The Canadian federal government has started a new system for selecting permanent residents (PR). This system gives priority to foreign workers with experience in high-demand jobs.

Many high-demand jobs are in healthcare, and some can be entered in less than two years. However, many people seeking PR do not want to work in healthcare.

Below are six jobs outside healthcare that are being prioritized for permanent residence. Many of these jobs require little or no postsecondary education:

Occupation Typical Required Postsecondary Education *Median Annual Pay (CAD) *Top Annual Pay (CAD)
Construction estimators – 22303 2 – 3 years college 79k 128k
**Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics – 72400 None – 1 year college 77k 108k
Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians – 22310 1 – 2 years college 74k 115k
***Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics – 72402 None – 2 years college 78k 116k
**Heavy-duty equipment mechanics – 72401 None – 1 year college 77k 114k
***Insurance agents and brokers – 63100 3 – 6 months 62k 107k

*Note: Annual earnings assuming 40 hours per week at the job bank’s median hourly wage and top hourly wage for this occupation, rounded to the nearest thousand.

**Note 2: Licensing is required in some provincial jurisdictions but not others.

***Note 3: Licensing is required in all provincial jurisdictions.

Eligible Work Experience

Foreign nationals with work experience in these jobs are being given priority for permanent residence through Canada’s Express Entry system.

Whether work experience counts depends not on job titles, but on job duties. These duties must match a specific code under the National Occupation System (NOC), which is the federal system used to group occupations.

For a job to be accepted, a person must have performed all the duties in the lead statement and most of the main duties under that NOC code.

Getting Permanent Residence

To receive permanent residence through Express Entry, a person must qualify under one of the three federal immigration programs and receive an invitation to apply (ITA) through the Express Entry system.

Having work experience in a priority occupation gives a strong advantage. It allows a person to receive an ITA through category-based draws, often with a lower Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score than what is needed for general draws or Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draws.

To qualify for category-based selection (CBS), a person must have at least six months of full-time or equal part-time continuous work experience in one eligible occupation within the past three years.

To receive an ITA through a category-based draw, the person must also have an active Express Entry profile at the time of the draw and meet or exceed the CRS cut-off score for that round.

If an ITA is received, the applicant has up to 60 days to submit a complete permanent residence application.

If the applicant is in Canada and holds a valid work permit, they may apply for a bridging open work permit (BOWP) after receiving an acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) for the PR application.

Eligibility For Express Entry

To enter the Express Entry system, a person must meet the requirements of one of the following programs:

Applicants must provide language test results from an approved testing provider taken within the past two years. They must also provide an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) for any education completed outside Canada that they want to count toward eligibility and CRS score.

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