Express Entry candidates will be impacted by NOC changes implemented today !

 IRCC is switching to the NOC 2021 system today. Here’s what you need to know before that change takes effect.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will be transitioning to the 2021 version of the National Occupation Classification (NOC) system today, a change that has been in the works since the announcement on July 27.

This move will cause shifts in eligibility for some of Canada’s 100+ immigration programs, including Express Entry.

For instance, while the current NOC system (NOC 2016) requires that an Express Entry candidate has work experience classified under NOC skill types 0, A, or B, IRCC’s shift to NOC 2021 will bring with it a shift to the Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) system.

This is how the skill type categories of the current NOC system match up with the TEER categories of the 2021 NOC system.

NOC 2016	NOC 2021
Skill Type 0	TEER 0
Skill Level A	TEER 1
Skill Level B	TEER 2
Skill Level B	TEER 3
Skill Level C	TEER 4
Skill Level D	TEER 5

Updated NOC 2021 eligibility criteria for Express Entry

Eligibility criteria	Canadian Experience Class	Federal Skilled Worker Program	Federal Skilled Trades Program
English or French skills	CLB 7 for TEER 0 or TEER 1 occupations; CLB 5 for TEER 2 or TEER 3 occupations	CLB 7	CLB 5 for speaking and listening; CLB 4 for reading and writing
Type/Level of work experience	Canadian work experience in an occupation listed in one or more of these NOC TEER Categories: TEER 0, TEER 1, TEER 2, or TEER 3.	Work experience in an occupation listed in one of these NOC TEER Categories: TEER 0, TEER 1, TEER 2, or TEER 3.	Work experience in a skilled trade under key groups of TEER 2 or TEER 3.*
Amount of work experience	One year in Canada in the last three years (either combination of full-time or part-time work).	One year continuous within the last 10 years (combination of part-time, full-time or more than one job in your primary occupation).	Two years within last five years (either combination of full-time or part-time work)
Job offer	Not required.	Not required but you can get selection criteria (FSW) points for having a valid job offer.	A valid job 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, territorial or federal authority.
Education	Not required.	Secondary education is required. You can get more selection criteria (FSW) points for your post-secondary education.	Not required.

* Key groups of TEER 2 and 3 that are eligible for the FSTP include: Major Group 72, technical trades and transportation officers and controllers, excluding Sub-Major Group 726, transportation officers and controllers; Major Group 73, general trades; Major Group 82, supervisors in natural resources, agriculture, and related production; Major Group 83, occupations in natural resources and related production; Major Group 92, processing, manufacturing and utility supervisors, and utilities operators and controllers; Major Group 93, central control and process operators and aircraft assembly assemblers and inspectors, excluding Sub-Major Group 932, aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors; Minor Group 6320, cooks, butchers and bakers, and; Unit Group 62200, chefs.

Note: CLB refers to Canadian Language Benchmark

Keynote about selection factor points for the FSWP

The points given for selection factors as part of the Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP) will now follow the updated Skill Type/Level chart introduced with the NOC 2021 system.

Example: If a candidate would have received 10 points for arranged employment in Skill Type/Level 0, A, or B, they will still get those points for arranged employment in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3

Occupational eligibility changes coming for Express Entry with the move to NOC 2021

With the transition to NOC 2021, 16 occupations will become newly eligible for Express Entry, while three occupations become ineligible. The three newly ineligible occupations will remain eligible for programs with broader occupational eligibility criteria, such as some streams of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).

16 newly eligible occupations:

• Payroll administrators
• Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants
• Nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service associates
• Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants
• Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants
• Sheriffs and bailiffs
• Correctional service officers
• By-law enforcement and other regulatory officers
• Estheticians, electrologists, and related occupations
• Residential and commercial installers and servicers
• Pest controllers and fumigators
• Other repairers and servicers
• Transport truck drivers
• Bus drivers, subway operators, and other transit operators
• Heavy equipment operators
• Aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors

Three newly ineligible occupations:

• Other performers
• Program leaders and instructors in recreation, sport, and fitness
• Tailors, dressmakers, furriers, and milliners

Transition to NOC 2021 will have implications on the CRS

Like the changes described above with the FSWP, the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points given for arranged employment will now follow the updated Skill Type/Level chart introduced with the NOC 2021 system.

Example: if a candidate would have received 50 points for arranged employment in Skill Type/Level 0, A or B, they will still get those points if their NOC is in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3

Next steps based on your personal situation

Depending on where an individual candidate is in their Express Entry journey, IRCC requires different actions in accordance with the switch to NOC 2021.

Firstly, those who have not yet submitted an Express Entry profile but plan to do so on or after today’s switch will be required to find and submit their occupation’s code in line with the NOC 2021 when filling out the profile.

Meanwhile, candidates who have submitted a profile but have not received an Invitation to Apply (ITA) have different instructions from IRCC. In this case, candidates will need to update their submitted Express Entry profile any time after the changes are implemented tomorrow. This will require the individual to search the NOC 2021 list on the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) website and update their profile with their TEER category and five-digit occupation code.

Finally, anyone who got their ITA prior to November 16 must submit their Express Entry application using NOC 2016 (using the NOC code provided at the time of receipt).

