Regulation 78 — Federal Skilled Trades — language requirements
Text of provision
(1) Points shall be awarded, to a maximum of 25, for a skilled worker’s Canadian educational credential or equivalency assessment submitted in support of an application, as follows:
(a) 5 points for a secondary school credential;
(b) 15 points for a one-year post-secondary program credential;
(c) 19 points for a two-year post-secondary program credential;
(d) 21 points for a post-secondary program credential of three years or longer;
(e) 22 points for two or more post-secondary program credentials, one of which must be a credential issued on completion of a post-secondary program of three years or longer;
(f) 23 points for a university-level credential at the master’s level or an entry-to-practice professional degree for an occupation listed in TEER Category 1 of the National Occupational Classification for which licensing by a provincial regulatory body is required; and
(g) 25 points for a university-level credential at the doctoral level.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), points
(a) except as set out in paragraph (1)(e), shall not be awarded cumulatively on the basis of more than one educational credential; and
(b) shall be awarded on the basis of the Canadian educational credentials or equivalency assessments submitted in support of an application for a permanent resident visa that result in the highest number of points.
Plain English
Regulation 78 requires FSTC applicants to meet minimum language benchmarks — generally CLB/NCLC 4 for listening and speaking and CLB/NCLC 4 for reading and writing, which are lower than the FSW minimum. This reflects the view that trades occupations require lower levels of written and academic language than professional occupations.
Practical effect
The lower language threshold makes FSTC accessible to a broader range of skilled workers whose first language is not English or French. However, candidates with higher language scores generate more CRS points, so achieving the minimum CLB 4 threshold may not be enough to compete in the Express Entry pool at current CRS cutoffs. Trade workers should aim for the highest language scores they can achieve to maximise CRS competitiveness.