Skilled workers and professionals: Who can apply—Selection factors

Work experience (Maximum 21 points)

You will earn points for the number of years you have spent in full-time (37.5 hours), paid work.

Minimum work experience requirements

You must meet the following minimum work experience requirements to be eligible to apply as a skilled worker:

• You must have at least one continuous year of full-time, paid work experience or the equivalent in part-time continuous employment.
• Your work experience must be in the category of Skill Type 0, or Skill Level A or B on the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC). See below for instructions on determining the NOC category for your work experience.
• You must have had this experience within the last 10 years.

National Occupational Classification

The NOC is a classification system for jobs in the Canadian economy. It describes duties, skills, talents and work settings for occupations in Canada.

Determining your NOC category

To determine how many points you can earn for your work experience, go to the Descriptions of Occupations page on the NOC website. You will find a link to the NOC site in the Related Links section at the bottom of this page. Follow the instructions to find the NOC category that matches your work experience.

If the initial description and list of main duties match what you did at your last job(s), you can use this experience to earn points under the selection factors when you apply as a skilled worker.

If the description does not match your work experience, then you might not have the experience you need to apply as a skilled worker. Look through the NOC list to see if another occupation matches your experience. Check all the jobs you had in the past 10 years to see if you have at least one continuous year of work experience in a job that will qualify you as a skilled worker.

You do not meet the minimum requirements if:

• none of your work experience is on the NOC list or
• your experience did not occur in the 10 years before you applied.

If you do not meet the minimum work experience requirements, your application as a skilled worker will be refused.

Experience	Maximum 21 points
1 year	15
2 years	17
3 years	19
4 years	21

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Related Links

• National Occupational Classification (NOC)
• NOC descriptions of occupations