Ontario held it’s first-ever in-Demand Skills stream draw under its new intake system.
Less than three weeks after introducing the In-Demand Skills stream to the new Expression of Interest (EOI) system, Ontario has invited immigration candidates to apply for a provincial nomination. The province has not yet released the exact number of invitations, nor their EOI score cutoff.
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) also invited candidates registered for the Regional Immigration Pilot. Invited candidates under this stream had work experience in one of the following occupations, listed by sector in order of their National Occupational Classification (NOC) code.
Health and agricultural occupations:
• NOC 3413 – nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
• NOC 4412 – home support workers and related occupations, excluding housekeepers
• NOC 8431 – general farm workers
• NOC 8432 – nursery and greenhouse workers
• NOC 8611 – harvesting labourers
• NOC 9462 – industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
Manufacturing (outside Greater Toronto Area only):
• NOC 9411 – machine operators, mineral and metal processing
• NOC 9416 – metalworking and forging machine operators
• NOC 9417 – machining tool operators
• NOC 9418 – other metal products machine operators
• NOC 9421 – chemical plant machine operators
• NOC 9422 – plastics processing machine operators
• NOC 9437 – woodworking machine operators
• NOC 9446 – industrial sewing machine operators
• NOC 9461 – process control and machine operators, food, beverage and associated products processing
• NOC 9523 – electronics assemblers, fabricators, inspectors and testers
• NOC 9526 – mechanical assemblers and inspectors
• NOC 9536 – industrial painters, coaters and metal finishing process operators
• NOC 9537 – other products assemblers, finishers and inspectors
Invited candidates now have 14 calendar days to apply for a nomination from Ontario’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
About the In-Demand Skills Stream
This immigration program focuses more on provincial demand than occupation skill level. Many immigration programs target occupations that the government considers to be “high skilled.” Yet, Ontario still has labour shortages in occupations that are considered to be “low skilled.”
Enter the In-Demand Skills stream. Foreign workers with eligible job offers in Ontario can apply for a nomination with nine months of cumulative work experience in the province within the past three years. Seasonal work experience is not eligible to meet the work requirement. Part-time work may be eligible if the candidate completed the required number of work hours. The number of work hours has to equal either 1,200 hours of paid employment in one job over the course of 18 months. Or, for those who had more than one job, it would mean working for at least 30 hours per week for nine months totaling 1,200 hours.
There are a number of other eligibility requirements. Generally, candidates need a high school education, a language score of at least 4 in all proficiencies, and sufficient
