Difference between skilled worker route & PNP?

Question

What exactly is the difference between applying to Canada through the skilled worker route with a job offer, and the provincial nominee program?

Answer 1

Skilled Worker is a category for applying for permanent residency in Canada. It relies upon achieving enough points in the scoring system. Points are allocated for education, age, work experience etc. It doesn't rely upon having pre-arranged employment, but this would give you extra points.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.html

The Provincial Nomination Program is administered by individual provinces to allow them to attract skilled workers to their province. This process relies upon pre-arranged employment, as your prospective employer is required to supply supporting documents of their desire to employ you. It is a way of filling vacancies when there are no appropriately qualified Canadians. If a PNP application is successful, the province will supply you with a certificate which accompanies your Skill Worker Permanent Residency Application. It can reduce the waiting time considerably by having this certificate. At the moment, a standard (non-PNP) application process if taking 3+ years.

So, in other words the PNP is a way of shortening your waiting time for having your Skilled Worker permanent residency application processed. It relies upon finding a willing employer though.

Another route, is to seek an employer in your field who cannot find a worker. An employer can submit an application to HRDC to obtain a Labour Market Opinion. If they can prove that there are no suitable Canadians for this job, it will allow you to apply for a Work Permit. This is a fixed period e.g. 1-3 years and is specific to one employer only. However, the great benefit of this is a processing time of only 3 months.

Here is the link for the British Expats website which has lots of information on all kinds of Canadian immigration:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=33

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Money is a matter of the individual. A skill as in plumber or electrician requires years of learning and a test by the trade union and licensing. University degrees and certificates are the professional workers. It is your choice. Do you like the classroom and research papers or hands on experience from 4AM until 6PM?

Answer 3

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.html