Qualifications confirmation please?( Bench joiner)
 

Hello to all.

Myself and my wife are right at the very beginning of the emegration processes for moving to canada.
We are researching every detail we can so once there is more clarity over the dreaded covid19 future we can push ahead with our goal of emegrating. And although we may not know this for some time, as with most things in life, we follow the sad 'P' theory; Proper preparation prevents poor performances.

We are hopeing to move to Sudbury Ontario or somewhere in nova Scotia.

We understand that there's many requirements for being able to emigrate and the path we beleive is right for us is the express entry route. We know we will have to take the English test, have the medical and submit our biometrics which isnt a problem. The problem which seems to be bugging us is the qualifications side.
I am a qualified Bench joiner, I completed a 3 year apprentiship in 2014 and have been working with the same company ever since so have 6 years qualified experience.

here in the UK when meeting new people often the conversations eventually turns to careers and job, to which i often get the reply 'and what does that mean?' I have to be hounest and say it's mainly the younger generations from experience.
but as I understand it in Canada, the term bench Joiner is typically just Joiner. Or would be clarified and a finishing carpenter or cabinet maker. This is only from research I have found.

Which brings me to the qualifications side of things. I have quite a few different certificates which state my level and what tasks I had to do to gain such a level.
for example I have; cskills level 3 nvq diploma in wood occupations (construction) -Bench joinery (qcf)

cskills level 3 diploma in bench joiner (construction) *not sure if theyre diffrent but they're diffrent certificate code

advance level apprenticeship in wood occupations. By construction skills

As well as the certificates leading upto the level 3 (level 1 and 2)

prior to this I have achieved level 1, 2 and 3 in furniture production (making and repairing hand crafted furniture and furnishings, restoration) (city and guilds) and although I may not work in a furniture workshop we do often make shop fittings such as counters and other furnishings for clients homes so I am unsure if these would be relevant.


now I understand roughly the skilled worker system but I am I'm unsure if my credentials are going to be enough. On the break down it does list a sub category of carpentry as joiner. But would this have to be a carpenter joiner. As that's what it used to be many years ago in the UK or does it automatically enrol me into that category with bench joinery.

I have read posts on here referring to carpenter joiner but never more specific to just bench joinery. I can do a majority of carpentry work (as can a carpenter do mine) I have list of skills on my certificate for machining, planning and making from start to finish.

I have tried to get in contact with some agencies that help with the process but they either don't know and refer me back to studying in canada for which one wanted $4500 entry or not. Or they don't want to tell you, which i understand everyone has to make a living one way so everything can't be given away for free.

I also understand that if the results are good and they are acceptable that I would have to have them proffesionaly checked.

So if you have carried on reading, I thank you kindly. And if you can help with the following question i will be truly greatful!

would the credentials I have fit into the carpentry section for skilled worker status. And if you have any advice on the matter or any useful links on this subject.

And a second question if you are a bench joiner and have had to have your credendials verified, would you recommend any specific institutes to do so that maybe would specialise more in such trade?

thanks in advance.

Ross and Jo

Re: Qualifications confirmation please?( Bench joiner)
 

Hello and welcome to BE! :welcome:

Your best route will be Express Entry Federal Skilled Worker (Trades).. but as you know you will require either a valid job offer OR a Certificate of Qualification issued by the licensing body of the Province you wish to move to - Carpenter is a regulated profession. This will allow you to apply.... and give you those extra points you need.

You will need to prove your experience - your UK qualifications won't be recognised although they may be useful to get a few extra points (for education) mostly they only assess academic education.

For a Carpenter Joiner - description (with links to other types of Carpenter descriptions, once on the page you can click on the rquirements tab to get the links for Provincial Licensing) - https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketrepo...pation/6389/ca you can see the links to each Provincial licensing body here; https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketrepo...ements/6389/ca
Cabinet maker - https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketrepo...ation/16991/ca
For Ontario - General Carpenter - look under 'Experienced Workers - (Trade Equivalency) https://www.collegeoftrades.ca/trade-assessment and https://www.collegeoftrades.ca/wp-co...March-2020.pdf
For Nove Scotia - https://nsapprenticeship.ca/skilled-workers - is a little more complex as Carpenter isn't a compulsary certified trade, meaning you would have to undergo the Red Seal Endorsement route.

