16 New occupations have been added to the Express Entry Occupation list as part of the NOC 2021, which was published this week by IRCC. The trucking industry is one of the most affected by the labor shortage. The NOC system in Canada has undergone a change called NOC 2021. As per NOC 2021, Express Entry is now available for truck drivers.
Deficiency of truck drivers
In the industry, a severe shortage of trained people is occurring owing to a number of factors, including layoffs during the COVID-19 epidemic. It was reported in the 2021 Labor Market Snapshot by Trucking HR Canada in the second quarter of 2021 that there were 18,000 vacancies in the field of truck driving in Canada.
There is a significant effect on the national economy when truck driving is disrupted and there is a labor shortage.
Over $850 billion in goods are transported domestically and internationally by the trucking and logistics industry in Canada. As early as before the global epidemic struck, the Forest Products Association of Canada estimated that the industry was already losing $450 million in productivity due to the shortage of truck drivers.
Moving to Canada through Express Entry
Most skilled workers enter the country through Express Entry programs. This system facilitates the processing of skilled worker permanent residence applications through collaboration with the FSTP, FSWP, and CEC.
What is the impact of a NOC on an Express Entry?
IRCC uses the NOC to identify a person’s profession and corresponding level of training or experience. Roles were classified into NOC 0, A, and B based on their NOC codes in the NOC 2016. It ranges from management to skilled trades. In place of this system, the NOC 2021 focuses primarily on candidates’ education, experience, training, and responsibilities.
The application procedure for Express Entry
In order to apply for Express Entry, candidates must determine their eligibility independently. On the official IRCC website, students must also submit their Express Entry profiles after receiving their Educational Credential Assessments. It will take some time for the IRCC to process the decision, so candidates should be patient.
A comprehensive ranking system is used by Express Entry in order to compare and contrast the candidates’ scores. Each candidate’s application is assessed by the IRCC and approved or rejected accordingly.
Permanent residency applications can be submitted by candidates who perform well afterward. A candidate has 60 days to submit a complete application.
By the end of the first six months, IRCC aims to have completed at least 80% of these applications.
Federal Skilled Trade Program
Applicants from abroad can apply for Express Entry’s most well-known program, the Federal Skilled Worker Program. Foreign-trained professionals with the necessary skills, education, and language abilities are eligible to participate in the FSWP.
The FSWP scoring grid requires candidates with a CLB score of 7 and 12 months of work experience to achieve 67 points. Proof of schooling and settlement must be provided.
Canadian Experience Class
An individual can only apply for a CEC if they have held a skilled employment position in Canada for the past year or more.
There is also a minimum CLB requirement of 5 (“initial intermediate”), and a minimum CLB requirement of 7 (“sufficient intermediate proficiency”) for NOC TEER category 2 or 3 jobs.
Upcoming changes to Express Entry
It has been one year since Bill C-19 received royal assent from the Canadian parliament. As a result of the new law, the IRCC will have the right to invite Express Entry candidates based on unique characteristics such as their language proficiency or the amount of experience they have in the field, in order to fill the approximately one million job openings in Canada. These groupings will be determined and chosen using an as-yet-undetermined methodology.
