As the Federal Skilled Trades Program is geared towards skilled tradespeople, it should be no surprise that you will need to demonstrate your work experience and employability in a skilled trade.

However, when considering how best to demonstrate your employment and work history, consider the following requirements:

Work Experience in a Skilled Trade Occupation

You must meet the following work experience requirements:

• You must have at least two years of full-time, paid work experience or the equivalent of part-time employment in the skilled trade occupation you specify in your application.
• Your work experience must be in the skilled trade occupation listed in Skill Level A or B of the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC)
• Your work experience must have been obtained after becoming qualified to practice that occupation independently. Time spent in an apprenticeship position will unfortunately not be counted.
• You must have acquired this experience within the last five years.

You do not need to be employed at the time you submit your application, but you must have the relevant above-mentioned experience.

Your work experience will only be assessed against the skilled trade occupation you specify in your application, so be sure to provide sufficient documentation to showcase your experience in the trade of your choosing. An officer will not fit you into another category in order to continue processing.

You must indicate the requirements to independently practice your skilled trade occupation in your country/region. This means you must also demonstrate that you have been a skilled tradesperson in good standing in your home country as well. This experience must be clearly demonstrated as to how you met those requirements before gaining the two years of qualifying work experience.

If you don’t know how to do this, it is highly recommended that you speak to a professional.

Note, when determining the most appropriate NOC for yourself, consider that you must have performed the actions of the lead statement, and a substantial number of the main duties listed in the description of the skilled trade occupation, as set out in the NOC. Again, you must have performed these duties after becoming qualified to practice that occupation independently.

Employment Requirements in a Skilled Trade Occupation

You must meet the relevant employment requirements of the skilled trade occupation you specify in your application.

Relevant employment requirements include education, training or other qualifications as set out in the NOC description of your occupation.

This means that you must not only assess the duties of a position but also your education. Each NOC will have a minimum educational requirement in order to qualify for that NOC code. If you do not meet the educational requirements, regardless of whether or not your duties match you, you cannot use this NOC code to classify your position.

Offer of Employment or Certificate of Qualification

In order to have your application assessed by an immigration officer, you must first have either a qualifying offer of employment or a certificate of qualification from a Canadian province or territory in the skilled trade occupation you specify in your application.

You must either:

• Hold a certificate of qualification issued by a Canadian provincial/territorial authority in the skilled trade occupation you specified in your application; or
• Have an offer of employment from up to two employers for continuous, full-time work in Canada for a total period of at least one year in the skilled trade occupation you specified in your application.

Depending on your circumstances, the requirements for a valid offer of employment in Canada are different.