What is the Federal Skilled Trades Program?

The Federal Skilled Trade Program (FSTP) is one of the three economic immigration streams under the Canada Express Entry. IRCC launched the program to offer a dedicated immigration pathway to skilled trade workers. Under Express Entry, FSTP is an economic program that aims to welcome over 400,000 new immigrants annually, with an average of 11,000 annual immigration spots allocated to Express Entry. The Federal Skilled Trade Program is one of the many ways to pursue immigration to Canada.

The Federal Skilled Trade program was launched in 2013 to create a distinct pathway for skilled tradespeople.  The program maintains streamlined processing wherein applications are processed within six months. The program does not have specific requirements and conducts regular draws targeting federally skilled tradespersons. This program helps to promote labor shortage across trades and occupation sectors in Canada.

Benefits of the Federal Skilled Trades Program

• Obtain Canada PR within six months
• Low CRS score requirement
• Fastest pathway to Canada PR
• No education requirement
• Target Skilled trade professional

Eligibility Criteria to apply for Federal Skilled Trades Program

To be eligible for Federal Skilled Trade Program, an applicant must: 

• Skilled work experience

• Language proficiency
• Job offer or certificate
• Education requirement
• Proof of sufficient funds
• Certificate of Qualification

Requirements to apply for Federal Skilled Trades Program

Applicants need to fulfil the requirements to apply for Federal Skilled Trades program:

Skilled Work experience

An applicant must meet the following work experience requirements such as:

• Worked for relevant NOC Groups: Must fall under one category:

• Major Groups 72, 73, 82, 83, or 93 (excluding Sub-Major groups 726 and 932)
• Minor group 6320
• Unit Group 62200
• Duration: At least 2 years of full-time paid work or 3,120 hours in the last 5 years.
• Nature of work: Demonstrate that you performed the duties listed in NOC for your trade
• Full-time work: 30 hours per week for 24 hours
• Part-time work: Combining multiple part-time jobs to accumulate hours

*Note: Applicants must ensure that work experience must be in a country where they are qualified to practice the trade

Language Proficiency

• Have an approved Language test in English and French and achieve
• Canadian Language Benchmark CLB 5 for speaking and listening
• CLB 4 for reading and writing 

Job offer or certification

An applicant must have:

• A valid job offer and a full-time employment for one year
• A certificate of qualification issued by a Canadian Provincial, territory, or federal authority

Sufficient funds

An applicant must demonstrate that an applicant must have enough money to support themselves:

• Already legally working in Canada
• Valid job offer

Here is the detail of proof of funds required for number of family members:

Number of family members	Funds you need
	(in Canadian dollars)
1	$14,690
2	$18,288
3	$22,483
4	$27,297
5	$30,690
6	$34,917
7	$38,875
If more than 7 people, for each additional family member	$3,958

 

Certificate of Qualification

Applicants must have a certificate of qualification or a certificate proving they are qualified to work in certain skilled trades in Canada. This means the applicant must:

• Passed a certificate exam
• Meet all the requirements to practice your trade in the province or territory that issued the certificate

Mostly, this certificate is issued by:

• The provincial or territorial body that governs trade in their province or territory
• A federal authority

*Note: To get a certificate, the provincial, territorial, or Federal authority must assess the applicant’s training, trade experience, and skills to decide if they are eligible to write a certificate exam. 

Residency in Canada

An applicant must meet Canada’s admissibility requirements, which assess factors such as criminal history, medical condition, and security risks.

FSTP Occupation List

The table has the list of occupations for the Federal Skilled Trade Program:

NOC groups	Occupation
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 utilities 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
Unit Group 62200	Chefs

 

How to apply for the Federal Skilled Trades Program?

Step 1: Check your eligibility for the FSTP

Step 2: Sort out the requirements

Step 3: Create your profile via the official online tool

Step 4: Submit your Express Entry profile on the IRCC website

Step 5: Receive an ITA

Step 6: Apply for Canada PR

Federal Skilled Trades Program Processing Cost

The processing cost to apply for the Federal Skilled Trade Program (FSTP) is around CAD 1,525. Here are the details of the complete information on the FSTP application fees:  

Fees	$CAN
For primary applicant:
Processing fee ($950) and right of permanent residence fee ($575)	1,525.00
Your application (without PR fee)	950
For spouse or partner:
Processing fee ($950) and right of permanent residence fee ($575)	1,525.00
Include your spouse or partner (without right of permanent residence fee)	950
Dependent child	260 (per child)

 

Federal Skilled Trades Program Processing Time

The processing time for the Federal Skilled Trades program (FSTP) is around six months, but it may vary depending on when the application was submitted.

How can Y-Axis help you?

Y-Axis is the No.1 leading overseas immigration consultancy in Canada that has provided unbiased customized immigration services for more than 25+ years. The services we provide are:

• Arranging the checklist of immigration documents
• Filing out the required application forms
• Guidance with the documentation process and filing of the petition
• Providing up-to-date updates and follows ups for your application process
• Job Search services to help find relevant jobs in Canada
• Guidance with the Canada PR