Ontario Expands In-Demand Occupations Stream: More Job Opportunities for Immigrants

Ontario's Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) has expanded the list of jobs eligible for the Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream. This change, announced on July 4 by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, opens up more opportunities for newcomers to apply for provincial nomination.

New Eligible Occupations

The list now includes occupations under 35 different National Occupation Classification (NOC) codes. Some of the newly added jobs are:

• NOC 14400 - Shippers and Receivers
• NOC 14402 - Production logistics workers
• NOC 65320 - Dry cleaning, laundry, and related occupations
• NOC 74200 - Railway yard and track maintenance workers
• NOC 74203 - Automotive and heavy truck and equipment parts installers and servicers
• NOC 74204 - Utility maintenance workers
• NOC 74205 - Public works maintenance equipment operators and related workers
• NOC 75101 - Material handlers
• NOC 75119 - Other trades helpers and laborers
• NOC 75211 - Railway and motor transport laborers
• NOC 75212 - Public works and maintenance laborers
• NOC 85102 - Aquaculture and marine harvest laborers
• NOC 94101 - Foundry workers
• NOC 94102 - Glass forming and finishing machine operators and glass cutters
• NOC 94103 - Concrete, clay, and stone forming operators
• NOC 94104 - Inspectors and testers, mineral and metal processing
• NOC 94112 - Rubber processing machine operators and related workers
• NOC 94120 - Sawmill machine operators
• NOC 94121 - Pulp mill, papermaking, and finishing machine operators
• NOC 94123 - Lumber graders and other wood processing inspectors and graders
• NOC 94142 - Fish and seafood plant workers
• NOC 94143 - Testers and graders, food and beverage processing
• NOC 94200 - Motor vehicle assemblers, inspectors, and testers
• NOC 94202 - Assemblers and inspectors, electrical appliance, apparatus, and equipment manufacturing
• NOC 94203 - Assemblers, fabricators, and inspectors, industrial electrical motors and transformers
• NOC 94205 - Machine operators and inspectors, electrical apparatus manufacturing
• NOC 94211 - Assemblers and inspectors of other wood products
• NOC 94212 - Plastic products assemblers, finishers, and inspectors
• NOC 95100 - Labourers in mineral and metal processing
• NOC 95101 - Labourers in metal fabrication
• NOC 95103 - Labourers in wood, pulp, and paper processing
• NOC 95104 - Labourers in rubber and plastic products manufacturing
• NOC 95106 - Labourers in food and beverage processing
• NOC 95107 - Labourers in fish and seafood processing
  
  

The job offer must be outside the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), unless it is for NOC 75119 - Other trades helpers and laborers. These additions came after consultations with provincial stakeholders in Fall 2023.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Occupations Stream, the job offer must be:

• From an Ontario employer
• Full-time (at least 1,560 hours a year and a minimum of 30 hours a week)
• Not a contract position

Candidates need at least nine months of paid, full-time work experience in Ontario in the same NOC code as their job offer, gained within three years before applying.

Additionally, candidates must have:

• A minimum Canadian Language Benchmark score of four in reading, writing, listening, and speaking (in English or French)
• A Canadian high school diploma or its equivalent (or an Education Credential Assessment for foreign credentials)
• A license from the appropriate provincial regulatory authority if the job is in a licensed profession
  
  

About Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)

Every Canadian province and territory, except Quebec and Nunavut, has a PNP to select economic immigration candidates suited to the local economy. These nominees have a stronger application when applying to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence.

In 2023, Ontario issued 16,506 nominations through OINP, with 463 going to the Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Occupations Stream. The federal government has increased Ontario's nomination allocation to 21,500 in 2024, the highest of any PNP in Canada. Canada aims to welcome 110,000 newcomers through PNPs by the end of this year.