General Overview of Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)

This program is for skilled workers with foreign work experience. The program’s requirements are dependent on several factors. Minimum requirements are: level of education; skilled work experience; and English and/or French Language skills (Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening skills).

The Program is based on a 100-point grid (as of now, the pass mark is 67; but this may change any time) for which the following are important contributing factors:

Level of education: Points are awarded for educational levels of high school and above. If education was attained in Canada, the applicant must present certificate, diploma or degree awarded from a Canadian educational institution for secondary or post-secondary education. If such credentials were acquired from outside Canada, then the applicant must have an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report for immigration purposes from a designated organization showing that your education is equal to a completed certificate, diploma or degree from a Canadian institution at a secondary or post-secondary school level.

Work Experience: Whether acquired within Canada or outside Canada, a minimum of 1 year full-time skilled work experience. Work experience shall be in skilled work areas under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill level 0, A or B. Full-time work is defined as 30hrs/per week or more OR an equal amount in part-time (example: 15hrs/week for 2 years). If you have a full-time and non-seasonal job offer from a Canadian employer valid at least for 1 year, you are awarded more points. Specification of job offers by Canadian employers are eligible for points.

Language Skills: In this program, you are expected to demonstrate adequate language skills in at least one of the two Canadian official languages – English and/or French. The four language skills are: listening, writing, speaking and reading. Among the most widely accepted language certificates to support Canadian immigration are (certificate shall not be older than two years):

• CELPIP: Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program
• TEF Canada: Test d’évaluation de français
• IELTS: International English Language Testing System

The test results are calculated based on the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) for English and Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) for French. The required language level in all four of the language skills is CLB = 7 or NCLC = 7. To be awarded points for a second official language, you must have at least CLB= 5 or NCLC =5 in all four skills.

Click here for more information on the FSWP.  

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