IELTS: Which test is needed for Canadian permanent residency?

 Knowing which IELTS test you need to take and how to best prepare for it is essential if you aim at settling permanently in Canada.

                                      

To apply for Canada PR (permanent residency), you will need to prove your English proficiency by taking an IELTS test.

There are two different versions of IELTS: IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training.

To apply for Canadian permanent residency, you will need to take IELTS General Training. IELTS General Training evaluates your abilities to use English in everyday contexts.

IELTS General Training Test Format

There are four parts to the test and you must take them all. The total test time is approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Reading (60 minutes – 40 questions)

The Reading section consists of 40 questions divided into three sections that are designed to test a wide range of reading skills.

Section 1 (social survivor) may contain two or three short texts or several shorter texts that are relevant to basic linguistic survival in English such as notices, advertisements, college brochures, and accommodation lists.

Section 2 (workplace survival), focuses on the workplace context, so texts might include job descriptions, contracts, work policies, manuals, staff development, and training materials.

Section 3 (general reading) contains one longer and more complex text of general interest. Text types include newspaper and magazine articles, book extracts, or internet texts about a variety of topics.

Each answer is worth 1 mark and you will not be penalized if you leave an answer blank.

Writing (60 minutes)

There are two tasks in this part: Task 1 and Task 2.

Task 1: Letter writing

You will be presented with a situation and asked to write a letter requesting information, or explaining the situation. The letter may be personal, semi-formal, or formal in style, and it should be at least 150 words. Your writing will be assessed on four criteria: task achievement, coherence, and cohesion, lexical resource, grammatical range, and accuracy.

Task 2: Essay writing

You will be asked to write a discursive essay in response to a point of view, argument, or problem. Topics are of general interest and the text should be of at least 250 words. Your writing will be assessed on task response, coherence, and cohesion, lexical resource, grammatical range, and accuracy.

Listening (approximately 30 minutes – 40 questions)

In this part of the test, you will listen to recordings of native English speakers with a variety of accents and write your answers to a series of questions on the question paper as you listen.

You can listen to the recordings only once and if you take IELTS on paper, you will be given ten minutes at the end of the test to transfer your answers to an answer sheet.

You will hear four recordings:

• Recording 1 – a conversation between two people set in an everyday social context.
• Recording 2 – a monologue set in an everyday social context, e.g. a speech about local facilities.
• Recording 3 – a conversation between up to four people set in an educational or training context, e.g. a university tutor and a student discussing an assignment.
• Recording 4 – a monologue on an academic subject, e.g. a university lecture.

Each answer is worth 1 mark and you will not be penalized if you leave an answer blank.

Speaking (between 11 and 14 minutes)

The Speaking test is a face-to-face interview with an examiner. It is divided into three parts and each part gives you the chance to demonstrate your English-speaking skills in different ways.

• Part 1 (4 to 5 minutes) – The examiner asks you questions about your daily life and other everyday topics such as work, study, hobbies, likes and dislikes, and so on.
• Part 2 (1 to 2 minutes) – The examiner gives you a topic to talk about on a task card and you are given 1 minute to prepare your talk, which should last between one to two minutes. Again, the questions are on familiar, everyday topics.
• Part 3 (4 to 5 minutes) – The examiner starts a discussion with you that is related to the topic you talked about in Part 2. You will be asked to give opinions about things and justify them.

Your speaking will be assessed on fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation.

                                             

Top Tips on How to Best Prepare for the IELTS General Training Test

Understand the format of the test in detail

To achieve the score that you need to apply for permanent residency, it is essential that you familiarize yourself with the format of the test. You need to make sure you know exactly what you are expected to do and how each part of the test is structured, timed, and scored.

You might already have an excellent level of English, but if you do not know how the test works, chances are that you will struggle to complete tasks on time or misunderstand what they require you to do, or, worst of all, panic during the test because you are presented with tasks you were not expecting to do.

So, first, take the time to study for the test. You can download sample test questions here to get a clear idea of the test format and what to expect in each part.

Identify and focus on your weaknesses

When it comes to preparing for IELTS, it is easy to practice doing what you are already good at, but it is harder to focus on what you are not able to do yet.

Aim at spending most of your preparation time on language areas, skills, and test sections that you do not feel confident with. For example, if you have already taken several listening practice tests and feel confident about your listening skills, start directing your energy to the areas that need your attention because those, too, will be assessed.

Identify your weaknesses and work on those first. You might want to take IELTS Progress Check to help you prepare and understand the areas you need to improve or focus on.

Work at improving your general English, not just your IELTS skills.

If you are not 100% familiar with the test format and don’t develop relevant test strategies, you might not get the IELTS score that you need to apply for PR. While this is true, you should still devote time to improving your general English language abilities.

Test and language skills are equally important, so make the most of your preparation by taking practice tests and courses as well as exposing and using English as much as you can. Listening, reading, writing, and speaking
regularly in preparation for the test.

You can make it fun by combining your hobbies with language development. For example, if you like gardening, you could watch gardening videos on YouTube or read related articles.

Do not feel that IELTS practice tests should be all you need to do to prepare. Spend time improving your language skills too, which will be the same skills you will need to live in the real world once you have obtained permanent residency in Canada.