Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has introduced category based rounds of invitation in the Express Entry Program.
IRCC holds rounds of invitation that are general (where no special program is specified) or Program specific rounds (where candidates from a specific program like Skilled Worker, Skilled Trades, Canadian Experience Class or PNP are sent Invitations to Apply).
Now in addition to these, a new category based rounds will be held, which will impact the Express Entry Profiles. For the year 2023, 6 categories have been identified by the IRCC:
- French-language proficiency
- Healthcare occupations
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) occupations
- Trade occupations
- Transport occupations
- Agriculture and agri-food occupations
For eligibility in French Language Proficiency, one must have appeared in the approved French Language test and scored minimum NCLC level 7 in all 4 modules.
To be eligible in Healthcare Occupations Category, one must have acquired at least 6 months of work experience in the last 3 years in one of the following occupations:
| Audiologists and speech language pathologists |
| Chiropractors |
| Dentists |
| Dieticians and nutritionists |
| Education counsellors |
| General practitioners and family physicians |
| Instructors of persons with disabilities |
| Kinesiologists and other professional occupation in therapy and assessment |
| Licensed practical nurses |
| Massage therapists |
| Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations |
| Medical laboratory technologists |
| Medical radiation technologists |
| Medical sonographers |
| Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates |
| Nurse practitioners |
| Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors |
| Occupational therapists |
| Optometrists |
| Other assisting occupations in support of health services |
| Other practitioners of natural healing |
| Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating |
| Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment |
| Paramedical occupations |
| Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants |
| Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals |
| Physiotherapists |
| Psychologists |
| Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses |
| Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists |
| Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine |
| Specialists in surgery |
| Therapists in counselling and related specialized therapies |
| Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists |
| Veterinarians |
In Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) occupations, the eligibility is to have held at least 6 months experience in one of the following jobs in the last 3 years:
| Architects |
| Architecture and science managers |
| Business systems specialists |
| Civil Engineers |
| Computer and information systems managers |
| Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) |
| Computer systems developers and programmers |
| Cybersecurity specialists |
| Data scientists |
| Database analysts and data administrators |
| Electrical and electronics engineers |
| Engineering managers |
| Industrial and manufacturing engineers |
| Information systems specialists |
| Land surveyors |
| Landscape Architects |
| Mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries |
| Metallurgical and materials engineers |
| Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers |
| Software developers and programmers |
| Software engineers and designers |
| Urban and land use planners |
| Web designers |
| Web developers and programmers |
Eligibility for rounds of Trade occupations category is minimum 6 months job experience in the following occupations in last 3 years in one of the following jobs:
| Residential and commercial installers and servicers |
| Elevator constructors and mechanics |
| Machine fitters |
| Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics |
| Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics |
| Carpenters |
| Plumbers |
| Electricians (except industrial and power system) |
| Welders and related machine operators |
| Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers |
For Transport occupations category, the eligibility is to have 6 months experience in one of the following jobs during past 3 years:
| Aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors |
| Transport truck drivers |
| Railway traffic controllers and marine traffic regulators |
| Engineer officers, water transport |
| Deck officers, water transport |
| Air traffic controllers and related occupations |
| Air pilots, flight engineers and flying instructors |
| Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors |
| Railway carmen/women |
| Managers in transportation |
In Agriculture and agri-food occupations, the eligible candidates must have a 6 months work experience in last 3 years in one of the following occupations:
| Contractors and supervisors, landscaping, grounds maintenance and horticulture services |
| Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors |
| Butchers- retail and wholesale |