Following the roll-out of the National Occupation Classification (NOC) 2021 in Canada, Express Entry has experienced IT issues, according to a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), quoted on CIC News on 14 December. Those participating in the Provincial Nominee Programs through Express Entry are included in this (PNP).
Despite IRCC’s claims that the department is carefully examining these problems and working to fix them, no timetable for these fixes has been provided.
According to IRCC, they are aware that clients are sometimes told by the system that they do not have enough Canadian work experience even though they meet the Minimum Entry Criteria (MEC) of the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).
This mistake led to the incorrect issuance of several ITAs to applicants during the round of invitations on 23 November, including some PNP applicants.
Candidates for the PNP who are attempting to update their Express Entry profile to reflect the transition to NOC 2021 have also been impacted by the system error.
It is unknown if the missed Express Entry draw last week on 7 December had anything to do with these IT issues. Express Entry draws for all programmes resumed in July of this year after a break of 18 months starting in December 2020. The IRCC has been inviting candidates every two weeks on Wednesdays since draws have resumed.
The anticipated draw on 7 December did not occur, and candidates expressed their dissatisfaction on social media.
CIC News reports that draws will take place “about every two weeks” according to IRCC ministerial instructions. There is no law that specifies the frequency or day of draws, though they have historically happened on Wednesdays. The IRCC is free to decide however they want.
With each draw, Canada has extended invitations to more applicants. Since July, eleven draws have occurred. 4,750 candidates were invited to the most recent two draws on November 9 and November 23.
NOC 2021
The changeover from NOC 2016 to NOC 2021 was made official by IRCC on 16 November, 2022. Candidates for Express Entry must have work experience that falls under NOC 2016 skill types 0, A, or B. IRCC has switched to the Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) system for NOC 2021.
With this modification, the outdated NOC system would be replaced with a new NOC and the Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) system. Candidates were invited to independently switch their NOCs to the new NOC 2021 if they already had a profile submitted to the IRCC Express Entry pool.
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