Enserva is pleased to report that, aligned with our advocacy efforts, the Hon. Marc Miller, federal Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, has announced the first Express Entry stream that prioritizes skilled newcomers, particularly in trades. The new stream addresses labour shortages in construction and other leading sectors of the Canadian economy including transportation, trade, and agriculture. Occupations within the various sectoral streams will include construction millwrights and industrial mechanics, carpenters, electricians, and transport truck drivers. The categories will continue to be refined based on industry needs through ongoing consultations.
For many months, Enserva has been calling on the federal government to help the energy industry address labour shortages by expanding the pool of qualified workers through enhanced express entry category-based selection. Enserva will continue to track these issues closely, offer advice and ideas to the federal government, and ensure policy and decision makers understand that reducing labour shortages in the sector will further unlock Canadian energy.
The news release and accompanying documents from the Government of Canada can be found at this link.
Details at a glance:
- The trades Express Entry program focuses on bridging labour shortages through job category-based priority for high demand labour.
- Categories are determined based on ongoing consultations. Categories for 2023 can be found here.
- Candidates to the new stream will have their ability to communicate in a specific official language, work experience in a specific occupation, and education assessed to determine their eligibility.
- Enserva continues to advocate for additional job categories to be added as the need for labour in the energy sector continues to grow.
