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Minimum Work Experience Requirements

Skilled Workers are those people who have the ability to make a living with their specialties and become permanent residents of Canada. But how do you assess whether you meet the criteria to apply for federal immigration of the Skilled Worker class? There are some standards to be referred to.

One of the most important requirements you have to meet is that the applicant must have at least one continuous year of full time paid work experience or the equivalent in part-time continuous employment, AND your work experience must be in the category of Skill Type 0, or Skill Level A or B on the Canadian National Occupational Classification; AND your work experience must be within the last 10 years.

There is a National Occupational Classification List (NOC List) containing descriptions of duties, skills, talents and work settings for jobs in Canada.

Check it with your own occupation for the correct Code, however, there may be some differences in the definition of the jobs between Canada and your motherland. It is very important that you choose the correct NOC code, otherwise your application may be delayed or denied.

You can check the NOC list for detailed information.
Please follow these steps.

Find the title of any full-time jobs you had in the past 10 years using the NOC list. This is a list of all jobs that are in Skill Type 0, and Skill Level A or B on the NOC. Take a note of the four-digit code to the left of your job’s title.

Then check the four-digit code in the Quick Search box in the NOC Web site and the description of your occupation will appear. You just have to meet the Main Duties of your occupation description.

NOTE: You do not have to meet all the employment requirements listed in the description.

If your last job(s) meet the main duties description, you can count this experience as Skilled Worker and earn a corresponding score in the selection factor grid.

If your last job(s) does not match the main duties description, you might have no experience to apply for the Skilled Worker immigration and therefore you earn no points. You can just try for match your job to another occupation within the list and earn corresponding points.

Finally, check with the restricted occupation list. If your occupation is listed, you cannot use it to qualify the Skilled Worker category.