Canada to target occupations in Express Entry draws in 2023

Surya Rathee
[Published 06 Jan, 2023 | 04:45 AM]
About Author - 3 min read
2006

Canada is all set – and is preparing a BIG CHANGE to see how Express Entry candidates are selected in the first quarter of 2023.

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Starting January 2023, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will implement new guidelines to hold Express Entry draws. According to the new guidelines, candidates will now be invited based on specific attributes rather than their overall CRS scores.

The expected changes to Express Entry in 2023 were made possible by Bill C-19 being passed in both houses of parliament – on June 23.

Sean Fraser, Immigration Minister of Canada stated in an interview last June that “The upcoming changes to the Express Entry would help select candidates who are already destined for economic success.”

He added, “Although Express Entry already gives Canada a competitive advantage, there is room for improvement. Where the Express Entry system could be improved is at present if there are particular challenges that your economy is facing, it might be facing in the long term. We don’t have the ability to tailor the invitations to apply to the Express Entry system to meet those in-demand skills or qualifications”.

Who will be invited to Express Entry draws in 2023?

There is no confirmation as to on which date candidates would receive Invitations to Apply (ITA) in the upcoming Express Entry draws in 2023. This decision will be made with the Immigration Minister consulting with provinces, business councils, and other stakeholders to best evaluate which candidates to target.

The goal of the shift is to make it easier to audit a candidate's academic and employment experience in order to ensure that they can more readily integrate into Canada's labor force.

Under the proposed changes, the Immigration Minister can select candidates according to how they rank within the grouping. Under this new system, groupings will be established based on the economic goals and labor shortages the Immigration Minister will seek to achieve at that time.

For instance, Healthcare is seen as one of the sectors in Canada that are facing drastic shortages in the labor force. In October 2022, the job vacancy rate within the sector stood at 6%. To counter the same, the Canadian government has been taking strict measures to fill in the shortages in this sector – such as the recently announced $90 million plan to improve Foreign Credential Recognition.

These countermeasures are not just for professionals in the Healthcare sector, but for other in-demand occupations in Canada in 2023 including: