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| Please help me if you can

Feb 26, 2025
15
0
Hey everyone,
I wanted to give an update after my last post because things have taken a turn, and honestly, I’m still losing my mind over what to do.
Thanks to the responses I received here which I am still very grateful for , someone from the company I worked for reached out and provided me with a contact to request my reference letter. It took some time to get things sorted, but I finally have the employment verification letter in hand. So, in that sense, this is progress.

The issue now? I’m not sure if all of this is actually going to go through smoothly or if I might run into problems because of the "Trainee" title in my job positions.
To recap my situation:
  • I worked in two roles:
    • Full-Stack Programmer Trainee (Dec 5, 2022 – Jan 5, 2023)
    • Software Reliability Engineering (SRE) Trainee (Aug 28, 2023 – Oct 6, 2023)
  • It was full-time (40 hours/week) and I was paid $625 per week, bi-weekly
  • The structure of the job was unique: we took classes in the mornings (almost like school) and did hands-on programming in the afternoons, but on simulated applications rather than real-world projects.
  • The company technically "hires" you, trains you, and then places you with a client—except I never got placed anywhere.
Now, here’s where I’m completely lost:
  1. Does this even qualify as work experience under Express Entry? I mean I have a good reference letter now and The duties I performed were definitely programming-related, but I can’t find an exact NOC code that matches what I did.Other than that for software developers , but then the salary range of the range for example ,does NOT match.
  2. Could the ‘Trainee’ title cause issues? Even though I was paid, I'm worried that IRCC might see it as more of a training program rather than actual employment.
  3. Should I move forward with my application or decline my ITA? On one hand, submitting my application allows me to apply for a BOWP (Bridging Open Work Permit), but on the other hand, I’m scared of getting rejected due to the nature of my work experience.
Part of me is considering declining the ITA and waiting a couple more months to qualify with only my current job in insurance (currently only at the 10 months mark), but I don’t know if declining an ITA will affect my future chances. I’ve also already spent a lot of money on this process, so the thought of backing out now is really discouraging.
Honestly, I feel like I’m stuck between two bad options, and I don’t know what to do. If anyone has any insights—especially about how IRCC might view this kind of work experience—I would be highly, highly, highly grateful.

Thank you so much in advance.