As of November 28, 2008, this popular program has been revised to be more responsive to the needs of applicants and employers.   Now, for an application to be eligible for processing, you must either:

• have an offer of arranged employment, OR
• be a foreign national living legally in Canada for one year as a temporary foreign worker or an international student, OR
• be a skilled worker who has at least one year of experience in one or more of 38 listed occupations.

You must still meet minimum requirements to apply in this category:

• At least one continuous year of full-time, paid work experience or the equivalent in part-time continuous employment; and
• Your work experience must be Skill Type “0″, “A” or “B” on the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC); and
• You must have had this experience within the last 10 years.

Finally, you must have at least 67 points based on your education, language skills, work experience, age, arranged employment, and your adaptability (take the self-assessment test).   You must show you have sufficient funds to support yourself and your family upon arrival, and pass security, criminal and medical checks.

Having a job offer can make it easier to attain the 67 points.  If you’re looking for available jobs anywhere in Canada, a helpful site to view is jobbank.gc.ca where you’ll see 30,000 to 40,000 job openings posted across the country.