Canadian Immigration Department Finalizes Occupation List for Federal Skilled Trades Program

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.

Canada’s New Federal Skilled Trades Program to Launch January 2nd

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.”