OINP Skilled Trade Stream 2024

It is worth mentioning that tradepersons may also be eligible for Employer Job Offer In-demande Skills Stream through Express of Interest (EOI) program, which targets NOCs with Teer 4 and 5. The in-demand occupations cover agriculture, construction, and many other select occupations. Most of these occupations are limited to the areas outside of GTA to be eligible. For instance, if you are an Other Trade Helper in Teer 5 or an Industrial Butcher in Teer 4, you are not eiligible for OINP Trade Stream, but you may be eligible for the In-demand Skills Stream. If you are a trade worker in Teer 4 or 5, welcome to contact us to verify whether your occuptation is eligible for this stream. In this article, we will focus on the OINP  Skilled Trade Stream.

Eligible Trades

Below, the eligible trade occupations are listed in the NOC with TEER 2 or 3:

• Group 72, Technical trades and transportation officers and controllers (excluding occupations under transportation officers)

• Group 73, General trades

• Group 82, Supervisors in natural resources, agriculture and related production

• Group 83, Occupations in natural resources and related production

• Group 93, Central control and process operators and aircraft assembly assemblers and inspectors (excluding aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors)

• Group 6320, Cooks, Butchers, Bakers (excluding Cooks)

If you are claiming work experience in a compulsory trade, even if you are no longer working in the trade, you must have a valid certificate or licence in Ontario at the time you apply and you must have held a valid certificate or licence that covers the period of work experience.

Non-Compulsory Trades

In Ontario, there are 121 non-compulsory trades. You do not need to be a registered apprentice or a certified journey person to work in a non-compulsory trade. However, some non-compulsory trades offer certifying exams and Certificates of Qualification.

The common non-compulsory trades include cook, welder, carpenter, heavy equipment operators, and Child and Youth Worker. However, be careful that some trades in a major group that some of the occupations are non-compulsory could be compulsory, for example:

• baker and chef are non-compulsory trades, but baker-patissier is a compulsory trade;

• electrician in construction millwright, signal maintenance, or industrial electrician are non-compulsory, but electrician in construction and maintenance or domestic and rural is compulsory

• Motive power machinist, automotive glass technician and automotive painter are non-compulsory, whereas automotive service technician or automotive electronic accessory technician is compulsory

Compulsory Trades

In Ontario, there are 23 compulsory trades . To work in one of the 23 compulsory trades in Ontario, you must hold a valid Certificate of Qualification, or Provisional Certificate of Qualification, or Registered Training Agreement. The common examples are plumber, electrician, steamfitter and hairstylist.

Compulsory vs. Non-compulsory Trades for immigration

• Compulsory Trades may have clearer pathway to certification and may have higher demand in some regions. However, they have strict licensing requirements;

• Non-Compulsory Trades, where certification is optional, and may offer easier entry into the workforce. They cover a wide range of occupations. However, they may have less structured career progression, which could potentially affect wage levels;

• Both are eligible occupations under OINP Trade stream and are evaluated under the same Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) for scoring and selection. However, if you hold a certification of qualification for a trade occupation, you will be rewarded 25 points if your English is CLB 5 or above and 50 points of your English is CLB 7 or above.

Compulsory vs. Non-compulsory Trades

Point-based system and advantages as a skilled tradeperson

OINP Skilled Trade stream is one of Ontario Express Entry streams. It adapts the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) to evaluate the candidates.  To obtain an additional points of 25 to 50, you need to have a Certification of Qualification (C of Q).

In all compulsory trades, a Certificate of Qualification is needed to work legally in Ontario and needs to be renewed annually. If you are in a non-compulsory trade and you want to obtain the additional points,  you need to verify with the Skilled Trades Ontario whether your trade offers an exam for C of Q. Not all non-compulsory trades offer such certification, but some do. Some examples are Motive Power Machinist, Parts Technician, and Institutional Cook. In non-compulsory trades, a Certificate of Qualification may be available.

To illustrate how the point-based systems affect immigration under different streams for tradepersons, here is the latest data for draws in July 2024:

• The CRS score range for receiving an invitation under OINP Trades Stream on July 11, 2024 was 408-435;

• The CRS Scores Federal Skilled Trade Stream on July 4th, 2024 was 436 and above; and

• The EOI scores for Candidates under In-demand Skilled Occupations received an invitation was 35 and above on July 16, 2024.

To further demonstrate the advantages as a skilled tradeperson, here is the latest CRS scores drawn from Federal EE program and OINP for non-trade categories in June or July 2024:

• EE French proficiency: 400, 420 (July); OINP French: 305-409 (June)

• EE Canadian Experience Class (CEC): 515

• EE Provincial Nominee Program (PNP): 670, 739 (July), 663 (June)

• EE Healthcare: 445 (July), OINP Healthcare: 425-444 (July)

As seen in the CRS scores above, trade occupations have the second lowest points requirement, following only the French category, enhancing their immigration prospects. 

The OINP Skilled Trade Stream is under Ontario Express Entry program and requires within two years before the date of making the application and while lawfully working in Ontario, a cumulative period of at least 1 year of paid full-time work experience (or the equivalent paid part-time work experience), in one or more eligible occupations. The experience must be obtained within the last 2 years from the date of submitting your application to the OINP. There are 144 compulsory and non-compulsory trades in Ontario, but only six major groups in which certain trade occupations are eligible for the OINP Trade Stream.

Be mindful that OINP Skilled Trade Stream and Federal Skilled Trade Program are similar, but are not exactly the same. For instance, the requirement for work experience through the Federal program is at least 2 years of full-time work experience (or an equal amount of part-time work experience) within the 5 years before you apply.