Ministerial Instructions - Clarification on continuous full-time experience and break in continuity of employment
Purpose
The purpose of this operational bulletin is to clarify the requirement in the Ministerial Instructions (MI) that Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) applicants in the SW1 category must have one year of continuous full-time (or equivalent part-time) paid work experience in the last ten years in one or more of the occupations listed in the MI. This also clarifies the issue of breaks in continuity of employment for both SW1 and SW3 applicants.
Background
The MI state:
“Applications from skilled workers with evidence of experience [ Note 1 ] under one or more of the following National Occupation Classification (NOC) categories...”
Instruction
Effective immediately, the requirement of having at least one year of continuous full-time or equivalent paid work experience in the last ten years in “one or more” NOC code in the MI means that an SW1 applicant may use any combination of full-time or part-time work experience in more than one eligible NOC category in the last 10 years in calculating their one year of continuous work experience, as long as their experience adds up to at least one year.
For example, an SW1 applicant would be eligible under the MI if they had 7 months of full-time (or equivalent) work experience in NOC 6242 immediately followed by 10 months full-time (or equivalent) work experience in NOC 6241 in the last 10 years. Experience accumulated in each NOC counts towards calculating one year of continuous experience. It is not necessary for the NOCs to be in related occupations, as long as all NOCs are listed in the Ministerial Instructions.
Previous instructions that an applicant cannot make up the one year of continuous full-time employment experience in a series of continuous periods of employment in different occupations that total one year are revoked (see OB 93 – question 5, OB 101 – question 5).
Instructions on how to proceed with applications that were previously found ineligible for processing for this reason will be issued in a follow-up operational bulletin. Until instructions are issued, please direct your questions about how to handle such requests to your Regional Program Advisor.
Break in continuity of employment (SW1 and SW3)
For applicants in the SW1 category and temporary foreign workers in the SW3 category, anticipated short breaks between jobs are acceptable. For example, if an applicant is employed in one occupation for a 4 month contract and before the end of that contract, has secured other employment that will begin shortly after the end of the first contract, this break in continuity would be acceptable. For SW1 applicants the occupations must be one that is listed in the MI.
For further information on the procedures outlined in this operational bulletin, please contact your supervisor or your Regional Program Advisor (RPA). RPAs may in turn contact Operational Management and Coordination Branch at OMC-GOC-Immigration @ cic.gc.ca.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/bulletins/2010/ob173.asp
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