Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) employment are one of five occupational categories that Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has decided to prioritize through Express Entry category-based draws in 2023.
The Express Entry category-based draws were introduced earlier this year. Express Entry chooses immigrants based on certain credentials such as education, work experience, or language abilities to meet specified economic requirements and objectives.
The federal government picked five priority occupational categories experiencing labour market deficits after receiving opinions and proposals from a wide variety of stakeholders and the general public: healthcare, STEM, transportation, trades, and agriculture/agri-food.
Category-based draws differ from traditional Express Entry draws in that they stress and favour candidates with specific work experience, whereas traditional Express Entry draws are primarily concerned with a candidate’s Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score.
Why was STEM selected as a targeted Express Entry category?
Statistics Canada issued a report at the end of 2022 claiming that there is a skills gap in Canada’s STEM labour force. This disparity is primarily owing to high levels of retirement, as well as evolving technology and automation in business and daily life.
The Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector in Canada is quickly expanding, which has boosted the demand for tech personnel. The worldwide AI index ranks Canada fourth in terms of worldwide competitiveness in innovation, implementation, and investment.
“One of Canada’s most valuable assets is its ability to attract talent.” This new STEM-focused category-based selection round will benefit our science and technology sector and workforce by attracting even more of the skilled talent that companies require to drive innovation and realize their growth potential,” said the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry, when IRCC announced the first STEM category-based draw.
Minister Champagne continued, “combining its unparalleled ability to attract talent with the innovative capacity of its entrepreneurs, Canada is the best place in the world to start and scale a technology company.”
How many STEM professionals does Canada truly require?
The Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS) is a tool operated by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). COPS provides data on the occupational outlook for various professions and predicts the number of expected employment opportunities in a certain profession from 2022 to 2031.
Some STEM profession outlooks include:
· Software engineers and designers: 44,300 new job openings
· Computer programmers and interactive media developers: 80,500 new job openings
· Civil engineering: 26,100 new job openings
· Mechanical engineering: 12,700 new job openings
· Industrial and manufacturing engineering: 3,800 new job openings
· Electrical and electronics engineering: 12,600 new job openings
· Mathematicians, statisticians, and actuaries: 4,600 new job openings
· Technical occupations in physical sciences: 12,200 new job openings
According to these calculations, Canada will require hundreds of thousands of new qualified STEM professionals to meet upcoming job openings and alleviate labour shortages.
What opportunities does this create for prospective Canadian immigrants?
The top three primary occupations among 2022 invitation to apply (ITA) grantees, according to the year-end Express Entry report, were all in the IT industry. The most prevalent vocations among individuals invited to apply through Express Entry in 2022 were software engineers and designers, information system professionals, and computer systems developers and programmers.
As a result, competent STEM employees who want to immigrate to Canada may be qualified to do so through category-based Express Entry lotteries for STEM workers. These qualified professionals will assist address labour market gaps and strengthen the Canadian economy’s STEM sector while also having meaningful careers in Canada.
To date, the history of STEM Express Entry draws
So far, IRCC has issued one round of invitations exclusively for talented candidates in STEM occupations.
The draw took place on July 5th, and 500 immigration hopefuls with STEM employment experience were encouraged to apply for permanent residency in Canada. Candidates for this draw had a minimum CRS score of 486.
You can use this link to view the results of every Express Entry, draw held by IRCC . As the page will be updated whenever a new draw is held.
