Canada offers numerous opportunities for immigrants to pursue their dreams of a better life. While the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score is a common pathway for Express Entry, there’s more to Canadian immigration than meets the eye.
In this guide, we’ll explore how you can secure Canadian permanent residence through in-demand jobs and Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs).
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Why Consider In-Demand Jobs and PNPs
If you’ve ever wondered about your immigration options in Canada, this article is for you. Many candidates focus on the CRS score, but recent changes have brought more emphasis on professional experience.
Even if you don’t fit into category-based draws, you still have a chance through in-demand jobs and PNPs.
What Are Provincial Nominee Programs?
PNPs are programs run by almost every province in Canada (except for Nunavut and Quebec). They allow provinces to nominate candidates based on their skills and expertise, aligning with the province’s specific needs.
Each PNP has its unique eligibility criteria, alongside the requirement of having full-time work experience in a targeted or in-demand profession.
In-Demand Jobs by Province
Here’s a breakdown of some in-demand jobs in different provinces, with links to resources and tips for finding your match:
Alberta:
Alberta doesn’t have a formal list of targeted occupations, but they have high-demand jobs like:
- Retail sales supervisors;
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses;
- Transport truck drivers;
- Retail and wholesale trade managers; and
- Accounting and related clerks, and more.
Be aware of ineligible occupations, and they also hold targeted draws for healthcare and agriculture workers.
Stay updated with Latest Alberta PNP (AAIP) Draws
British Columbia:
In British Columbia, they categorize in-demand jobs into four categories:
- Tech Occupations: This includes data scientists, web designers, physicists, and astronomers.
- Healthcare Occupations: Dentists, pharmacists, and physiotherapists fall into this category.
- Childcare Occupations: This targets early childhood educators.
- Other Priority Occupations: Veterinarians and Animal health technologists are included here.
Stay updated with Latest BC PNP Draws
Manitoba:
Manitoba’s PNP organizes its in-demand jobs into ten different categories:
- Business, Finance, and Administration Occupations: This includes financial managers, human resource professionals, administrative officers, and more.
- Natural and Applied Sciences and Related Occupations: Architects, data scientists, land surveyors, mechanical and civil engineers are part of this category.
- Health Occupations: Pharmacists, psychologists, physical therapists, and more.
- Occupations in Education, Law, and Social, Community and Government Services: Lawyers, social workers, therapists, early childhood educators, and assistants are in this group.
- Occupations in Art, Recreation, and Sport: Audio and video recording technicians, graphic designers, and sports and fitness program directors are here.
- Sales and Service Occupations: Corporate sales managers, retail sales supervisors, cooks, and bakers are part of this category.
- Trades, Transport, and Equipment Operators and Related Occupations: This includes construction managers, tool and die makers, electricians, plumbers, and carpenters.
- Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Related Occupations: This category specifically targets managers in agriculture.
- Occupations in Manufacturing and Utilities: Manufacturing managers, utilities managers, power engineers, and power system operators are included.
- Rural In-Demand Occupations: This category focuses on Nurse’s aides, orderlies, patient service associates, industrial butchers, meat cutters, and poultry preparers.
Stay updated with Latest Manitoba PNP Draws
New Brunswick:
While the New Brunswick PNP doesn’t have a list of targeted occupations, they provide information about sectors with high job vacancies.
These sectors include
- Sales and customer service roles: Retail salespersons, cashiers, supervisors, etc.
- Other services: Administrative assistants, hairstylists, bus mechanics, and more.
- Business, finance, and administration: Cleaners, financial sales reps, police officers, etc.
- Trades, transport, and equipment operators: Store stockers, truck drivers, letter carriers, etc.
- Education, law, and government: Teachers, professors, armed forces, superintendents, etc.
- Health occupations: Nurses, educators, support workers, aides, etc.
Keep in mind that these sectors may change from month to month.
Newfoundland and Labrador:
Newfoundland and Labrador’s PNP classifies its in-demand occupations under four broad categories:
- Healthcare Occupations: This encompasses professions like physicians, nurse practitioners, licensed practical nurses, and clinical psychologists.
- Information Communications Technology Occupations: This includes professions like software developers, biomedical engineers, UI/UX developers, and AI developers.
