Express Entry for IT Technician
 

Hi all,

I am British who lives in Manchester, United Kingdom, I am 36 years old. I work as IT Technician for the last 12 years but I have only 3 years college education and I am interested in immigrating to Canada to Ontario where my uncle lives as a Federal Skilled Worker (Express Entry). Is this an option for me?

I have done this test (Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) tool: skilled immigrants (Express Entry)
and got only Grand total = 403.

Cannot find anywhere what's the minimum score you need to get, can anyone help please?

Thank you!

Re: Express Entry for IT Technician
 

Hi, and welcome to BE.

I'm afraid that you're a long way off the minimum score with 403. You can see all of the previous draws on the link below, you'd need about 460 for a FSW application as a rough guide.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...-previous.html

Can you break your points down for us so that we can see if you could improve? If not, you may need to look at trying to get a job offer/sponsorship so that you can go over there and work on a temporary work permit, and get your points up with Canadian experience, or go through Ontario PNP.

Re: Express Entry for IT Technician
 

Thank you for your reply.

Please see attached screenshots of the test and results, but during the test it asks only about sister/brother but nothing about any other relatives who lives in Canada, is having my uncle there who has Canadian passport gives me no points at all?

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...eea0ed9e58.jpg
Results 1
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...9c0a1542eb.jpg
Test 4
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...e896a39fd6.jpg
Test 3
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...2eb5eb44dc.jpg
Test 2
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...5d2a00a3a1.jpg
Test 1
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...759b3d108f.jpg
Results 2

Re: Express Entry for IT Technician
 

Not on the CRS, no. Have you taken the IELTS exam, are those your actual scores?

It looks as though you will have to try and find a job offer/sponsoring employer to get your points up I'm afraid. Have a read of the Job Hunting section of the Wiki to understand how to go about finding that all important job offer in Canada. Does your Uncle have any contacts in IT that may be able to help?

Also, for future ref, please just post your response, if you have included a link in it but don't have enough posts for that, it'll just go in to a mod queue and we'll approve it when we get a mo. That's better than rushing off around the forums posting pointless responses just to get your post count up!

Re: Express Entry for IT Technician
 

no, I have not taken IELTS test but I am pretty sure I will get high(8-9) scores

are there really employers in Canada who will actually get involved in all this for you and will be waiting for your for over a year to get there? I am no Steve jobs :( just an experienced IT Technician.
Can I have the link to WIki about job hunting in Canada please? no uncle has no links in iT :(

it did not look like my posts was going through so that is why I did it, thanks for your help. They are not all pointless :)

Re: Express Entry for IT Technician
 

:goodpost:

I'm not trying to be funny or cruel but based on your posts, I don't think you think you'd be maxing out IELTS. I didn't even get a full score in one of the sections although to be fair I was suffering from a cold at the time.

It won't help much for Ontario but maybe have a look at NS or NB. They often recruit overseas for IT technician roles because quite a few American companies operate NOC's and Service Centres from those provinces and they can sometimes struggle to find local talent or people who want to move from other parts of Canada. They sometimes run recruitment sessions online or from hotels in London although I doubt they're doing much of the latter this year.

Re: Express Entry for IT Technician
 

https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Categ...Hunting-Canada

Re: Express Entry for IT Technician
 

Afraid I agree with DG, your English is very good but it's clear it's not your native tongue. Even those that speak it as their first language don't always score in those bands, so I'd not assume you'll get the highest marks for points.

They wouldn't need to wait a year. You'd go over on a temporary work permit first, and then apply for PR once you've worked there long enough and have enough points, or you'd see if the employer would help you apply for provincial nomination (and again, get a work permit first so you can start working sooner). I'm afraid I have no idea what your chances are of an employer sponsoring you though, or being able to prove that they can't find a Canadian willing, or able, to do the job. There are others in IT in Ontario who will know though, it may be worth starting a new thread in the main Canada forum to ask about the IT industry there.

Does it absolutely HAVE to be Ontario? Other provinces have specific PNP streams for tech occupations. What's your exact NOC code?

Re: Express Entry for IT Technician
 

From what he's describing, my guess would be 2882.

https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p3V...11&CLV=4&MLV=4

It is considered a skilled job under NOC B and it certainly isn't likely to be a profession where you would struggle to find work in Toronto, especially with good English ability and a few years of experience in the UK under your belt. I'm not sure regarding other areas of ON. Ottawa would probably offer opportunities as well but that leads me to my next point.

Firstly, many jobs in that line of work (assuming that is what the OP is looking for) in Ontario will want at least a minimal level of French ability. You might be able to dodge that requirement in the GTA but I think Ottawa could be more tricky. That's something to keep in mind.

Also does the OP have any certifications? They're rarely taken seriously in the UK outside of Managed Service Providers and higher-level roles however that's not always the case in Canada. It won't help with immigration points but if you don't have any already then I'd recommend obtaining A+ or MCDST as a minimum. Some employers in Canada won't hire even service desk staff without it and you can get those certifications for very little money these days.

In any case, I think you would struggle to find a sponsoring employer and secure an LMIA for a job like that in the GTA at least.

Re: Express Entry for IT Technician
 

Thank you for your reply and thank you for pointing out the IELTS exam, I just thought the general exam would not be very hard but I guess I was mistaken.

what is NS and NB ? never heard of these, but will definitely research.

Thanks for pointing it out, I thought the general exam would not be very hard

so this is pretty common in Canada when someone from outside of Canada looking for a job and the employer will know that you will need a job offer to be able to get a visa?

Re: Express Entry for IT Technician
 

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, two of the Canadian provinces.

This Wiki article may be useful - https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Canadian_Abbreviations

HTH.

Re: Express Entry for IT Technician
 

Yes, I guess 2282 - User support technicians is the correct one for me, unfortunatelly I do not have any degree but have quite a certificates from different courses -City & Guilds Diploma IT Practitioners L1 & L2 – Jul 2008
-City & Guilds Advanced Diploma IT Practitioners L3 – Aug 2010
-Level 1 Certificate in IT Systems Support - PC Maintenance – Apr 2008
-Level 2 Diploma for IT Practitioners – Jul 2008
-Level 3 Advanced Diploma for IT Professionals – Aug 2010
-IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software – Jul 2008
-IT Essentials 2: Network Operating Systems – Jul 2008
-CCNA Discovery: Working at a Small-to-Medium Business or ISP – Jun 2009
-CCNA Discovery: Networking for Home and Small Businesses – Feb 2009

Re: Express Entry for IT Technician
 

For your CRS calculation above you said you have a Bachelor's degree, is that not the case?

Re: Express Entry for IT Technician
 

nope, but it says in brackets Three or more year program at a university, college, trade or technical school , or other institute , does this not mean 3 years in college in total?

Re: Express Entry for IT Technician
 

Ah. Not it means one course (program) of three years or more, not several put together. The courses that you've listed aren't likely to count for any points I'm afraid as they are vocational/professional, rather than academic.