Prospective and current Express Entry candidates have several ways to gain eligible work experience for a category and improve their chances of receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA). Category based draws often have some of the lowest CRS cut off scores, which makes them an attractive option for many candidates.
After the February 2026 update to Canada’s Express Entry categories, candidates must now have at least 12 months of work experience in an eligible occupation to qualify for these category based selections. Previously, the requirement was six months.
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Many candidates are not aware that there is flexibility in how this work experience can be accumulated. Eligible category work experience can include full time or equivalent part time employment. It also does not have to be continuous.
Below are key factors candidates should understand when building work experience, along with four examples that demonstrate different ways to meet the requirement.
Important points to remember when building work experience
Before exploring the examples, it is important to understand a few basic rules regarding eligible work experience for Express Entry categories.
Full time work is defined as 30 hours per week. Candidates cannot speed up the process by working more hours in a shorter period. The system calculates work experience based on this weekly standard.
Candidates should also understand that work experience may be evaluated differently depending on the purpose. Program eligibility, CRS points, and category based eligibility may all have different requirements.
Example 1: One year of full time continuous work experience
Nadia is 29 years old and lives in Dubai. She is already in the Express Entry pool and wants to qualify under the education category.
She reviews the education occupations list and selects a role that matches her career path: Early Childhood Educators and Assistants (NOC 42202).
To qualify for the category, she needs 12 months of work experience within the past three years in the same eligible occupation. The experience does not have to be continuous.
Nadia decides to gain full time experience in this occupation. She works 30 hours per week to meet the full time requirement.
Over a 12 month period she works for two employers.
Employer A: Licensed childcare center
March 1, 2025 to October 31, 2025
30 hours per week with paid wages
Job title: Early Childhood Educator Assistant
Employer B: Preschool
November 1, 2025 to April 15, 2026
30 hours per week with paid wages
Same core duties and responsibilities
Although there is a short gap between jobs, Nadia still completes 12 months of full time work experience in the same occupation. This allows her to qualify for the education category.
Example 2: Two six month full time work periods
Ravi is 30 and lives in Poland. He plans to enter the Express Entry pool and believes he may qualify under the STEM category because of his background as a computer engineer.
After reviewing the STEM occupation list, he selects Cybersecurity Specialists (NOC 21220), which matches his experience.
To qualify for the category, Ravi must complete at least 12 months of full time work experience, or equivalent part time experience, within the past three years in the same occupation. The experience does not need to be continuous and it can be gained in Canada or abroad.
Ravi decides to work on contract as an employee providing cybersecurity services.
Employer A: Financial services company
April 1, 2024 to September 30, 2024
30 hours per week with paid wages
Job title: Cybersecurity Analyst
Responsibilities include threat monitoring, incident response support, and security control management.
After finishing the contract, Ravi takes a break from October 1, 2024 to August 31, 2025.
Employer B: IT services firm
September 1, 2025 to February 28, 2026
30 hours per week with paid wages
Job title: Security Operations Specialist
His duties remain aligned with cybersecurity responsibilities so he can continue claiming the same occupation.
By completing two separate six month work periods, Ravi accumulates a total of 12 months of full time work experience within the three year window. The long break between jobs does not affect his eligibility because the experience does not need to be continuous.
Example 3: Equivalent part time work experience
Miguel is 32 and lives in Manila. He is already in the Express Entry pool but wants to qualify for a trade occupations category draw to improve his chances of receiving an ITA.
He reviews the trades occupation list and selects Plumbers (NOC 72300), a role he can transition into using his background in civil engineering.
To qualify for the trades category, he needs 12 months of full time work experience or the equivalent amount of part time experience within the past three years in the same occupation.
Because of family commitments, Miguel can only work part time for 15 hours per week.
He works as an employee for a plumbing contractor from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026.
His position includes:
15 hours per week with paid wages
Job title: Plumber (Part time)
Responsibilities include installation, maintenance, repairs, reading work orders, connecting pipes, and testing plumbing systems.
The calculation works as follows:
15 hours per week for 104 weeks equals 1,560 hours.
This is the same as working 30 hours per week for 52 weeks, which equals one year of full time work experience.
Even though Miguel never worked full time, his part time work still meets the required threshold. Since the experience is in a single eligible trade occupation within the past three years, he qualifies for the trades category.
Example 4: Combining two part time jobs
Ayman is 31 and lives in Oman. He is already an Express Entry candidate and wants to qualify under the trades category.
He selects Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanics (NOC 72402) from the trades occupation list.
Ayman struggles to find a full time position, so he decides to work two part time jobs at the same time in the same occupation.
He structures his schedule so that the combined hours reach the Express Entry full time benchmark of 30 hours per week.
Employer A: Commercial HVAC contractor
May 1, 2025 to April 30, 2026
15 hours per week with paid wages
Job title: HVAC Service Technician (Part time)
Responsibilities include preventive maintenance, diagnostics, replacing components, and system testing.
Employer B: Building maintenance company
May 1, 2025 to April 30, 2026
15 hours per week with paid wages
Job title: Refrigeration Mechanic (Part time)
Responsibilities include troubleshooting, leak checks, recovery and charging, and system performance testing.
By working both jobs at the same time, Ayman completes 30 hours of work per week. This allows him to accumulate the equivalent of one full time year of work experience within 12 months.
Even though the experience is split between two employers, it is still valid because Express Entry measures part time work using the 30 hours per week full time equivalent standard.
As a result, Ayman meets the work experience requirement and qualifies for the trades category.
