It seems the Canadian province of Ontario has as many immigration places available for tradesmen as there are tradesmen who will apply for Canadian work visas.
For a record 7th time, in as many weeks, tradesmen (and tradeswomen of course) were favoured in the province’s Express Entry draw, and tradesmen who speak French certainly had an extra edge.
The Skilled Trades Stream is for skilled workers with a valid Express Entry profile who are eligible for the Canadian Experience Class and have work experience in an eligible skilled trade. Your immigration consultant will be able to tell you if you are eligible based on your experience and qualifications and will be able to assist you in completing your Express Entry profile.
Ontario’s latest invitation rounds were held on 23 and 24 May with 64 Notifications of Interest (NOIs) issued to eligible Express Entry candidates through the Trades and French-Speaking Skilled Worker streams.
This draw continued a trend that’s seen Ontario conduct weekly invitation rounds through both of these streams since the second week of April.
It seems the turn-around time is also breaking records. According to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) the Express Entry candidates who received invitations through the Skilled Trades Stream submitted their Express Entry profiles only between 1 January and 24 May2018! This means some applicants were invited to apply within weeks or even just days of submitting their profiles.
What adds to the success of applicants submitting their profiles through this stream is that there is no minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score requirement! To make it even more enticing for tradesman Express Entry candidates who are nominated by Ontario receive an additional 600 points toward their CRS score!
Ontario has now issued 727 NOIs through the Skilled Trades Stream since the start of 2018. Another 502 Express Entry candidates have received NOIs through the French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream this year.
Ontario has also issued 2,587 NOIs in 2018 through its Human Capital Priorities Stream, which is also linked to the Express Entry system.
The OINP says it will continue issuing NOIs to candidates in the federal Express Entry pool who are eligible for one of Ontario’s Express Entry streams “on a regular basis.”
The French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream was launched in 2015 to target French-speaking Express Entry candidates who qualify for either the Federal Skilled Worker Class or the Canadian Experience Class and who have sufficient English language abilities (CLB 6 or higher).
Source: Canada Immigration