Immigration minister Mr. Fraser on May 31, introduced the new category-based draws for Express Entry. Recently, IRCC announced that it would hold draws for STEM Occupations this week. In the previous week, IRCC invited healthcare professionals to its first-ever category-based express entry draws.

IRCC will prefer the candidates for Express Entry who are either highly proficient in the French language or who have work experience in the below-mentioned fields:

  • HealthCare
  • STEM professions (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)
  • Agriculture and agri-food
  • Trades include carpenters, contractors, and plumbers.
  • Transport

IRCC selected these categories based on the reports of labor market shortages and protections and feedback received from diverse areas, including IRCC partners, provinces, and territories, as well as stakeholders within the country.

Reasons for choosing STEM Occupations.

According to the Statistics Canada report released at the conclusion of 2022, there is a skill gap required in Canada’s STEM labor force. The gap is caused for various reasons, such as the high retirement rate, and evolution of technology, and the automation of business and everyday life. The report further mentions that at the conclusion of Q4 2022, there were 56,915 job vacancies in the Professional, Scientific, and Technical services categories.

In the Federal Budget 2023, one of the major components is to invest $20 billion to help the development of major clean electricity and growth infrastructure projects, which can expand the worker’s demand in the tech category.

Besides this, the AI sector in Canada is also expanding, which has increased the tech workers demand in the country. As per the Global AI index, Canada has secured fourth rank in the worldwide IV Innovation competitiveness, implementation, and investment.

Furthermore, most STEM Occupations provide a competitive salary than other sectors. For instance, the average compensation for STEM Occupations in 2021 was $90,252, which was much more than Canada’s average of $69,311. Additionally, the average salary in the STEM Occupations at the end of Q4 2022 was $35.80. This was even more than twice compared to other sectors such as food and accommodation services.

Eligibility criteria for STEM Occupations.

In order to be eligible for STEM Occupations, candidates must meet the following requirements:

  • Satisfy the eligibility requirement of any of the three Express Entry programs, including Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program, or Federal Skilled Trades Program.
  • Have gained continuous work experience of at least six months in any of the specified occupations within the last three years.
  • Satisfy all the other eligibility requirements released in the instructions for the draw.

What are the STEM Occupations category for Express Entry?

A total of 24 Occupations are included in the STEM categories. The following are some of these categories:

  • Architects
  • Civil engineers
  • Data scientists
  • Engineer managers
  • Land surveyors
  • Mathematicians, statisticians, and actuaries
  • Software developers and programmers
  • Urban and land use planners
  • Web developers and programmers

How will IRCC choose the category-based rounds of invitation for Express Entry?

For category-based express entry draws, if the candidates are eligible for a specific category, IRCC will invite candidates to apply for permanent residency. The eligibility criteria include the following:

  • Education
  • Work experience in any of the specified categories of the NOC or National Occupational Classification.
  • English or French language proficiency

How will the IRCC consider the CRS scores for STEM Occupations?

On top of the general and program-specific draws, IRCC will hold the category-based draws by inviting the highest-ranking candidates who can support the country in achieving its economic goals. Candidates in the Express Entry pool are ranked on the basis of a comprehensive ranking system or CRS. This system takes into account various factors such as age, qualification, work experience, language proficiency, and more. For the candidates of category-based draws, the CRS score will remain crucial. The highest-ranking candidates who are eligible for the category-based draws will be issued invitations by IRCC.