Ontario Express Entry: Human Capital Priorities

One of the Human Capital streams of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) run by the government of Ontario, is Ontario Human Capital Priorities.

Human Capital Priorities employs a merit-based method to identify qualified and experienced skilled workers from the federal Express Entry pool who can contribute to Ontario’s workforce long-term.

What are the Minimum Requirements for this Stream?
For you to be eligible for the Ontario Human Capital Priorities Stream, you must:

• meet all the eligibility requirements for one of the Federal High Skilled programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) or the Canadian Experience Class (CEC); If you are applying through the FSWP, you must get at least 67 points based on IRCC’s Federal Skilled Worker selection factors, such as:
  • education;
  • work experience;
  • language ability;
  • age;
  • arranged Canadian employment; and
  • adaptability.
• possess all the stream’s work experience requirements;
• hold a Canadian Bachelor’s, Masters’ or Doctorate degree OR foreign education and certification equivalent as accompanied by an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report created by a designated organization; Keep in mind that the ECA report must not be more than 5 years old as of the time of application to the OINP.
• Demonstrate language ability in all four abilities (speaking, reading, writing, and listening) at or above the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 level; This must be proven with test results from designated testing agencies. The results are only valid within two years prior to the time of application. The designated testing agencies are:
  • International English Language Testing System (IELTS) (General Training Test only) or the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) (General Test only) for English; and
  • Test d’évaluation de français pour le Canada (TEF Canada) or Test de Connaissance du Français (TCF Canada) for French.
• Have the intention to reside in Ontario by providing documentation that demonstrates ties to Ontario;
• hold and maintain legal status in Canada from the time of application to nomination;
• acquire the minimum CRS score as decided by the director under the Express Entry system;
• meet any additional requirements under the FSWP or CEC; and
• show proof of sufficient financial ability to reside and establish oneself in Ontario.
  ○ This criterion can be completed through one or a combination of requirements dictated by the OINP, like annual Ontario employment earnings, job offers from Ontario employers, or bank statements. The settlement funds meet the minimum sum required for each family size, which is updated annually.

Are There Work Experience Requirements?
Candidates in the Express Entry pool who want to be evaluated under the FSWP must show proof of:

Federal Skilled Worker Program
Candidates in the Express Entry pool who want to be evaluated under the FSWP must show proof of:

• Full-time, continuous, paid work of at least one year (or part-time equivalent) within the previous 5 years in Canada or overseas before the date of the NOI from Ontario;
  • Full-time work refers to at least 30-hour workweeks and a minimum of 1,560 hours per year. Remember that the 1,560 hours cannot be eligible if acquired in less than a year or if done as volunteer work.
  • Continuous work means that there should be no gaps between periods of employment. While back-to-back gapless jobs with the same or different employers are allowed, you should at least acquire one year in the same National Occupational Classification (NOC) class as the NOC you gave declared in your Express Entry profile.
  • Part-time equivalent work implies that:
    1. you acquire at least 15 hours of work per week in one job and a total of at least 1,560 hours of paid work in two years or;
    2. at least 30 hours of paid work per week in various concurrent jobs and at least 1,560 hours of paid work per year.
• Work experience in the declared NOC type, either Level 0, A, or B. The duties performed in the declared job must correspond to the duties in the lead statements for the job and as outlined in the NOC type.

Canadian Experience Class
Candidates in the Express Entry pool who want to be evaluated using the CEC must show proof of:

• cumulative, paid, full-time work of at least one year within the last three years in Canada prior to application, or part-time equivalent;
  ○ Full-time work comprises at least 30 hours of work in one job over the course of one week and at least 1,560 hours of paid work annually. Volunteer work and unpaid internships do not qualify as valid work.
  ○ Cumulative experience means that a total of one year of work experience is required. Work experience does not have to be continuous, and there can be breaks in employment.
  ○ working in Canada while having legal status
  ○ Part-time equivalent work implies that:
  1. you acquire at least 15 hours of work per week in one job and a total of at least 1,560 hours of paid work in two years or;
  2. at least 30 hours of paid work per week in various concurrent jobs and at least 1,560 hours of paid work per year.

Paid work experience earned while enrolled full-time at a post-secondary institution (i.e. a co-op work term) or during times of self-employment is not eligible for CEC consideration.

Are there draws that target Skilled Workers from the Tech Sector?
The Human Capital Priorities Stream is used by the OINP to hold random draws for Express Entry candidates who match the stream’s minimal eligibility standards and have worked in one of the six tech-sector professions listed below.

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