Please don't bother with using an Immigration Consultant unless you have some complex background (medical issues / criminal past etc.,) - Express Entry is a simple process which you can easily do yourself with a little advice from the guidelines and our esteemed members, our experts and others who have already gone through the process :)

Re: Qualifications confirmation please?( Bench joiner)
 

Bench joiners are usually referred to as millworkers in Canada.

Re: Qualifications confirmation please?( Bench joiner)
 

Good evening!

I must firstly start by apologising about not replying sooner.

Siouxie hank you ever so much for taking the time to reply in such depth, the info that you have provided is superb, we have only touched the surface but so far they're great and exactly what we were after and are helping us no end.

and regarding the immigration consultant, that too is a great help, we thought we may need assistance helping us make sure everything is right, but that's more lack of confidence being so early on. Luckily we have neither issues with medical or criminal records.

Almost Canadian
thank you, that's going to be a great help in looking for a job, it's going to strange learning all the diffrent terminology but we are looking foward to it.


thank you both again for taking the time to reply

Ross and Jo

Re: Qualifications confirmation please?( Bench joiner)
 

Having read through this thread I’m interested to know if you were able to sort your qualifications or progress further in your journey to immigrate to Canada as I also have completed a 3 year bench hand joinery apprenticeship and I am also very interested in Canadian immigration but such as yourself I’m a little lost, did u manage to find the information you were looking for?

-Kieran

Re: Qualifications confirmation please?( Bench joiner)
 

Hi Kieran,

as it stands we haven't managed to progress just yet but we do have more information! (If anyone sees that I have made a mistake please correct me)

as it stands we have been researching Ontario. As Siouxie said, carpentry is a regulated trade, but we have found out with my experience and presumably yours as a Joiner, that the it's more classified as a Cabinet maker which is a diffrent NOC number but still regulated.

to get the additional point for express entry again as siouxie said, I would need to have my credentials checked assessed, which is the stage we are at at present. We have been in contacted with the governing body which is the Ontario college of trades to try and clear up a few questions we had. I have had to ask my employer to write up all of my experience and job duties, all the machines ect that I use, also the kind of work the company is involved with, and then print it off and sign it. Following this they will receive a phone call interview, to ask basicly to confirm all that's in the letter. They only attempt to reach my employer 3 times, if they fail to reach them, the assessment is voidand no refund is given. If they manage to speak to the employer, the next contact will be me, to which as I understand it will be a similar process to make sure theres no foul play. Then they will make an assessment on this. If the assessment is successful they will invite me to as they call it "write the exam" which we have found out that I would then have to travel out to Ontario and take and exam, and finaly if i pass that I will have the cirtificates of qualification in that cabinet making.
one thing I did find interesting is that when I asked about having to send all of my cirtificates, they said they weren't interested in them, it's more about the actual experience than anything else. I beleive I need a minimum of 6000 hours.

that is all if everything is successful, if theyre not able to reach my employer, of myself or feel I am not valid for the trade I am able to ajust and apply for another 're assessment at a smaller fee.

but this being said. As i understand it.I would only be able to work in Ontario, no other provinces under this trade. To be able to freely work across all of canada with no problems or having to 're apply I would have to complete the Red Seal endorsement. With as I understand it is more in-depth testing. Although i am not 100% as we have not researched this yet.

I hope this made some sense, we tried to email Ontario college of trades but found the responses weren't too helpfull or they didn't quite understand. So we phones them and they were very helpful and were able to answer all of my questions.

Hopefully this will help!

Re: Qualifications confirmation please?( Bench joiner)
 

I'm also also a carpenter and I was looking for ways to be granted a visa. I know that even though they are still in need of construction workers and I would consider a move there.

Re: Qualifications confirmation please?( Bench joiner)
 

I think our plan has changed a little, we are looking more into a working visa and then hopefully gaining PR while working. we have had great difficulty trying to get to get my credentials checked and think maybe a working visa will help, and also being able to visit the college in person.

depending on where your going, you may need to check the LMIA to make sure that carpentry is in high demand.

Hopefully it's straight forward for you!

rspark