The Federal Skilled Trades Program is for qualified tradespeople who want to become permanent residents through Express Entry. It is designed for applicants whose hands-on training and experience are essential to Canada's labour market.
If your background is in a skilled trade, you may be looking for a permanent residence route that recognizes hands-on work experience. You may also need help understanding trade classifications, job offers, certificates of qualification, language results, and Express Entry requirements.
This service is for tradespeople who want their experience and documents reviewed before relying on the Federal Skilled Trades Program as a PR pathway.
The Federal Skilled Trades Program is for qualified tradespeople who want to become permanent residents through Express Entry. It is designed for applicants whose hands-on training and experience are essential to Canada's labour market.
If you meet the program requirements, your profile enters the Express Entry pool and may be selected in a round of invitations based on your rank and the type of draw IRCC conducts.
Federal Skilled Trades files require careful attention to the trade category, work experience, language results, and supporting evidence. RA Migration helps tradespeople understand how their practical work history should be documented for Express Entry.
We help review eligibility, organize proof of experience, check whether job-offer or qualification evidence may be relevant, and prepare information consistently across forms and documents. Our team focuses on clarity and complete preparation.
If you are a tradesperson planning permanent residence, RA Migration can help you understand your options and prepare a stronger application package.
Express Entry is Canada’s main management system for three federal economic immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FST). You create an online profile, get a score under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), and sit in a pool. IRCC holds regular draws and invites the top‑scoring profiles to apply for permanent residence.
Whether you’re “in” depends on your CRS score, and CRS cut‑offs move draw by draw. In recent years IRCC has also run category‑based draws targeting specific professions, French speakers, and Canadian work experience, which means a lower overall CRS score can still get you an invitation if you fit the category.
Yes, often more than people realize. Common levers include: retaking your language test (CELPIP or IELTS) to push into a higher band, getting a second language tested (French is huge right now), obtaining a provincial nomination (worth 600 CRS points and able to significantly improve your ranking for a future invitation), getting Canadian work experience, completing a Canadian credential, or having a qualifying sibling in Canada. Even small changes like upgrading a single IELTS band can add 30 to 50 points.
Not all work experience is equal in the eyes of IRCC. For Express Entry, your work experience only counts if it meets all of the following: it’s in a job classified under TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 of the National Occupational Classification (NOC); it’s continuous; it’s paid (volunteer work and unpaid internships don’t count); and it adds up to at least 1 year of full‑time work or the equivalent part‑time hours (1,560 hours total, capped at 30 hours/week).
For the Canadian Experience Class, only experience gained in Canada while legally authorized to work counts, and self‑employment and work done during full‑time studies are excluded. Your duties also have to match what the NOC says. A “software developer” title means nothing to IRCC if the actual duties on your reference letter don’t align.
Category‑based draws are Express Entry rounds that invite candidates who fit a specific labour‑market priority, even if their CRS score is well below what the general pool would require. On February 18, 2026, IRCC confirmed 10 category‑based selection categories for 2026, including some new ones.
Notable categories for 2026 include:
Physicians with Canadian work experience. The first draw on February 19, 2026 set a record‑low CRS cut‑off of 169.
Senior managers with Canadian work experience. The first draw in March 2026 invited candidates at CRS 429.
Researchers with Canadian work experience.
Transport occupations (pilots, aircraft mechanics, and related roles).
Skilled trades, healthcare workers, French‑language proficiency, STEM, and agriculture.
To qualify for category‑based selection in 2026, you generally need at least one year of work experience (up from six months) in an eligible occupation within the previous three years. If your profile fits a category, you can receive an invitation at CRS scores that would never succeed in a general draw.
On March 25, 2025, IRCC removed CRS points for job offers to combat LMIA fraud. Bad actors had been selling fake LMIA letters to Express Entry candidates for tens of thousands of dollars. Overnight, candidates who had been relying on 50 or 200 job offer points saw those points disappear, and CRS cut‑offs in general draws climbed to historic highs.
In its 2026‑2027 Departmental Plan (released March 2026), IRCC signalled that job offer points are returning, but with tighter rules. The proposed framework would reward job offers and Canadian work experience only in high‑wage occupations (roles paying at or above the provincial median wage) and regulated professions. No implementation date has been announced yet, and the details are still being written.
What this means for you: don’t wait for the change to happen. If you might benefit, start lining up a qualifying job offer now, because processing and employer support take months. And know that, today, job offers still add zero CRS points.
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