- Technical Specialist Occupations: Jobs like security specialists, cloud specialists, bioinformaticians, data analysts, offshore technicians, and more are in this category.
- Aquaculture Occupations: This category includes jobs like captains (requiring a fishing master class-4 certificate), farming and feeding managers, facility technicians, assistant managers, and more.
Northwest Territories:
The Northwest Territories PNP doesn’t have a list of targeted occupations. Instead, they provide a forecast of the top in-demand jobs for the next 15 years, starting in 2019.
They group occupations by required education or experience level and list the five roles forecasted to have the most job vacancies from now till 2034. These include:
- Roles that require less than a high-school level of education, such as janitors, caretakers, building superintendents, light-duty cleaners, and cashiers.
- Roles that require a high-school level of education, like heavy equipment operators, retail salespersons, and transport truck drivers.
- Roles in the skilled trades that require an occupational certification level of education, such as carpenters, electricians, and automotive service technicians.
- Roles that require a college diploma level of education, include administrative officers, administrative assistants, and social and community service workers.
- Roles that require a university degree level of education, such as elementary school and kindergarten teachers, registered nurses, and secondary school teachers.
- Roles that require a management level of experience, including retail and wholesale trade managers, construction managers, and financial managers.
Nova Scotia:
Nova Scotia’s PNP, known as the Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP), has a small list of targeted occupations, spanning several sectors.
Notably, these targeted occupations are all within training, education, experience, and responsibility (TEER) levels 3, 4, and 5. TEER codes range from 0-5, with roles at the 0 level being responsibility intensive and needing the most education and experience of all jobs classified. Roles at the 5-level require the least education and experience.
The targeted occupations in Nova Scotia include:
- Nurse’s aides
- Food and beverage servers
- Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers, and related support occupations;
- Light duty cleaners
- Transport truck drivers
- Heavy equipment operators
- Construction trades helpers and laborers
Ontario:
In Ontario, they use the OINP Employer Job Offer stream to invite individuals who have both an employer job offer and skills in an in-demand position. This stream has stipulations like median wage, work experience, and language ability.
In-demand jobs come in two forms: in-demand jobs for positions anywhere in Ontario and in-demand positions outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
Some positions that are in-demand anywhere in Ontario include:
- Home support workers, caregivers, and related occupations
- Meat cutters and fish mongers (retail and wholesale)
- Construction trades helpers and labourers
Some positions that are in-demand outside of the GTA include:
- Machine operators, mineral, and metal processing
- Metalworking and forging machine operators
- Mechanical assemblers and inspectors
Stay updated with Latest Ontario PNP (OINP) Draws
Prince Edward Island:
Prince Edward Island’s PNP targets the following in-demand occupations:
- Nurse’s aides, orderlies, and patient service associates
- Transport truck drivers
- Construction trades helpers and laborers
- Light-duty cleaners
- Other laborers in processing, manufacturing, and utilities
- Material handlers
- Process control and machine operators for food and beverage processing
- Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers, and related workers
Saskatchewan:
Saskatchewan’s PNP doesn’t have a targeted occupation list. Instead, they choose to target occupations in TEER levels 0, 1, 2, and 3, apart from those included on the excluded occupation list.
Professions on this list are not eligible to apply to the SINP through the Express Entry and Occupations in Demand streams.
Yukon:
Yukon’s PNP does not have a list of eligible occupations. Instead, they utilize two streams—the Skilled Worker and Critical Impact Worker streams—to target individuals in occupations within TEER levels 0, 1, 2, and 3 and TEER levels 4 and 5, respectively.
Employers and employees (with a Yukon job offer) must both apply to the program.
Stay updated with Latest Canada PNP Draws
Conclusion:
While Express Entry is one way to immigrate to Canada, don’t overlook the opportunities offered by in-demand jobs and Provincial Nominee Programs.
Explore the PNP options in your desired province and find a match in the in-demand job list. With determination and the right qualifications, you can embark on your journey to Canadian permanent residence.
Remember, each province has its unique criteria, so research thoroughly and consult immigration experts if needed. Your Canadian dream might be closer than you think!
