Canada Lists 7 Skilled Worker Categories for Permanent Residence, Names People It Wants Most
- Canada's immigration body, IRCC, confirmed it is seeking skilled workers across 7 professional categories through its Express Entry system
- Health care workers, educators, STEM professionals, and French speakers are among those Canada wants to recruit for permanent residence
- Category-based selection rounds rank eligible candidates in the Express Entry pool and invite top scorers to apply for permanent residency
The Canadian government has announced the categories of skilled professionals it is looking to invite for permanent residence through its Express Entry immigration system.
The update was shared on Thursday, July 23, by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on its official X account, @CitImmCanada. The information was also published on the Government of Canada's website.
According to IRCC, Canada is seeking professionals in healthcare and social services, education, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), skilled trades and transport occupations.
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The government also listed medical doctors, researchers and senior managers with Canadian work experience, as well as workers with French-language proficiency, among the groups it wants to attract through category-based invitations.
"Canada is seeking skilled professionals through these Express Entry categories," IRCC said.
How category-based Express Entry works
The Canadian government explained that category-based selection allows it to invite candidates in the Express Entry pool who qualify for a specific category created by the Minister to meet the country's economic needs.
It said invitations may be based on factors such as a candidate's ability to communicate in an official language, work experience in a particular occupation, and education.
According to the government, the selected categories will be announced in advance before invitation rounds take place.
The 7 categories Canada is targeting
The Government of Canada listed the current categories as:
- French-language proficiency
- Healthcare and social services occupations
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) occupations
- Trade occupations
- Education occupations
- Transport occupations
- Physicians with Canadian work experience
- Senior managers with Canadian work experience
- Researchers with Canadian work experience
- Skilled military recruits
The government said category-based invitation rounds are meant to complement general and programme-specific invitation rounds.
It noted that a category-based round may not be necessary if enough top-ranking candidates in a particular category are already receiving invitations through the regular Express Entry selection process.
How Canada chooses the categories
The Government of Canada said it selects categories using labour market information, employment projections and feedback from provinces, territories and other stakeholders across the country.
It also said it will submit an annual report to Parliament showing the categories selected in the previous year, the reasons they were chosen, the instructions used to establish them and the number of invitations issued for each category.
The report will also include information on category-based selection in the Express Entry Year-End Report. The government said it will continue to monitor and assess the categories regularly.
Who can receive an invitation?
IRCC said candidates must first meet the minimum requirements for Express Entry, including eligibility under one of the three immigration programmes covered by the system.
Applicants must also meet all the requirements for the specific category under the invitation round.
According to the department, candidates who qualify for a category will be ranked against others in the Express Entry pool, while the highest-ranking candidates will receive invitations to apply for permanent residence.
"To be eligible for an invitation through a category-based round, you must meet the minimum criteria for Express Entry... and meet all of the requirements in the instructions for that round," the government said.
Canada invites skilled Nigerians to apply
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Canada invited skilled Nigerians and other foreign professionals to explore job opportunities and immigration pathways created to address labour shortages across key sectors.
The Canadian government identified healthcare, skilled trades, STEM, education, defence, cybersecurity and critical minerals as priority sectors for international recruitment.
Authorities advised applicants to confirm their eligibility, verify professional credentials and apply only for vacancies open to foreign workers through Canada's official Job Bank.
Source: Legit.ng
