Despite men outnumbering women in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), slightly more women become permanent residents in Canada than men every year.

TFWs with skilled work experience in Canada can qualify for permanent residence through economic class immigration programs like the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC), however the number of men who become permanent residents through economic class programs is only slightly higher than the number of women.

This could suggest that more women apply for permanent residency from outside the country than men, making up for the larger number of men whose path to permanent residency was through the TFWP.

What puts women over the top in the total permanent residency numbers is the family class immigration programs, which grant 37 percent more women permanent residency than men, mostly as a result of more foreign women being sponsored for immigration by their Canadian spouse than foreign men.

Canada Top Country for Immigrant Businesses – Financial Post

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Canada tops the list of countries to start a business according to a new article in the Financial Post (Martin Cajzer)

An article featured in last Friday’s Financial Post makes the case for Canada being one of the best countries in the world for immigrants to start a business.

Among the factors that make Canada such a welcoming place for immigrant entrepreneurs are its business friendly environment and immigration program, says author Chris Riddell:

The World Bank labelled Canada the best place in the G-7 to start a business, and thanks to an open immigration policy, a comparatively easy one to enter. Add a strong banking system, growing job market, and high standard of living, and it’s no wonder it tops immigrant entrepreneurs’ list.

For many, the government’s Start-Up Visa launched in April is making Canada an even more appealing place.

For business people considering Canada as a destination for immigration, there are three points to consider:

  • The per capita income of new immigrants is well below the Canadian average, with the gap growing since the early 1970s despite the average level of education of recent immigrants increasing in the intervening time. The longer an immigrant is in Canada, the closer their income tends to be to the Canadian average.

  • Immigrants and first-generation Canadians make up a sizeable percentage of Canada’s millionaires, at 48 percent.

  • The average income of immigrants who are admitted into Canada through the business class immigration programs is slightly below that of immigrants admitted through the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), despite the former group having had to meet stringent capital and business experience requirements.

Taken together, it suggests that:

1) immigrants who arrive through economic class non-business immigration programs, like the FSWP, are likely not at a significant disadvantage compared to their business class counterparts in their chance of creating a successful business, that

2) immigrants are likely more entrepreneurial than the general population, and that

3) many immigrant business people fail for the few that succeed.

Matt Man, a successful immigrant businessman profiled for Riddell’s article, advises immigrants who are starting their business to try to get as much face-time as possible to improve their chance of success:

“Face to face can always make up for some of what I lost due to my accent or the way I’m communicating.”

Federal Skilled Worker Program Opens to Immigration Applicants

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New Canadians taking their Citizenship Oath. After nearly one year, the Federal Skilled Worker Program opened to new applications on May 4 with a set of changes to the applicant assessment process (Citizenship and Immigration Canada)

The federal government began accepting Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) applications on Saturday, marking an end to a nearly one year moratorium on the skilled worker program.

The annual reset of the program’s quota was scheduled for July 1 2012, but was postponed due to a backlog of FSW applications that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) said it needed to work through, and to give CIC time to make changes it said were needed to make the program better meet Canada’s economic needs.

The new annual quota for the FSWP is set at 5,000 applications, which is less than the 10,000 application cap of 2012, and is expected to be filled quickly as immigration hopefuls rush to apply after a years-long wait. The 5,000 applications accepted are expected to represent about 12,500 people as they will include spouses and dependents of principal applicants.

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney promoted the goals of the program changes on Friday, saying they would benefit Canada:

“The government’s number one priority remains jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity. Our changes ensure not only that Canada can select the immigrants most needed by our economy, but that they are best positioned for success.”

These changes include a greater weight placed on English or French language ability, applicants of a younger age, and Canadian work experience, in assessments of FSW applicants. The changes were made after research and consultations to find the factors that most often accompanied successful economic integration and employment by immigrants.

The program has also introduced a requirement for applicants to provide Educational Credential Assessements (ECAs) for credentials earned outside of Canada, provided from one of three organizations designated to provide ECAs.