British Columbia to halt PNP draws for a month

British Columbia will be pausing draws in the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) between October 12 and November 16, 2022. This may not be unusual in some provinces, but British Columbia holds PNP draws on a weekly basis.

To ensure a smooth transition for candidates as Canada updates its National Occupation Classification (NOC) system, Provincial Nominee Programs across Canada may need to make some adjustments.

Those candidates with applications in the BC PNP pool after October 12 will need to resubmit their applications in November when the system reopens. A candidate who is invited on or before October 12 still has 30 days to submit their application, which will be evaluated using NOC 2016 (the current) criteria. According to the British Columbia government, 80% of applications will be processed within 3 months of the service standard.

There are some exceptions to the pause. Under the Entrepreneur Immigration program, ITAs will continue to be issued, and candidates applying under Health Authority and International Post-Graduate categories can still apply until Nov. 13, 2022.

Changes under NOC 2021 

National Occupational Classification (NOC) systems play a major role in the evaluation of candidates for programs under the economic class category of immigration to Canada, such as Express Entry or provincial nominee programs. Immigrants seeking employment in Canada are targeted by these programs.

NOC breaks down employment activities in Canada in order to better understand the Canadian labour market, run government programs, promote skills development, do research, and aid Canada in immigration and foreign worker programs

It is estimated that the federal government updates the NOC approximately every five years and overhauls it every ten years. NoC changes reflect economic and labour market changes in Canada.

Currently, the NOC categorizes jobs only based on an employee’s type of employment, dividing occupations into four categories ranging from entry-level to management positions.  

A new Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) system will categorize jobs into six levels. The new structure emphasizes transferrable skills and abilities rather than occupational experience, according to Statistics Canada.