Truck drivers now eligible for Express Entry

shortage of truck drivers

The industry is facing an acute shortage of skilled workers due to a number of factors including layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as high rates of retirement. According to Trucking HR Canada’s 2021 Labor Market Snapshot, there were 18,000 open positions in the truck driving sector in Canada in the second quarter of 2021.

Truck driving is a critical component of Canada’s supply chain and has a huge impact on the national economy when there is disruption and labor shortages.

The report states that in Canada, the trucking and logistics industry handles over $850 billion in products across domestic and export markets. Even before the start of the global pandemic, the Forest Products Association of Canada estimated that the truck driver shortage cost the industry about $450 million in lost productivity.

Coming to Canada via Express Entry

Express Entry programs are the most prominent immigration route for skilled workers. It is an application management system that works with three economic immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Classes (CEC) and the Federal Skilled Trade Program (FSTP), to expedite processing of permanent residency applications. skilled workers.

How does the NOC affect the Express Entry application?

The NOC enables the IRCC to understand what a person’s occupation is, and the level of skill or experience required. NOC 2016 emphasized whether a role was NOC 0, A or B (Managerial for Skilled Trades). NOC 2021 has instead introduced a system based on a candidate’s training, education, experience and responsibilities (TEER).

apply for express entry

To begin with, a prospective candidate should self-assess whether they are eligible for the Express Entry program.

They must then complete a language assessment and receive the required Education Credential Assessment. Once these are done, the next step is to upload a profile on the IRCC website and wait for the decision. Express Entry uses the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), a points-based system, to rank candidates’ profiles. Your profile will be given a score and ranked along with all other candidates in the pool.

Top scoring candidates receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) and can then apply for permanent residence. When a candidate receives the ITA, he/she has 60 days to send the final application to IRCC.

IRCC strives to process 80% of all Express Entry applications within six months of receiving the last application.

federal skilled worker program

FSWP is the most popular program under Express Entry for candidates applying from abroad. It is designed for skilled workers who meet certain requirements in language, work experience and education obtained abroad.

The minimum requirements are one year of work experience, a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) score of 7, proof of funds and proof of education. You also need to get at least 67/100 on the FSWP score grid.

canadian experience class

The CEC is specifically for people who have at least one year of skilled work experience in Canada, gained over the past three years.

They must also meet a minimum CLB of 5 (“Early Intermediate”) for NOC TEER Category 2 or 3 jobs or CLB 7 (“Sufficient Intermediate Proficiency”) for NOC TEER Category 0 or 1 jobs.

Changes are coming to Express Entry

Last year, Bill C-19 got Royal Assent in the Parliament of Canada. The new bill empowers the IRCC to invite Express Entry candidates based on individual factors such as their language abilities or work experience to better fill the nearly one million job vacancies in Canada. The process of how these groups will be identified and selected is yet to be finalised.

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