Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) | Four Desigated Organizations for FSW Program

 If your occupation is included in the list of 24 Priority Occupations for the new Federal Skilled Worker program, you may now start procesing your appliction for Educational Credential Assessment (ECA).

The Medical Council of Canada has been designated only for those principal applicants who intend to apply with specialist physician (2011 National Occupation Classification [NOC] code 3111) or general practitioner/family physician (2011 NOC code 3112) as their primary occupation in their FSWP application.

Neither NOC code 3111 nor 3112 is on the eligible occupations list that takes effect on May 4, so this will only affect those applying under the PhD stream or with a qualifying job offer based on those NOC codes.

Please note that Citizenship and Immigration Canada will only accept ECA reports issued after the date the organization was designated by CIC to provide ECA reports for immigration purposes (i.e. April 17, 2013). An ECA report will be valid for immigration purposes for 5 years from the date that it was issued by the designated organization.

24 NEW FEDERAL SKILLED WORKER (FSW) OCCUPATIONAL LIST

The eligible occupations stream will have an overall cap of 5,000 new applications and sub-caps of 300 applications in each of the 24 occupations on the list.

BREAKING NEWS- APRIL 18, 2013 NEWS RELEASE

The list of 24 occupations that are eligible under the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) when it re-opens on May 4, 2013 was released today. 
In addition, four organizations have been designated to provide the now-required independent third party assessments of foreign educational credentials for applicants who studied outside of Canada. These assessments, which must be completed before an application is submitted, are aimed at helping newcomers through the FSWP to get off to a better start and into the Canadian labour force more quickly when they arrive.

“The government’s focus remains on jobs, economic growth, and long-term prosperity,” said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Kenney. “Under the new Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canada will be able to attract the skilled immigrants our economy requires, who are the most likely to succeed and contribute their full skill set to the Canadian economy.”
With the re-opening date approaching, future applicants should be aware of several key elements that will have an effect on the application process:

·        A new eligible occupations list, with a total of 24 occupations;

·        An overall cap of 5,000 new applications for all eligible occupations, including a sub-cap of 300 new applications for each eligible occupation;

·        Four organizations have been designated to conduct educational credential assessments (mandatory for applicants submitting foreign educational credentials); and

·        Applicants must show proof that they meet the minimum threshold of Canadian Language Benchmark 7 in all four language skill areas: speaking, reading, writing and oral comprehension.

·         

“As a result of the actions taken by the Government to deal with the massive backlogs and unacceptably long wait times, FSW applications will be processed in approximately one year,” said Minister Kenney. “We will not be able to remain competitive and attract the skilled immigrants we need if we allow backlogs and wait times to grow again. That’s why we are capping application intake and focusing on specific occupations that are experiencing labour shortages in Canada. This will also help us transition nicely into the just-in-time immigration system of the future.”

Applications under the new FSWP will be accepted starting May 4, 2013. Until then, however, the FSWP application process does not change – only individuals with qualifying job offers or those applying under the PhD stream are eligible for processing. 
All applicants who are considering applying on or after May 4 are invited to consult theBackgrounder. It outlines some of the steps that can be taken now to prepare and includes the eligible occupations list and the organizations designated to conduct educational credential assessments.
Backgrounder: Information for Applicants to the New Federal Skilled Worker Program

Want to Immigrate in Canada under the NEW FSW Program or Under The  Federal Skilled Trade Class Program?