Cooks21

Hi!

My husband (41) and I (32) have been looking into emigrating to Canada for a while now and seem to have hit a stumbling block.

I have an NVQ level 3 in Childcare and Education. Ive had it assessed by ICES and it says its only a high school diploma equivalent!

In Canada it's called an “Early Childhood Educator” which is one of the NOC professions needed.

We originally put “post secondary education 2 years diploma” on the “points calculators” because that’s what I thought I had done, but now we’re having to put high school diploma which lowers our score. We now have a score of 54.

I have 7 years full work experience in my field but only 3 in the passed 10 years as I stayed at home with my 3 children.

Will it be beneficial to transfer my NVQ level 3 in childcare into BC equivalent as this is where we would like move to? But we are also open to looking into other provinces.

I have an overall score of 7 in the IELTS test. Would it add points if my husband did the test too?

My husband is a painter and decorator with an NVQ level 2 but has been painting for over 20 years.

Please help!!!

We’re feeling very deflated and like our dreams of emigrating may be just that…..a dream.

We would be really grateful for some honest feed back and helpful tips.

Thanks from Luke Chantelle and our 3 sprogs

cheeky_monkey

cant help on the childcare stuff or qualifications and points etc..but for your husband..i have yet to find good painters and decorators (im a director for a large construction company) in Canada.. so with 20 years experience i'm sure even in today's market he would have no problem securing work right off the bat

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

Unfortunately, as you've discovered, you can only get an ECA for academic qualifications, vocational or professional ones don't count for points purposes. Worth noting too that any skilled job counts, so it's not 'one of the NOC professions needed', as literally thousands of jobs are on that list.

54 on the Federal Skilled Worker points score I assume? What are you scoring on the CRS?

Not until you've got a visa, it would help get you a job, but won't help with visa eligibility.

Yes, absolutely. You could also retake the test, there would be quite a few more points available if you could score higher.

I'm assuming you've checked his eligibility? It's just that normally he'd be more eligible than you, as he could apply under the FST program which has a much lower points threshold than the FSW program. So I'd definitely double check that, if you're not scoring enough then I'd look in to the FST further personally.

HTH, best of luck.

DarwinCharles

Qualification wise it is tough for sure. I'm Canadian but was educated and live in the UK and an NVQ isn't worth much I'm afraid, it's worth checking your husbands route with his experience but it's all dependent on what is needed.
Sucks, I realise that.

Tamasin1

Hello chantelle and family 😀, so I'm an ece here in b.c. We moved from England 3 year's ago now, currently in Kamloops b.c. First of all i understand your frustrations with your certificat certificates i also have a level 3 nvq, so mine and my family's story is we went through bc pnp take a look at that way the only problem with that is you need a job offer (we will come back to that later 😏) so it's gonna sound confusing but it will sink in i promise lol 😁 so what you need to do now is contact the company/collage that gave you your level 2 and 3 diploma they then need to send the certificates/transcripts straight to i.q.a.s (Google it) this is were it gets
tricky!!! You send your certificates to them as well (to i.q.a.s) they will charge to £20 each. To send. I.q.a.s will transfer one of your certificates forever and send it to the e.c.e department i believe there's an option at the bottom page of i.q.a.s page ?? Unfortunately you have to pay for the other certificate😓 so then go on the e.c.e website and it will day something a long the lines of foreign national section. Email them and let them know that you want the equivalent of e.c.e NOT e.c.e.a !!!!!!!. They use the transcripts of both n.v.q to compare to an e.c.e certificate. And it's really weird as well because i spoke to a lady at the e.c.e department and she actually said my level 2 have me more points 😌😌 which was really strange. They take a long time so sit down with a cup of tea and Google all this in telling you? So b.c pnp needs a job offer so I printed 150 resume (c.v) and sent it to every childcare facility here and lucky a day care contacted me (she thought it was a scam) and offered me a Skype interview and after she offered me the job 😀😀😀 obviously its a step back for me because i was a family support worker back in England but it got us a foot in the door here? Unfortunately with b.c pnp it is the longest taking way of getting permanent residency but if you're patient it's the best feeling ever😁😁😀. We absolutely love it here and would never ever go back to the u.k xxx well I hope that helps a bit lol 🙏 but it could have changed a bit over the last 2-3 years so my way may not be 100% correct now. But if you have any questions p.m me or on here it's up to you also join all the e.c.e Facebook groups in b.c there are tons of jobs and you may get lucky that one of them will take you on??? Last 2 things again this is my experience of getting my e.c.e certificate and the people in this forum know there stuff so please listen to there advice ok 👌 I/we would not have made it here without the great advice on here. Search my name on Herald you will see what I went through lol 😁but it all worked out well in the end. Take care as tamasin and family xx

Siouxie

I'm glad you popped up to offer some advice - thanks! It's always good to have personal experience help

One little thing though - we ask that no Immigration questions are asked via Private Messages - it's very easy to give incorrect information with the aboslute best of intentions - if it's out in the forum it's easily spotted and corrected, if it's sent by PM and it's incorrect it could cost somebody their dream of coming to Canada. Do not send PMs/emails asking private immigration questions Thanks for understanding........

