SINP Tech Talent

The Saskatchewan Tech Talent Pathway aims to attract highly skilled technology professionals from around the world to Canada’s prairie province.

This stream sits within the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) and was created to help employers recruit further talent in order to drive the province’s growth and strengthen its global competitiveness in technology and innovation.

Detailed article onSaskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP).

Overview of SINP Tech Talent

Saskatchewan, a Canadian province, is facing an acute shortage of high-tech workers. The provincial government has therefore launched the Tech Talent Pathway.

This new pathway to permanent residence is designed to help Saskatchewan employers find new talent in order to drive growth and strengthen the province’s global competitiveness in technology and innovation.

The Tech Talent Pathway is open to candidates living outside Canada as well as to those with legal status in Canada. To be accepted under this pathway, candidates must hold a full-time, permanent job offer in technology or innovation in Saskatchewan.

Eligibility requirements for non-Express Entry candidates

Those interested in applying under the Tech Talent Pathway must meet the following requirements to be eligible:

• Live outside Canada or hold legal status in Canada;
• Not be a refugee claimant;
• Have a validA SINP Job Approval Letterfor an eligible technology occupation;
• Have at leastCanadian Language Benchmark (CLB)level 5 in English or French if not working in Saskatchewan at the time of application. If already working in Saskatchewan for the employer making the job offer, the candidate must meet the language requirement set by that employer;
• Have at least 1 (one) year of work experience in the eligible technology occupation within the past 5 (five) years;
• Have worked full time (30+ hours per week) for at least 6 (six) months for the employer making the job offer;
• Hold post-secondary education; and
• Be eligible for professional licensing in Saskatchewan (applies to computer, software, electrical and electronics engineers eligible under the correspondingNational Occupational Classification (NOC) 2147, 2173, 2133);
• Confirm their intention to settle in Saskatchewan.

Eligible occupations

Candidates may apply under the Saskatchewan Tech Talent Pathway if they hold a job offer in one of the following occupations, listed with their National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes:

• Computer and information systems managers (0213)
• Electrical and electronics engineers (2133)
• Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) (2147)
• Information systems analysts and consultants (2171)
• Database analysts and data administrators (2172)
• Software engineers and designers (2173)
• Computer programmers and interactive media developers (2174)
• Web designers and developers (2175)
• Computer network technicians (2281)
• User support technicians (2282)
• Information systems testing technicians (2283)

Requirements for Express Entry candidates

Those eligible for one of the programmes administered byImmigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)throughExpress Entryor accepted into the Express Entry pool may also be eligible for this pathway. Those choosing to apply under this stream as an IRCC Express Entry candidate will need to:

• Have a valid Express Entry Profile Number and Job Seeker Code.
• Have language test results meeting the federal Express Entry language requirement.
• Have a SINP Job Approval Letter for an eligible technology occupation;
• Have at least 1 (one) year of work experience in the eligible technology occupation within the past 5 (five) years, or 6 (six) months (30+ hours per week) if already working in Saskatchewan for the employer making the job offer;
• Hold post-secondary education relevant to the job;
• Be eligible for professional licensing in Saskatchewan (applies to computer, software, electrical and electronics engineers eligible under the corresponding NOC codes 2147, 2173, 2133);
• Confirm their intention to settle in Saskatchewan.

The advantage of applying through Express Entry is that IRCC gives priority processing to Express Entry applications for permanent residence, and processing usually takes 6 (six) months or less. Processing currently takes longer because of the challenges arising from COVID-19, but the Government of Canada aims to restore the 6 (six) month standard in the near future.

The Tech Talent Pathway application process

• Receive a job offer from a Saskatchewan employer;
• The employer must provide the candidate with a SINP Job Approval Letter;
• Read and follow the application instructions available on the SINP website athere;
• Create an online account and apply online to the SINP, completing every section in full and scanning and submitting all the required documents.