Are you a candidate with skills and qualifications in one of Canada’s 82 jobs for occupation-specific Express Entry draws? We want to help you move to Canada. Please submit your CV here.

Foreign nationals who are qualified to provide assistance in the delivery of healthcare services can expect to see even more opportunities to gain their permanent residence here through occupation-targeted Express Entry system draws in the coming seven years.

These workers include:

• • audiometric assistants
  • audiometric technicians
  • autopsy assistants
  • blood donor clinic assistants
  • cast room technicians
  • chiropractic assistants
  • clinical laboratory helpers
  • morgue attendants
  • ophthalmic assistants
  • ophthalmic laboratory technicians – retail
  • ophthalmic lens grinders
  • ophthalmologist assistants
  • optical laboratory assistants
  • optometrist assistants
  • orthopedic technologists and
  • sterile processing technicians

Job Prospects Bright For Workers In Health Service Support Occupations

Job Bank, the federal government’s job-hunting and career-planning website, listed 128 jobs for these other assisting occupations in support of health services in Canada in early November. 

The job prospects of workers doing other assisting occupations in support of health services, categorized under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 system  with the code 33109, are ranked as very good by Job Bank in Manitoba and Saskatchewan over the coming three years, good in Alberta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and the Yukon, and moderate in Quebec, Prince Edward Island and British Columbia.

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The Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS) website is projecting shortages of healthcare workers across the country over the coming years due to the aging of the Canadian population.

“The growing number of seniors is anticipated to lead to an increase in the demand for diagnostic services,” notes the COPS website. 

“Moreover, the arrival of new medical technologies and techniques, as well as the introduction of more advanced equipment, will increase the demand for technologists.”

With Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) changing Canada’s Express Entry system to allow it to target 82 jobs in healthcare, technology, trades, transport and agriculture this summer – including other assisting occupations in support of health services – it opened the door to a new pathway to immigration for them.

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In May this year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) made all of these workers eligible for immigration to Canada Express Entry occupation-targeted draws.

The flagship Express Entry selection system had previously only conducted draws based on immigration programs, not by targeting specific occupations.

“Everywhere I go, I’ve heard loud and clear from employers across the country who are experiencing chronic labour shortages,” said then-Immigration Minister Sean Fraser.

“These changes to the Express Entry system will ensure that they have the skilled workers they need to grow and succeed.  We can also grow our economy and help businesses with labour shortages while also increasing the number of French-proficient candidates to help ensure the vitality of French-speaking communities.”

In Canada, the median hourly wage for workers in these other assisting occupations in support of health services is  $21 but that varies from a low of $15 right up to $28, reveals Job Bank.

Workers in Health Service Support Occupations Can Earn Up To $54,600 Annually In Canada

Based on a 37.5-hour work week, that means these workers can expect to earn up to $54,600 annually in Canada.

Candidates hoping to immigrate through Express Entry occupation-targeted draws need at least six months of continuous work experience in Canada or abroad within the past three years in one of these occupations to be eligible, experience that can have been gained while working in Canada as temporary foreign workers with a work permits or as an international student with a student visa.

Under the changes announced at the end of May, the Express Entry streams, including the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program, Federal Skilled Trades (FST) program and Canadian Experience Class (CEC), as well as parts of the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) are now more responsive to labour market needs.

Canada first signalled its intention to start occupation-specific draws through Express Entry in June last year, when changes were made to the Immigration, Refugee and Protection Act to allow invitations based on occupations and other attributes, such as language ability.

The majority of Canada’s provinces have been issuing occupation-specific invitations for several years.

Under the changes to the act, the immigration minister is required to consult provinces and territories, members of industry, unions, employers, workers, worker advocacy groups, settlement provider organizations, and immigration researchers and practitioners, before announcing new categories.

IRCC must also report to parliament each year on the categories that were chosen and the reason for the choices.

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) says the number of occupations facing shortages doubled between 2019 and 2021. From 2018 to 2022, federal high skilled admissions accounted for between 34 and 40 per cent of overall French-speaking admissions outside Quebec, which manages its own immigration intake.