Candidates must meet work experience requirements to apply for permanent residence (PR) in Canada through any of Express Entry’s three programs. This article discusses how school-earned work experience can meet Express Entry program standards.

Federal Skilled Worker Program.

If the following requirements are satisfied, candidates can add work experience from Canada or abroad to the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP):

• The work was paid, either through wages or commission.
• Without breaks, employment remained constant.
• The work satisfies all program requirements.

IRCC also recognizes co-op and apprenticeship programs as acceptable student work experiences if they meet the above standards.

The Canadian Experience Class is known as CEC.

The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) does not take into account any work experiences the student gained while enrolled in the program, whether it was in Canada or abroad.

The Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).

The Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) does not accept student job experience to meet its minimum standards, like the CEC.

The impact on the Comprehensive Ranking System score is significant.

The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score is crucial to the Express Entry process since it compares candidates and determines who receives an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residency. The IRCC does not credit Canadian job experience acquired while in school full-time toward the CRS score. However, the CRS score takes into account work experience gained through full-time education abroad.

The minimum qualifications for each Express Entry program are as follows:

1- FSWP

Applicants must demonstrate that they meet each and every one of the following standards in order to be considered for the FSWP:

Applicants must demonstrate that they meet each and every one of the following standards in order to be considered for the FSWP:

A minimum of one year of paid, full-time or comparable part-time, continuous, skilled work under the same National Occupation Classification (NOC) code is necessary for skilled work experience. This requirement applies to both full-time and regular work. This work must fall under TEER categories 0, 1, 2, or 3.

Each of the four abilities—reading, writing, speaking, and listening—requires a minimum score of seven on the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) in English or seven on the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadien (NCLC) in French. This is the minimum score required for each of the four abilities.

To be considered for the position, the candidate must have a certificate, diploma, or degree from a Canadian high school or post-secondary institution, or a foreign educational credential that has been completed and is accompanied by a valid Educational Credential Assessment (ECA).

2- CEC.

Prerequisites for participation in the CEC program include the following:

It is necessary that applicants have a minimum of one year of paid, full-time, or comparable part-time, skilled job experience in Canada within the three years prior to the application. It is believed that this encounter took place in Canada. For this task, we need to assign the NOC TEER to either category 0 or category 3.

When it comes to the ability to communicate in a language, CLB/NCLC 7 is necessary for all skills for TEER 0 and 1, but CLB/NCLC 5 is required for all skills for TEER 2 and 3.

Education: Although there are no prerequisites for education, receiving an end-of-course education (ECA) outside of Canada or completing an education in Canada can both contribute to an increase in the CRS score.

3- FSTP

Applicants for the FSTP are required to fulfill each and every one of the following requirements:

For the skilled work experience criterion, applicants must demonstrate that they have worked in qualified NOC groups for a minimum of two years within the five years prior to the submission of their application information.

When it comes to reading and writing, a CLB or NCLC level of proficiency is required; however, when it comes to speaking and listening, the same degree of skill is considered necessary. In order to be eligible for employment, an individual must either have a full-time job offer for at least one year or a certificate of competence in their skilled trade from a Canadian body.

In summary, the FSWP permits students to acquire work experience under specific conditions, while the CEC and FSTP prohibit such experience. To facilitate an accurate evaluation of their eligibility and enhance their chances of acceptance into the Express Entry pool, candidates must possess a comprehensive understanding of these distinctions.