To be eligible for the CEC, you must meet the following requirements:

A) Canadian experience class

• Have obtained at least one year of skilled, professional or technical work experience in Canada within 36 months of the application date; and
• Meet or surpass a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) of 5 (“initial Intermediate”) for NOC B jobs or CLB 7 (“adequate intermediate proficiency”), for NOC skill level 0 or A jobs.
• Plan to live and work outside of the province of Quebec (individuals with work experience in Quebec and who plan to reside in Quebec may apply to the Quebec Experience Class).

One year (or 12 months) of work experience is defined as at least 1,560 hours of skilled work in Canada. The 1,560 hours can be obtained through full-time and/or part-time work.

Applicants can remain in Canada throughout the application process. However, the Canadian Experience Class is also open to individuals who are no longer in Canada, provided that they submit their application within three years of leaving their job in Canada.

The Canadian Experience Class requirements are based on a pass or fail model. If the minimum requirements are met, the applicant is eligible to enter the Express Entry pool.

Note: Self-employment and work experience gained while you were a fulltime student (for example, on a co-op work term) does not count under the CEC.

B) Federal Skilled trade

The Federal Skilled Trades Program is for people who want to become permanent residents based on being qualified in a skilled trade.The objective of the FTSC is to meet the demands of the booming Canadian workforce and there is a specific list of trades which qualify to fulfill those needs. The program is quota based and limited to 3000 applications per year with sub quotas in many of the 43 targeted occupations.

To be eligible for the new Federal Skilled Trades Program, an applicant must:

• Have offers of employment from up to two employers in Canada of at least one-year duration OR a Certificate of Qualification from a provincial or territorial body
• Provide proof of basic language proficiency from a designated language testing organization, demonstrating that the applicant meets the minimum threshold
• Have obtained twenty-four months of qualified work experience in the skilled trade in the last five years; and
• Be able to demonstrate the skills and experience and that they have performed the essential duties of the occupation.

C) Federal Skilled Worker

Federal Skilled Trade Class applications is for people who want to become permanent residents based on being qualified in a skilled trade. As of January 1, 2015, potential candidates interested in applying to the Federal Skilled Trades Program must go through the Express Entry system.

• Plan to live outside the province of Quebec (Note: The province of Quebec selects its own skilled workers. If you plan on living in Quebec, see Quebec-selected skilled workers for more information),
• Meet the required levels in English or French for each language ability (speaking, reading, writing and listening),
• Have at least two years of full-time work experience (or an equal amount of part-time work experience) * in a skilled trade within the five years before you apply,
• Meet the job requirements for that skilled trade as set out in the National Occupational Classification (NOC), except for needing a certificate of qualification, and
• have an offer of full-time employment for a total period of at least one year or a certificate of qualification in that skilled trade issued by a Canadian provincial or territorial authority
• You must be admissible to Canada. Find out more about inadmissibility.
• You must plan to live outside the province of Quebec.

Skilled work experience

Skilled Trades currently eligible for the Federal Skilled Trades Program are organized under these major and minor groups of the NOC:

• Major Group 72, industrial, electrical and construction trades,
• Major Group 73, maintenance and equipment operation trades,
• Major Group 82, supervisors and technical jobs in natural resources, agriculture and related production,
• Major Group 92, processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and central control operators,
• Minor Group 632, chefs and cooks, and
• Minor Group 633, butchers and bakers.