Skilled workers and professionals - Who can apply
Skilled workers are people who are selected as permanent residents based on their ability to become economically established in Canada.
Federal skilled worker applications are assessed for eligibility according to the criteria set out below.
For your application to be eligible for processing, you must:
have a valid offer of arranged employment, OR
have one year of continuous full-time paid work experience in at least one of the occupations listed here * OR
be an international student enrolled in a PhD program in Canada (or graduated from a Canadian PhD program within the past 12 months) and meet certain criteria.
*The occupations on this list are in areas where there is a proven need in Canada for more workers. If you are applying under this stream, CIC will only accept your application if you have experience in one of these occupations.
Work experience minimum requirements
If your application is eligible for processing it will then be assessed against minimum requirements.
Your work experience must be:
for at least one year, continuous, and paid (full-time or the equivalent in part-time), AND
Skill Type 0 (managerial occupations) or Skill Level A (professional occupations) or B (technical occupations and skilled trades) on the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC) list.
(Note: The NOC is a system for classifying jobs in Canada. The link will take you to the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada’s website.)
If you meet the above minimum requirements, your application will be processed according to the six selection factors in the skilled worker points grid, which are:
your education
your abilities in English and/or French, Canada’s two official languages
your work experience
your age
whether you have arranged employment in Canada, and
your adaptability.
You must also show that you have enough money to support yourself and your dependants after you arrive in Canada.
Note: For the 29 eligible occupations, as of May 8, 2012, the maximum of 10,000 Federal Skilled Worker applications has been reached.
These limits do not apply to applications with an offer of arranged employment.
If you are not sure if you should apply as a skilled worker, you can:
use the Come to Canada Wizard to get an idea of whether your application would be eligible for processing, then
try a self-assessment test to see if you might earn enough points to qualify.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/apply-who.asp
