Express Entry is an efficient immigration pathway enabling potential candidates to gain permanent residence status in Canada. When considering Express Entry for moving to Canada, the primary thing that counts is the Work Experience. 

The eligible work experience for Express Entry depends on the immigration program you are applying through. 

This implies that a candidate’s eligibility for Express Entry will be determined by whether they are applying through one of the popular Express Entry pathways, including the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class, or the Federal Skilled Trades Program. 

Canadian Immigration via Express Entry  

Canadian Express Entry is a point-based immigration system that handles skilled workers’ applications via three popular immigration pathways, i.e., CEC, FSWP, and FSTP. 

CEC: The Canadian Experience Class is a pathway for skilled workers with Canadian work experience that must be gained prior to application submission. 

FSWP: The Federal Skilled Worker Program is a pathway for skilled workers with foreign work experience. 

FSTP: The Federal Skilled Trade Program is a pathway for workers with work experience in skilled trades. 

The eligibility criteria for each program are different. Candidates eligible for any EE programs must submit their Express Entry profile to be assessed and ranked in the Express Entry pool. 

The Express Entry hopefuls are ranked based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which is a point-based approach and takes into account different factors such as education, age, language ability, work experience, and more. 

Candidates with a high CRS score have more chances of receiving an invitation to apply for permanent residency. 

This blog specifically discusses the work experience requirements for three EE pathways. Discover the eligible work experience for Express Entry programs. 

Eligible Work Experience for Express Entry Programs 

This section explains exactly what is considered qualified work experience for Express Entry programs, including: 

  1. The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), 
  1. The Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and 
  1. The Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). 

1. Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) 

In order to qualify for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), individuals must have worked in any one of the following four TEER (Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities) categories. The work experience may either be acquired in Canada or abroad. 

  • TEER 0 
  • TEER 1 
  • TEER 2 
  • TEER 3 

To be considered eligible for work in any of the above TEER categories, the applicants must demonstrate that they have fulfilled all the responsibilities described in the central statement of NOC’s occupational description. This comprises the majority of the primary duties listed, as well as the necessary duties. 

Further, the work experience gained in any of these TEER categories must additionally include the following: 

  • Candidate must have work experience of identical NOC to the job position a candidate wants to use for the Express Entry application. 
  • Candidate must have work experience in paid work where they received regular salaries or earned commission. 
  • The work experience must not be volunteer-based or gained as an unpaid internship. 
  • Candidate must have earned work experience of a continuous full-year (1,560 hours overall, or 30 hours per week) within the previous ten years. The following are the three ways candidates can fulfill this requirement: 
  1. Full-time work experience in a single job. This implies 30 hours per week for a yeay=1,560 total hours. 
  1. Equivalent number of hours at any number of part-time jobs. This can be any number of hours under 30 per week. For instance, a candidate can work 15 hours per week at two different jobs for a year or 15 hours per week at one job for a year. Both will satisfy this requirement. Note that the hours above 30 per week will not be counted for part-time jobs. 
  1. Full-time work experience at more than one job (30 hours per week for a yeay=1,560 total hours). 

Special provisions for students under FSWP 

If a student also satisfies the below-mentioned requirements, work experience earned throughout their studies could be used to satisfy the minimum eligibility conditions of FSWP. 

  • The student must have received a regular salary or a commission for their work. 
  • The student must have worked continuously, with no pause. 
  • The student must also fulfill all other FSWP eligibility requirements. 

2. Canadian Experience Class (CEC) 

To be eligible for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), applicants must have gained skilled work experience, either full-time or part-time, of at least one year. The work experience must satisfy similar criteria as the FSWP described above. Candidates must have worked in an occupation that falls under the following four TEER categories in NOC. The only difference is that candidates must have obtained work experience in Canada exclusively to be eligible under CEC. 

  • TEER 0 
  • TEER 1 
  • TEER 2 
  • TEER 3 

Eligible Work Experience for Express Entry Canadian Experience Class (CEC) 

To qualify for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Candidates must satisfy the following conditions: 

  • The work must be completed within the three years before applying for the CEC. 
  • Candidate must have gained work experience in Canada. They are permitted to work in Canada under temporary resident status. 
  • The work must be done to a degree that fulfills all responsibilities mentioned in the main statement of the NOC, occupational description. This includes all necessary duties and most listed primary duties. 
  • The Candidate must have been paid or earned a commission for the work. Unpaid internship and volunteer work do not qualify for the CEC eligibility. 

Ineligible work experience for CEC 

Two types of work experience are ineligible for the CEC. This includes Work experience gained during studies and self-employed work experience. Both of these do not satisfy the minimum eligibility conditions of the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). 

Special Provisions for physicians 

Temporarily self-employed overseas physicians who received an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residency under Express Entry and submitted the application on or After April 25, 2023, are free from the regular self-employment conditions under the CEC. This is true if they have previous experience in delivering publicly funded medical services in Canada. 

Note that Candidates who satisfy the above condition should be careful when entering work experience in their Express Entry profile. In order to make their work experience considered Canadian experience, be sure not to click the ‘Self-employed work’ checkbox under the ‘work experience in Canada.’ 

3. Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) 

In order to be eligible under Canada’s Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) of Express Entry, the Candidate’s work experience must fulfill the below-mentioned qualification criteria: 

  • Candidate must have two years of full-time or comparable part-time work experience in a skilled trade. This must be per the same eligibility criteria for the FSWP described above, i.e., for a year- 30 hours per week for 12 months = 1,560 total hours. 
  • Eligible jobs must demonstrate that they have fulfilled all the responsibilities described in the central statement of NOC’s occupational description. This comprises the majority of the primary duties listed, as well as the necessary duties. 
  • The Candidate must have been paid or gained a commission for the job. Unpaid internship and volunteer work do not qualify for the FSTP eligibility. 

Note that skilled work experience will be considered eligible under the FSTP if the Candidate qualifies to perform the trade job independently throughout the time. Otherwise, the FSTP application of the candidates will be rejected. 

Furthermore, the FSTP’s eligible work experience must be obtained in one of the eight NOC groups listed below: 

  • Major Group 72: This includes technical trades and transportation officers and controllers. The Sub-Major Group 726, controllers, and transportation officers are excluded from this. 
  • Major Group 73: This includes general trades 
  • Major Group 82: This includes natural resources, agriculture, and related production supervisors 
  • Major Group 83: This includes professions in natural resources and relevant production 
  • Major Group 92: This includes supervisors in processing, manufacturing, and utilities, as well as operators and controllers in utilities 
  • Major Group 93: This includes central control and process operators and, airplane assembly assemblers, and inspectors. This excludes Sub-Major Group 932, aircraft assemblers, and aircraft assembly inspectors. 
  • Minor Group 6320: This includes cooks, butchers and bakers 
  • Unit Group 62200: This includes chefs 

Closing Thoughts! 

So, this was everything there is to know about the Eligible Work Experience for Express Entry programs you can use to move to Canada, including the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class. 

When considering Express Entry for immigration to Canada, remember the higher the CRS score, the greater the possibility of receiving an ITA. 

Check whether you are eligible for any Express Entry Program.