Welder in Canada: your Express Entry path, step by step

Three ways into the Express Entry pool

A draw can only invite people already in the Express Entry pool, which means qualifying for one of three programs:

• Federal Skilled Worker. Experience must be in a TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 job; welders are TEER 2.
• Federal Skilled Trades. It covers NOC Major Group 72, which includes welders. You need at least 2 years of full-time work (or the same part-time) in the trade within the last 5 years, gained where you were qualified to practise, plus either a full-time job offer of at least 1 year or a Canadian certificate of qualification in welding. If the province you choose does not certify the trade, you need the job offer.
• Canadian Experience Class. For skilled work experience already gained in Canada.

The trades draws

Trades draws invite only people with recent experience in a listed trade, ranked against each other. The panel above shows the latest one. You need at least 12 months of full-time work (or the same part-time) as a welder within the last 3 years; the months do not have to be in a row, and the work must match the NOC description of the job.

Certification, province by province

Welder is a Red Seal trade, designated in every province and territory. What changes is whether a certificate is required to work:

• Alberta gives welding compulsory certification: you need a journeyperson certificate or a recognised trade certificate for the trade's restricted work. Its Trades Qualifier – Work Experience Program asks for 54 months (7,020 hours) of work in the trade, is meant for people who will live and work in Alberta, and does not by itself give you the right to work in Canada.
• Ontario treats welding as a non-compulsory trade: a Certificate of Qualification exists and you can earn it through the certifying exam, but you do not need it to work. The Trade Equivalency Assessment decides whether experience gained outside Canada lets you challenge that exam.

A Canadian certificate of qualification is also what opens the Federal Skilled Trades program without a job offer.

What welders earn

The panel above shows Job Bank's median hourly wage for welders across Canada. Job Bank also lists pay by province and region.