Our overview to what the Federal Skilled Trades immigration program is and how you can use it to immigrate to Canada and become a permanent resident.
What is the Federal Skilled Trades (FST) Program?
The Federal Skilled Trades (FST) Program is the program through which you can apply for Canadian Permanent Residency if you are qualified in a skilled trade. It is one of three immigration programs managed by the Express Entry mechanism.
How do I immigrate to Canada using the FST Program?
You can apply on the FST program if you meet the requirements of the program which are laid out below.
If you do meet the requirements of FST you can apply to immigrate using this program through the Express Entry mechanism. Express Entry is how the Canadian Federal Government manages applications for permanent residency in Canada from skilled workers – including the FST program.
Work experience requirements for FST Program
Type of work
Immigration, Refuge and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) use a categorisation called National Occupational Classification (NOC) to determine which skilled trades are allowed under the Federal Skilled Trades Program. Broadly the following NOC codes are allowed:
- Major Group 72, industrial, electrical and construction trades
- Major Group 73, maintenance and equipment operation trades
- Major Group 82, supervisors and technical jobs in natural resources, agriculture and related production
- Major Group 92, processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and central control operators
- Minor Group 632, chefs and cooks
- Minor Group 633, butchers and bakers
You can find out what the NOC code for your work experience is here. You must meet the requirements of that NOC, except for needing a certificate of qualification.
Keep in mind that as part of the Express Entry process, you will have to provide detailed reference letters listing your job responsibilities. These will need to meet the lead statement of the occupational description in the NOC. This includes all the essential duties and most of the main duties listed.
So don’t be tempted to stretch your experience to fit a NOC that it doesn’t – all that will happen is your application will get rejected a few months down the line.
Length of experience
For the applicable National Occupational Classification, you must have at least 2 years of continuous, paid, work within the past 5 years. 2 years here means 3,120 hours total / 30 hours per week. The required amount of hours could be made up in different ways, for example:
- One full time job for 2 years (30 hours per week for 24 months)
- A part time job which adds up to 3,120 hours (e.g. 15 hours per week for 48 months)
- More than one part time job which adds up to 3,120 hours.
Any hours you work over 30 a week don’t count towards the 3,120 total. And the work experience only counts after you qualified to do the occupation.
Job offer or skilled trade qualification
In addition to the experience and length outlined above, you must have either a:
- valid job offer of full-time employment for a total period of at least 1 year, or
- a certificate of qualification in that skilled trade issued by a Canadian provincial, territorial or federal authority.
Education requirements for FST Program
There are no minimum educational requirements for the Federal Skilled Trades Program.
However you want to try and get as high a Comprehensive Ranking System Score (CRS) as possible, so you should add any qualifications you have from secondary institutions (high school) or post-secondary institutions.
If the qualification is not from a Canadian institution then you will need to get an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) to prove that your qualification is valid and equal to a Canadian one.
There are a few organizations approved by IRCC to do the ECA but the most common is World Education Services (WES) who we used for our application.
Language requirements for FST Program
You have to sit tests to prove your language skills meet a certain level for either English or French (or both). The tests cover writing, reading, listening and speaking.
Everyone needs to sit the tests, even if your first language is French or English.
You have to arrange and pay for the language tests yourself with one of the IRCC approved language tests.
You can check what score you need to get here, but at a high the minimum standard you should be at is:
- For reading and writing you need to have basic competence limited to familiar situations. You can have frequent problems in understanding and expression.
- For speaking and listening you must have to have a partial command of the language and cope with overall meaning in most situations, although likely to make many mistakes.
Settlement funds requirements for FST Program
You have to be able to show proof that you have enough money to get settled in Canada unless you are currently able to legally work in Canada and have a valid job offer. You can check the amount of money you’ll need here.
Additional Requirements
You must not have an underlying health condition that would cause too much demand on health or social services in Canada. Get more information on this here.
You also cannot have a criminal record. Unless you can show rehabilitation.
What is the difference between the FST Program and Express Entry?
The FST Program is a Canadian immigration program you can apply to for permanent residency of Canada. Express Entry is not an immigration program; it is the mechanism that the Canadian Federal Government uses to manage applications for permanent residency.
You use the Express Entry mechanism to apply for Canadian permanent residency through one of the three immigration programs managed by Express Entry:
- Federal Skilled Worker Program. For skilled workers with no Canadian work experience.
- Federal Skilled Trades Program. For qualified tradespeople.
- Canadian Experience Class. For skilled workers with recent Canadian work experience