SKILLED WORKERS PROGRAM NOW OPEN IN CANADA

Long wait is over 
for skilled workers 

"Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing-the result." Vince Lombardi 

By Alex P. Vidal

In Vancouver, I talked to a lot of immigration lawyers and consultants and they all agreed that Canadian immigration laws are fluid and can change a moment's notice without any warning. 
Thus if we are intending to migrate to Canada, we must regularly check with the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) if we are qualified on certain skills open for application, whether they are currently on the list of priority programs, so as not to be victimized by unscrupulous consultants and not to waste time and money altogether.
After a year of waiting, a piece of good news for qualified applicants finally came. The New Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) is now open. Under the program, only applicants who have skills and experience in one of 24 eligible occupations will be accepted for review. The cap has been set at 5,000.
One of the major criticisms of the former FSWP was the extremely long processing time for each application and the extensive delays experienced by many applicants and employers. The new program is reportedly "designed to process applications within 12 months of filing. CIC has confirmed that priority will be given to applicants applying with a qualifying offer of employment in order to facilitate staffing schedules."

LIST 

The new list of eligible occupations is as follows (with 2011 National Occupations Classification Codes): 0211 Engineering managers; 1112 Financial and investment analysts; 2113 Geoscientists and oceanographers; 2131 Civil engineers; 2132 Mechanical engineers; 2134 Chemical engineers; 2143 Mining engineers; 2144 Geological engineers; 2145 Petroleum engineers.
2146 Aerospace engineers; 2147 Computer engineers (except software engineers/designers; 2154 Land surveyors; 2174 Computer programmers and interactive media developers; 2243 Industrial instrument technicians and mechanics; 2263 Inspectors in public and environmental health and occupational health and safety; 3141 Audiologists and speech-language pathologists; 3142 Physiotherapists; 3143 Occupational therapists.
3211 Medical laboratory technologists; 3212 Medical laboratory technicians and pathologists' assistants; 3214 Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists; 3215 Medical radiation technologists; 3216 Medical sonographers; 3217 Cardiology technicians and electrophysiological diagnostic technologists, n.e.c. (not elsewhere classified)
The newly-released eligible occupations will have an overall cap of 5,000 new applications and a sub-cap of 300 applications in each occupation. 

INFORMATION

Meanwhile, a website that helps disseminate information about the program has warned that the information it provided for the New Federal Skilled Workers "does not substitute for actual legal advice based on the specific circumstances of a matter."
"Readers are reminded that Immigration laws are fluid and can change a moment's notice without any warning,"  read Pro-link Global's Caveat Lector or Warning to Reader section. 
It issued the statement after disclosing that the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has announced further guidance for the newly redesigned Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP). It said, "In addition to releasing the official list of eligible occupations under the new program, authorities have also designated four organizations to provide the newly-required assessments of foreign educational credentials for applicants who have completed degrees outside of Canada."

SYSTEM

The FSWP is a points-based immigration system that is aimed at highly-skilled, well-educated foreign nationals who have the "ability to succeed economically in Canada." Applicants are granted points based on education level, language proficiency in English and/or French, work experience, age, and adaptability factors to establish themselves economically in Canada. In general, applicants will need to score at least 67 of the 100 possible points based on the aforementioned categories.
Previously closed to most applications on July 1, 2012 due to program concerns and a backlog of pending applications, the program has re-opened on May 4, 2013 to all eligible applicants, it was announced.