On May 31, the immigration minister of Canada, Sean Fraser declared the launch of category-based draws for Express Entry applicants. 

IRCC has confirmed the first round of category-based draws for STEM professions, which will take place this week. Last week, IRCC held the first-ever round for category-based Express Entry draws, thus inviting healthcare workers.   

Preference for Express Entry applicants with a strong French language or work experience in the following fields will be given by IRCC. 

  • Healthcare 
  • STEM professions 
  • Trades 
  • Transport 
  • Agriculture/ Agri-Food

These classifications/ categories were selected depending on the information about labor market projections & shortages, along with the input obtained from IRCC territories, provinces, stakeholders, & partners across the nation. 

 

Why Were STEM Professions Chosen? 

Statistics Canada released a report at the end of 2022 stating that there is a gap in the skills required in Canada’s STEM labor force. This gap is due to the high rate of retirement & evolving technology & automation of businesses & day-to-day life. 

Well, at the end of the year 2022 Q4, the Technical, Professional, & Scientific categories had over 56,915 vacancies in Canada. 

If we look at the Federal Budget of 2023, we will find that one of the most significant components of the budget was to invest over $20 billion in order to support infrastructure projects & clean electricity. As a result, this led to an increase in the demand for workers in the tech sector. 

The AI sector of Canada is also continuously growing & evolving, thus leading to an increase in demand for workers in the tech industry/ sector. In addition, the Global AI index shows that Canada is in the fourth position in terms of innovation, investment, & implementation. 

Furthermore, many STEM professions provide competitive salaries as compared to other industries/ sectors. In 2021, the compensation for this sector was around $90,252, which was above the average compensation in Canada, i.e., $69,311. Moreover, at the end of 2022 Q4, the average compensation/ pay in the STEM sector was $35.80. This was more than double in industries/ sectors like food services & accommodation.    

 

Who Is Eligible For STEM Category-Based Draws?  

To be qualified under the latest category for STEM professions, a candidate should: 

  • Meet the eligibility criteria of one of the Express Entry Programs, i.e., CEC, FSTP, or FSWP. 
  • Have accumulated at least six months of continuous work experience in one of the listed professions in the last three years. 
  • Meet all other requirements in the instructions for the round. 

 

What Are STEM Professions? 

There are over 24 professions in the STEM occupations category. Some of them include: 

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

 

How Will Express Entry Category-Based Rounds Of Invitations Are Chosen?

For category-based invitation rounds, IRCC will send invitations to candidates to apply for PR if they are suitable/ eligible for a specific category. This criterion includes: 

  • Language ability in French/ English 
  • Education
  • Work in experience in a specific TEER category of NOC, i.e., National Occupation Classification

 

How Will CRS Scores Be Considered? 

Category-based draws will take place on top of general & program-specific draws by inviting top-ranking applicants who can help meet the nation’s economic goals. In addition, applicants in Express Entry Pool are ranked using CRS. This system ranks applicants on the basis of age, language skills, education, work experience, etc. 

Interestingly, an applicant’s CRS score will still be crucial for category-based draws. Thus, IRCC will send invitations to applicants with top-ranking scores who are also eligible for the category-based draw.