Ontario Tech Draw Offers Nearly 1800 Invitations to Express Entry Candidates

Ontario’s new Tech Draw sent out 1,773 invitations to Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence in a draw held August 1st, 2019. Over the past 20 days, close to 3,400 total candidates have been encouraged to pursue provincial nomination for draws in this stream. 

The Tech Draw is targeted towards Express Entry candidates with experience in one or more of six designated technology occupations the province has identified as high demand.The Tech Draw looks for candidates skilled in one of the six following occupations for the National Occupation Classification (NOC) skill level and skill type: software engineers and designers (NOC 2173), computer engineers (NOC 2147), computer programmers and interactive media developers (NOC 2174), database analysts and data administrators (NOC 2172), computer and information systems managers (NOC 0213), and web designers and developers (NOC 2175).

For the August 1st draw, the lowest score on the Comprehensive Ranking System was 435, a relatively low score.The Tech Draws began in July this year, making this draw the second of its kind so far. Both draws in total have issued 3,396 invitations to candidates.

Ontario is one of Canada’s most prosperous technology bases, especially in the cities of Toronto, Ottawa, and Waterloo. 

In the past 5 years, 80,000 new jobs in the tech industry were created in Toronto alone. These Tech Draws are designed to meet the increasing need for jobs in this sector, making it a promising stream for hopeful immigrants.

The Ontario government can search through the federal Express Entry pool of candidates to find those with the desired skills and experience in technology, and invite them to apply for permanent residence in the province. For candidates to be considered for the draws, it is mandatory to have an existing profile under the federal Express Entry system. 

Candidates with high scores on the CRS and with lots of experience in the field, and those with lower scores have both been granted invitations, or Notifications of Interest. 

Several provincial streams like the Ontario Tech Draw allows candidates with lower CRS scores to improve their ranking and be invited to apply for permanent residence, based on the province’s need for candidates in certain job industries. Candidates who receive invitations through Ontario Tech Draws will see increased CRS scores, and be prioritized to receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence on the national and federal level.