Emigrating to Canada as an Electrician: Explore Your Options
As Canada emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, so too do its immigration programs. It’s a rather well-known fact that Canada has often been the go-to destination for many career-oriented individuals. It is especially true for those working in the skilled-labour industry. People who work as electricians, millwrights, plumbers, and so on, have been the beneficiaries of the high level of demand in the country. The demand for certified electricians in Canada is growing rapidly. This forecasts a growing trend that is supportive of emigrating to Canada as an electrician.
There are a few factors that make emigrating to Canada as an electrician an appealing decision. For one, the country boasts a high quality of life. Canada has excellent medical care infrastructure in place, educational facilities, and of course a booming industry.
The other major contributing factor is the profession being so in-demand across the country. As one generation of journeymen age out of the profession, it makes way for the next. This means that there is a constant need for electricians in Canada, who are certified. It doesn’t hurt that the pay is really good. Websites like ‘mdccanada.com’ have reported electricians receiving an average salary of around $67,000 per year. This number varies depending on the province, employer, the industry experience of the journeyman, and so on. However, it does give us an idea of the scope of the job and the rewards one can reap therein. In this article, we will explore some of the routes you can take when immigrating to Canada as an electrician.
Method #1: The Express Entry System
The Express Entry System is not so much a visa class as it is a database of sorts or rather a metric of measure. The Canadian Immigration service uses this to determine your eligibility to quickly attain a permanent residency visa. In this case, if you are looking at emigrating to Canada as an electrician, then you have two roads ahead of you. One is the Federal Skilled Trades Program and the other is through the Provincial Nomination Program.
Federal Skilled Trades Program
First, let’s look at the Federal Skilled Trades Program. Typically, electricians are classified as skill type B under the National Occupation Classification (NOC) Code. So being an electrician by trade, you will already be eligible for the program. However, there are other metrics that will be used to determine if you will qualify.
The first thing to look at is the industry experience that you have under your belt. Do you have at least two-plus years of experience within the last five years of having been in the skilled trade?
The next obvious thing to look at is if you have a valid and full-time job offer with a minimum contract of one year. If you don’t, you will need an electrician certificate of qualification issued by a Canadian provincial, territorial or federal authority.
Other Factors of Consideration:
- Communication – To do your job well you need to be able to communicate effectively with customers. This means that you will need to pass a Canadian Language Benchmark test and earn a minimum score of 4 in all four sections (reading, writing, listening, and speaking).
- Qualifications – There is no educational requirement. However, having your qualification/certification credentials evaluated will certainly help boost your final score.
- Overall Eligibility – You must be eligible to immigrate to Canada, this means you cannot have a criminal record, you must be in good health and you must have legal status in the country you are living in now.
All these factors come together to determine your eligibility for immigrating to Canada as an electrician based on your final Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS) on your Express Entry program profile.
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.“ – Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the U.S.
Provincial Nomination Program
Think of this as part two of the Express Entry System. It can greatly increase your chances of being selected for a permanent residency visa. You can apply for this in two ways. One is to create an expression of interest in a particular province where you would like to live and work on your Express Entry Profile. If the province decides your skills are up to par and that they line up with their needs, they will issue a provincial nomination for your application. This can contribute around 600 points to your application of 1,200 points. Essentially, it will make you a prime candidate.
The second way is to apply directly to the province via the government website. Once approved they will invite you to apply directly to the province and will motivate your application of permanent residency to the Canadian government.
Method #2: Atlantic Immigration Pilot
Now, let’s say you don’t have all your qualifications yet and are just thinking of finishing your apprenticeship. Well, instead of waiting forever for that right Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, get a jump on things and opt for the Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP).
The AIP offers permanent residency to applicants with a valid full-time job offer under NOC Codes 0, A, B, C & D. Pretty much any valid full-time job offer could see you eligible for permanent residency under this immigration pilot. This program was formulated with the idea of addressing the labour shortages in the Atlantic region of the country, namely Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.
Method #3: Counting Entirely on the CRS Score
For argument’s sake let us assume that you are thinking about emigrating to Canada as an electrician, but you don’t have a job offer in hand. Well, not to worry! You can still get in. All you need is to just have a reasonable CRS score on your Express Entry Application. You also need to be able to meet the 67 immigration point threshold for your Canadian Federal Skilled Trades Visa.
Technically speaking there is no minimum CRS score required to submit an Electrician Canada Express Entry profile. The lowest points scores to have been invited to apply have happened at 450 CRS points according to ’emigratecanada.com’. However, it should be noted that having a job application in hand will give your application a boost of around 600 points and that just betters your chances of getting that visa.
So, there you have it, some of the best ways you can take when emigrating to Canada as an Electrician. This is by no means an exhaustive list of roads that you can take, but just some to consider.
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