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Welders will be one of the occupations that will be accepted without a 100 application sub-cap under the new Federal Skilled Trade Program (Joe Mabel)

CICS News has learned that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has made a final decision on which occupations will be eligible for the new Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) that is scheduled to open on January 2nd.

CIC is expected to announce that the FSTP will give occupations one of two treatments; Group A occupations will be sub-capped at 100 applications per year for that particular occupation, and Group B occupations will have no sub-cap and will be accepted until the program’s total cap of 3,000 applications has been reached for the year.

Occupations within Group A will be:

Contractors and supervisors in electrical trades and
telecommunications occupations
Contractors and supervisors in carpentry trades
Contractors and supervisors in other construction trades,
installers, repairers and servicers
Carpenters
Contractors and supervisors in mechanic trades
Contractors and supervisors for heavy equipment operator
crews
Supervisors in logging and forestry
Supervisors in mining and quarrying
Contractors and supervisors in oil and gas drilling services
Logging machinery operators
Agricultural service contractors, farm supervisors and
specialized livestock workers
Supervisors, mineral and metal processing
Supervisors in petroleum, gas and chemical processing
and utilities
Supervisors in plastic and rubber products manufacturing
Central control and process operators, mineral and metal
processing
Power engineers and power systems operators
Water and waste treatment plant operators

Occupations within Group B will be:

Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors
Sheet metal workers
Structural metal and plate work fabricators and fitters
Ironworkers
Welders and related machine operators
Electricians (except industrial and power system)
Industrial electricians
Power system electricians
Electrical power line and cable workers
Telecommunications line and cable workers
Telecommunications installation and repair workers
Plumbers
Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers
Gas fitters
Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics
Heavy-duty equipment mechanics
Refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics
Railway carmen/women
Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors
Elevator constructors and mechanics
Crane operators
Drillers and blasters — surface, mining, quarrying and
construction
Water well drillers
Underground production and development miners
Oil and gas well drillers, servicers, testers and related
workers
Petroleum, gas and chemical process operators

The FSTP is intended to meet labour shortages in Canada’s resource sectors by creating a path to immigration for foreign nationals skilled in high-demand trades like welding and drilling.

Heavy duty equipment mechanics, whose skilled are in demand in Canada’s resource hubs, will be eligible for permanent residence through the new Federal Skilled Trades Program (Jorge Rodriguez)

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced on Monday that the new Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) will be launched January 2nd, 2013.

The new program will admit applicants with qualifications in a skilled trade occupation that is in demand by Canadian employers, including electricians, welders, heavy-duty equipment mechanics, and pipefitters. The final list of eligible occupations is still being compiled by CIC with consultation with the provincial governments and will be announced before the January 2nd launch date.

“For too long, Canada’s immigration system has not been open to these in-demand skilled workers. These changes are long overdue and will help us move to a fast and flexible immigration system that works for Canada’s economy,” said Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

According to CIC, eligible applicants will meet the following four requirements:

have an offer of employment or a certificate of qualification from a provincial or territorial apprenticeship authority
meet minimum language proficiency requirement, which will be lower than that of the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
have a minimum of two years of work experience in an eligible trade occupation
have the skills and experience found in the National Occupational Classification (NOC B) for an eligible occupation

The new program will have a quota of 3,000 in 2013, after which applications will no longer be accepted.

The new immigration stream was praised by Michael Atkinson, President of the Canadian Construction Association, who joined Mr. Kenney on Monday for the announcement of the program’s launch: “The new program ensures greater consideration is given to the needs of industry when processing eligible immigration applications.”