The Federal Skilled Trades Program is for skilled workers who want to become permanent residents based on being qualified in a skilled trade.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
This program has minimum requirements for work experience, language ability and education.
You must meet all the minimum requirements to be eligible.

Skilled work experience
Skilled work experience means that you have at least 2 years of full-time work experience (or an equal amount of part-time work experience) in a skilled trade within the 5 years before you apply.

Skilled trades for the Federal Skilled Trades Program are organized under these groups of the National Occupational Classification (NOC). The major NOC groups are subdivided into different occupations, and they are all skill type B:

• Major Group 72, industrial, electrical and construction trades
• Major Group 73, maintenance and equipment operation trades
• Major Group 82, supervisors and technical jobs in natural 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

You must show that you performed the duties set out in the lead statement of the occupational description in the NOC. This includes all the essential duties and most of the main duties listed. The work experience only counts after you qualified to independently practice the occupation.

You need to have a:

• valid job offer of full-time employment for a total period of at least 1 year or
• certificate of qualification in that skilled trade issued by a Canadian provincial, territorial or federal authority

Language ability

You must:

• take approved language tests in English or French
• meet the minimum score of Canadian Language Benchmark 5 for speaking and listening, and Canadian Language Benchmark 4 for reading and writing
• enter the test results in your Express Entry profile

There is no education requirement for the Federal Skilled Trades Program. However, if you want to improve your rank in the Express Entry pool, there are several ways to do this.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Proof of funds
You must show that you have enough money for you and your family to settle in Canada, unless you:

• are currently able to legally work in Canada
• have a valid job offer from an employer in Canada

Admissibility
You must be admissible to Canada.

Where you can live in Canada
You must plan to live outside the province of Quebec. The province of Quebec selects its own skilled workers. If you’re a Provincial Nominee, you must settle in the province or territory that nominated you.

How can we help

• Make sure that you meet the eligibility criteria, using our thorough assessment tools
• Build a competitive profile, that gives you the best chances of being selected
• Ensure Permanent Residency readiness: have all the Permanent Residency requirements ready when profile is submitted, so that the ITA validity is not missed

Start your assessment today to see if you qualify.