Cooks21

Hey Everyone!



Thank you so much for taking the time to reply we really appreciate it and all great useful stuff!



We did try with Lukes work experience and his points only hit 60 because of his age and that was with a job offer (not that he has one we just tried it out)



We are going to get my qualification converted to the BC equivalent ASAP



- When we have done so will this result in extra points as I will then have a Canadian equivalent qualification?

• Cheeky_monkey - where abouts are you in Canada and are you in need of a painter (😂)

Tamasin1- hearing your story and reading your advise has ignited a spark and spurred us on to not give up and keep trying! We are determined to give not only ourselves a better life but also provide that for our 3 children.



Thanks again and please keep posting advise

Luke Chantelle and our 3 Children

christmasoompa

That's only applicable for a Federal Skilled Worker application though, I suggested the FST program above, so the FSW points score isn't relevant. What exactly are you both scoring on the CRS? That's the vital bit for your husband.

That's only helpful for job hunting in Canada though, not points purposes, no you won't get any extra points as it's not a Canadian qualification.

Definitely worth looking at Tamasin's previous posts to read her story, loads of useful info in there. Although I suspect you have an easier visa route than she did, if your husband is eligible under the FST program.

As for better life for children……….before you spend £30k or so on moving your family out there, it may be worth exploring nicer parts of the UK if you're not happy where you are. Much cheaper and easier! And a search of the main part of the forum for whether or not people think it's a better life for kids may provide some useful reading.

Best of luck to you.

Tamasin1

sioxuie, I apologise for saying she can p.m me I forgot about that rule 😏😏 chantelle like christmasompa says it's gonna be easier through your husband to get over here, but obviously i was just giving you my story/journey so after you find out your husbands score like Christmastimompa has asked then if that way doesn't work there are other options (like mine) so just take one route hear at a time otherwise you will just get confused lol 😌. Christmasompa letting chantelle go through my previous posts !!! Are you sure because I sounded very dumb and asked such stupid questions lol 😁😁😁😁😁 (in joking obviously) good luck and let us know how you get on. Just keep going don't get deflated ok

Frazzle

Hi Chantelle,
If you are willing to move to locations other than BC it might be worth you taking a look at www.mordenimmigration.com they have a skilled workers list that changes fairly often, childcare worker was on the list a few months back and might reappear as they have just built a new childcare center there. My wife is a childcare worker and has just had her BTEC lvl 3 assessed by IQAS (for work purposes not immigration) as a 2 year qualification and by per Manitoba requirements that would make her an ECE level 2 I imagine an NVQ 3 would qualify you at a similar level.
All the best.

Moses2013

Well said. This is always a big problem and sometimes people actually don't see what other options they have closer to home and end up frustrated. As always, I would ask myself what Canada can really offer the family and why not look at location rather than the country? It will cost a fortune to move the family and you'll still end up paying taxes/bills, the kids are still on their phones and might end up smoking weed.

Cooks21

Thanks you two for commenting on looking in our own country. We did just that 4 years ago.
When living in a busy city we decided to move ourselves to a beautiful part of the country called Devon. But its just not where we want to be. England is just not where we want to be.
We have our hopes set on Canada, BC to be more specific, for ourselves and our children and we will get there one day.

thanks for the positivity!
PS id rather weed than crack!

christmasoompa

Bit of an odd response to people that have tried to help tbh? I only asked if you'd looked within the UK as you mention a better life for your children, and as you'll see from various threads on the forum, very few people who've lived there think Canada offers that. Don't get me wrong, it's a great country, but it's a first world country with the same issues as in the UK. It's often said on the forum that it's better to move for the 'pull' factor i.e. a love of Canada than the 'push' factor i.e. perceived negatives of the UK.

If you've visited Canada and love it, then go for it. There's really no need to take offence at people that have offered an opinion and are just checking you're aware of all the options before you spend tens of thousands of pounds on an international move. Despite your reaction, we are all here to help, rather than focusing on the question you didn't agree with, maybe it would be better to focus on the visa side of things so you can work out how to get yourself over there. We are lucky enough on BE to have a lot of professionals that give their time for free, and will be happy to help you work out a visa route, but you will need to give info on your CRS scores etc first.

HTH, good luck.

Tamasin1

Hello everyone, so I'm not sure how to edit my first post so apologies to the moderators😁. I am now applying for my i.t (infant\toddler) licsence. Same process as what I originally wrote but now any childhood educator now needs to go through i.c.e.s NOT i.q.e.s as I stated before ok obviously i have only just found this out you will then be directed straight to b.c.i.t, were the website will explain the process of applying. Again sorry about the first post i was wrong 🙏🙏 just thought is let everyone know for future reference. Thank you. Tamasin