The many different methods to build work experience for an easier ITA
Prospective and current Express Entry candidates have multiple different avenues to build eligible work experience for a category—and more easily obtain an ITA in the process, since category-based draws feature some of the lowest cut-off scores of any selection type.
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Following the late February 2026 update to Canada’s Express Entry categories, candidates now need at least 12 months of work in an eligible occupation to qualify for these special selections, up from the initial requirement of six months.
What many may not realize, however, is that there is a lot of leeway in terms of how this work experience can be accumulated, as category-eligible work
Can consist of full-time or equivalent part-time work; and
Does not have to be continuous.
This article delves into the key factors candidates should consider when building work experience and provides four examples of methods they can use.
What to keep in mind when accumulating work experience for an Express Entry category
Before delving into the different modalities of work, it is important to note key considerations regarding eligible work experience for an Express Entry category and for the system in general.
Example 1: Full-time, continuous one year of work experience
Nadia is 29 and lives in Dubai. She is an Express Entry candidate but wants to build eligibility for the education category.
She checks IRCC’s Education category list and picks the occupation that most closely corresponds to the work that she wants to do: Early childhood educators and assistants — NOC 42202 (TEER 2).
Because category eligibility requires 12 months within the past 3 years in a single occupation from the category list (and the experience doesn’t have to be continuous), Nadia decides she’ll focus her efforts on claiming work experience within NOC 42202.
She works full-time and continuously.
Nadia structures her work to clearly meet the “full-time” standard used across Express Entry work calculations: 30 hours/week.
Within the next year, she completes 12 months of full-time paid work with two different employers:
Employer A (licensed childcare center): March 1, 2025, → October 31, 2025
30 hours/week, paid wages, job title “Early Childhood Educator Assistant”
Employer B (preschool): November 1, 2025 → April 15, 2026
30 hours/week, paid wages, same core role and duties
That’s 12 months of full-time experience (with a short gap between jobs, which is fine for category eligibility).
Example 2: Full-time in six-month periods over three years
Ravi is 30 and lives in Poland. He wants to enter the Express Entry pool and thinks that he can be an eligible candidate under the STEM category, based on his background as a computer engineer.
He checks IRCC’s STEM occupations list and chooses an occupation that most closely matches his expertise: Cybersecurity specialists — NOC 21220 (TEER 1).
STEM category eligibility requires at least 12 months of full-time work experience (or equivalent part-time) within the past three years, in a single listed occupation.
However, this work experience doesn’t need to be continuous (and can be gained in Canada or abroad).
Ravi decides he will work on a contract basis as an employee for two clients who require cybersecurity services. He structures each job to clearly meet the “full-time” standard used in Express Entry work calculations: 30 hours/week.
Within the three-year window, he completes two separate six-month periods of full-time, paid work (same occupation):
Employer A (financial services company): April 1, 2024 → September 30, 2024
30 hours/week, paid wages
Job title: “Cybersecurity Analyst”
Duties are cybersecurity-focused (monitoring threats, incident response support, security controls)—kept consistent with NOC 21220
Break: October 1, 2024 → August 31, 2025 (about 11 months)
During this time, Ravi takes time off (no work claimed during this period) to explore the Polish hot springs in Zakopane.
Employer B (IT services firm): September 1, 2025 → February 28, 2026
30 hours/week, paid wages
Job title: “Security Operations Specialist”
He makes sure the core duties are still cybersecurity specialist duties, so he can claim the same NOC 21220 occupation
That gives Ravi 12 months total of full-time work experience within the past three years, and the year-long break doesn’t hurt his eligibility because the STEM category experience does not need to be continuous.
His work experience can therefore qualify under the category.
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Example three: Equivalent part-time experience
Miguel is 32 and lives in Manila. He’s already an Express Entry candidate, but he wants to build eligibility for a trade occupations category-based draw, because he feels it will increase his chances of getting an ITA.
He checks IRCC’s trade occupations list and picks an occupation that matches the work he can easily transition into, since he holds a Bachelor of Sciences in Civil Engineering from the University of the Philippines: Plumbers — NOC 72300 (TEER 2).
Trade-category eligibility requires 12 months of full-time work (or an equal amount of part-time work) within the past three years, in a single eligible occupation. Miguel decides he will focus on only claiming experience in NOC 72300.
However, he can only work part-time (15 hours/week) due to family commitments, meaning that it will take him longer to meet the work experience requirements.
At this pace, it will take Miguel two years to make the work experience requirement for the trades category.
He works as an employee for a plumbing contractor between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2026. His work is:
15 hours/week, paid wages
Under the job title: “Plumber (Part-time)”
Consistent with the duties listed under Plumbers (NOC 72300) in the NOC system (installation/maintenance/repairs, reading work orders, fitting/connecting pipes, testing systems).
The math (how this equals one full-time year):
15 hours/week × 104 weeks (two years) = 1,560 hours
1,560 hours is the same as 30 hours/week × 52 weeks (one year full-time)
So, even though he never worked full-time, Miguel still reaches the “12 months full-time or equivalent part-time” threshold within the past three years, and he does it in one eligible trade occupation, allowing him to meet requirements for the trade category.
Example four: Doubling up on part-time work experience
Ayman is 31 and lives in Oman.
He’s already an Express Entry candidate, and he wants to build eligibility for the trades category by gaining qualifying experience in a listed trade occupation.
He checks IRCC’s Trades category list and chooses an occupation that matches his background: Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics — NOC 72402 (TEER 2).
Ayman decides he will focus on claiming experience only under NOC 72402, however he is having trouble finding a full-time job within his occupation. As a result, he decides that he will try to find multiple part-time work positions to try to meet the work experience requirements within just a year.
Ayman builds his schedule around the standard Express Entry full-time benchmark: 30 hours per week. (That way, he’s clearly meeting “full-time” through combined part-time hours.)
Within a 12-month period, he works part-time for two employers at the same time, in the same occupation:
Employer A (commercial HVAC contractor): May 1, 2025 → April 30, 2026:
15 hours/week, paid wages
Job title: “HVAC Service Technician (Part-time)”
Duties: preventive maintenance, diagnostics, replacing components, testing systems
Employer B (building maintenance company): May 1, 2025 → April 30, 2026:
15 hours/week, paid wages
Job title: “Refrigeration Mechanic (Part-time)”
Duties: service calls, troubleshooting, recovery/charging, leak checks, system performance testing
With these two positions, working concurrently, Ayman’s total combined weekly schedule = 15 hours for employer A + 15 hours for employer B. This adds up to 30 hours/week.
That means Ayman completes the equivalent of one full-time year of work experience in 12 months, even though it’s split between two employers, because Express Entry assesses part-time experience using a 30 hours/week full-time equivalent benchmark.
As a result, his work experience remains valid under Express Entry, and he qualifies for the Trades category.
See your eligibility for all Express Entry streams and categories
