Work experience or training

To qualify for the Home Care Worker Immigration pilots (HCWIPs), you must have

If you have both work experience and training, you can submit proof of both.

Work experience

You must have at least 6 months of work experience, gained within or outside Canada.

Your work experience must

• be in one or both of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) job categories of the pilot you apply for
  • HCWIP: Child Care
    • Home child care providers (NOC 44100)
      • Experience as a foster parent doesn’t count.
    • Early childhood educators and assistants (NOC 42202)
      • Only experience as an assistant, helper or worker counts. Experience as an early childhood educator, day care teacher or in a supervisory or administrative role doesn’t count.
  • HCWIP: Home Support
    • Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations (NOC 44101)
    • Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (NOC 33102)
      • Work experience in NOC 33102 gained in an institutional setting (for example, long-term care) may be eligible.
• be in the NOCs of 1 pilot—either child care or home support
  • You can only have a mix of occupations within the same pilot.
  • For example, under HCWIP: Child Care, your experience can include both child care provider and early childhood assistant.
• match the NOC job description and include most of the main duties listed under the NOC
• have been gained since you were 18 years or older
• have been gained within the 3 years before you apply
  • Any experience you gain after applying doesn’t count. You must complete all the work experience before applying, or your application will be refused.
• be continuous, meaning you must have worked at least 6 months in a row
  • It may include a reasonable vacation period (for example, 2 weeks of paid leave within a 52-week period).
  • If you changed jobs, there must be no breaks between them.
• be full-time, meaning at least 30 hours of paid work per week
  • If you worked multiple part-time jobs at the same time, it only counts if it adds up to at least 30 hours per week for 6 months in a row.
• have been authorized and gained while you had temporary resident status if your work experience was gained in Canada
  • The work could have been authorized under a valid work permit, maintained status or a public policy.
  • If your work experience was unauthorized, you may still be eligible for the pilots under a public policy. Learn more about the additional requirements as an out-of-status or unauthorized worker.

Work experience from more than 1 employer

Your work experience can be from more than 1 employer if

• it’s continuous
• it’s in an eligible occupation for the pilot you apply under—either HCWIP: Child Care or HCWIP: Home Support
• it meets all the other work experience requirements

For example:

• If you worked as a home support worker for one employer and as a nurse aide for another, you can combine the experience (because both are under the Home Support Pilot).
• If you worked as a home child care provider for one employer and as a home support worker for another, you can’t combine the experience (because they’re under different pilots).

What does not count as work experience:

• work experience gained as a full-time student
• work experience gained while you were self-employed
• periods of unemployment
• long-term sickness or parental leave

Training

You must have received a credential for a relevant training of at least 6 months, within or outside Canada.

The training must:

• be targeted towards the following NOC job categories :
  • HCWIP: Child Care
    • Home child care providers (NOC 44100)
    • Early childhood educators and assistants (NOC 42202)
      • Only training as an assistant, helper or worker counts. Training as an early childhood educator, day care teacher or in a supervisory or administrative role doesn’t count.
  • HCWIP: Home Support
    • Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations (NOC 44101)
    • Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (NOC 33102)
• in the NOCs of 1 pilot—either child care or home support
  • You can have a mix of occupations only within the same pilot.
• be at the post-secondary level
• be full-time, meaning at least 15 hours of training per week during the academic year or period of study
• be offered mainly in an in-person classroom environment
• have been started while you were 17 years or older
• be completed within the 2 years before you apply

If you completed this training outside Canada, you don’t need an educational credential assessment (unless you’re also using the training to meet the education requirement).

What does not count as training:

• training that was targeted towards occupations other than those listed above (for example, training in the medical field)
• training that was done mainly online
• on-the-job training