The BCPNP (British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program) held a general and targeted draw on November 28th.
The province issued 253 ITAs (Invitations to Apply) for general applicants and no less than 75 ITAs for targeted professions.
All Canadian provinces (except for Quebec and Nunavut) hold their PNPs (Provincial Nominee Programs) – an economic immigration pathway by which provincial governments can nominate foreign skilled talent to immigrate to their province, and deal with labour needs.
The PNP has become a great and massive addition immigration program in Canada. It is expected to go beyond the Express Entry managed programs by 2024; as the main economic immigration pathway for foreign workers to the country.
Provincial Nomination Draws Results: November 28th – Dec 2nd
This week only the province of British Columbia held a PNP draw, which issued more than 300 total ITAs, with differing CRS cut-offs per stream. The BCPNP drew across all streams, which includes the following:
- Skilled Worker
- Skilled Worker-EEBC Option
- International Graduate
- International Graduate-EEBC Option
- Entry Level and Semi-Skilled Worker streams
In addition, British Columbia held a targeted draw under these streams for specific professions, which the province wants to fill. These include:
- premature childhood educators as well as assistants (NOC 42202)
- Healthcare workers
- Healthcare assistants (NOC 33102)
- Other priority occupations, such as Veterinarians (NOC 31103) and Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians (NOC 32104)
The Impact of NOC Changes
The last 2 weeks have been a witness to only 1 PNP draw. While the end of the year tends to bring a hold up in activity, one crucial policy has significantly impacted economic immigration to Canada – updating of the NOC (National Occupation Classification) codes.
On 16th November, Canada changed from the 2016 NOC to the new 2021 NOC codes. While these changes are mainly for classification purposes, it is crucial to note that 16 new occupations have been added to the Express Entry eligibility list as well.
As the NOCs are the central way for classifying jobs for economic immigration, they cause an effect on the Express Entry managed systems and the PNPs (for example, the British Columbia province recently updated their scoring system appropriate to the new NOCs).
If truth be told, there have only been 3 draws (including the above November 28th draw) given that this change took effect on 16th November. It is to be expected that as Canadian provinces carry on adjusting their programs to the new classifications as well as added job titles that PNPs will return to functioning more regularly.
