Federal Skilled Trades Class in Canada

A man skillfully crafting wood, showcasing his craftsmanship and patriotism

The Canadian government established the Federal Skilled Trades Program to address the shortage of skilled labor in various craft professions across the provinces and territories of Canada. This program allows foreign workers with expertise in a designated trade to become economically established in Canada by granting them permanent residency.

Managed by the Express Entry system, the Federal Skilled Trades Program is one of several initiatives, alongside the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class. Applicants must meet the program’s basic requirements to continue and apply through the Express Entry system, where they express their desire to come and settle in Canada.

Applicants are evaluated based on a Comprehensive Ranking System, which assigns points for various factors. The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) then invites those with the highest scores to apply for permanent residency in Canada.

Criteria for the Federal Skilled Trades Program

The basic eligibility criteria for this program are as follows:

  • Language 

Applicants must possess the required level of proficiency in either English or French in all four language skills (writing, reading, listening, speaking). It is noteworthy that the language proficiency level required in this program is lower than that in the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class.

  • Experience

Applicants must have a minimum of two years of work experience in one of the designated skilled trades within the five years preceding the application. The skilled trades under this program are categorized as follows:

  1. Craft and industrial trades related to manufacturing, construction, and electricity.
  2. Maintenance and equipment operation trades.
  3. Supervisors and technical jobs in natural resources, agriculture, and production.
  4. Processing, manufacturing, and utility supervisors and central control operators.
  5. Chefs.
  6. Butchers and bakers.

Applicants must have either:

  1. A job offer for at least one year.
  2. A certificate qualifying them to work in the respective trade, obtainable from the responsible authorities in one of the Canadian provinces or territories.

After meeting these conditions, and once selected and invited through the Express Entry system based on their scores, applicants submit their permanent residency applications to the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The IRCC processes the applications and requests applicants to fulfill health, security, and financial requirements (applicants with a job offer are exempt from meeting the financial requirement). Upon successful completion of these steps, applicants are granted permanent residency in Canada.

At Reach Immigration, we do not offer skilled immigration programs, but rather we offer residency or citizenship programs by investment. For the details, contact us to book a free consultation by clicking on the link here.