Confusion regarding work experience under federal skilled trades program

[Sarpreet Sangha]

Hello everyone,
I want to immigrate to canada as a permanent resident,so i have completed a one year ITI (vocational training) in welding trade from an government recognized trade school from punjab,India.After that i gained 2 years (26 months) of paid work experience as a welder.I want to apply under federal skilled trades program.My NOC is 7237.But i have read on CIC's website about the code 7237 in which they stated that you need three years of apprenticeship or a combination of three years of work experience in trade and some technical courses.So i m confused because the requirements in the federal skilled trades program is only two years of experiece and i have 2 yeras of experience and 1 year certificate..is it ok for applying or not??

 

[Asivad Anac]

Employment requirements for a NOC are different from eligibility requirements under FST. Focus on the latter. Only the ones mentioned below matter for your PR application.

Minimum requirements

To be eligible, you must:

plan to live outside the province of Quebec (Note: The province of Quebec selects its own skilled workers. If you plan on living in Quebec, see Quebec-selected skilled workers for more information),

meet the required levels in English or French for each language ability (speaking, reading, writing and listening),

have at least two years of full-time work experience (or an equal amount of part-time work experience) * in a skilled trade within the five years before you apply,

meet the job requirements for that skilled trade as set out in the National Occupational Classification (NOC), except for needing a certificate of qualification, and

have an offer of full-time employment for a total period of at least one year (Up to two employers can commit to employing you for at least one year of continuous full-time work, meaning a total of at least 30 hours of work per week.) or a certificate of qualification in that skilled trade issued by a Canadian provincial or territorial authority (in Canada, provinces and territories issue certificates of qualification in the skilled trades. To get a certificate, the provincial or territorial trades authority must assess your training, trade experience and skills to decide if you are eligible to write an exam to be certified.)

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/trades/apply-who.asp

 

[Sarpreet Sangha]

Thanks asivad anac for your advice.I just want to confirm that whether my profile is eligible for applying or I need to gain more experience??

 

[Asivad Anac]

Thanks asivad anac for your advice.I just want to confirm that whether my profile is eligible for applying or I need to gain more experience??

As far as work experience is concerned, you are eligible for FST if you have at least 2 years of full-time work experience in a skilled trade within the last 5 years. This happens to be true in your case provided your 26 months of experience was full-time.

Of course, there are other criteria as well which you need to meet in order to be completely eligible for the program.