Home Child Care and Support Worker Pilots - Your Road To Permanent Residency

If you’ve worked as a child care worker or caregiver, and are on the lookout for carer jobs in Canada, you’ll be happy to find that there are two pilot programs just for you. When it comes to home child care and home support positions in Canada, there are thousands.

Launched in June 2019, the Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker Pilots are set to run for five years, enabling qualified childcare and home support service providers, as well as their families to live and work in Canada, and eventually obtain permanent residency. As an experienced home care support worker, you could earn just over $50000 per year. Bear in mind that these are separate programs, so when you apply, you’ll have to apply under the pilot that applies to your skill set. Your permanent residency will not be approved if you select the wrong one. Let’s check which one you are eligible to apply for.

Home Child Care Provider Pilot

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Home child care providers, who fall under the Canada National Occupational Classification code (NOC) 4411, offer assistance to parents who need an extra pair of hands when it comes to taking care of their children. This program is open to au pairs, nannies, babysitters, foster parents and parent’s helpers.

Duties for this group include:

  • Supervising and caring for children in your employer's or own home
  • Bathing, dressing and feeding babies and children
  • Possibly some housekeeping duties
  • Ensuring a place of safety for the child
  • Playing a role in development of children by organizing educational activities and excursions
  • Transporting children to and from school

NOTE: Early childhood teachers and assistants are not included in this group. They fall under NOC code 4214.

Employment requirements

You would probably have to have completed high school, as well as a child care or training program. You'd have to have suitable experience in child care or home management. Having a first aid certificate will be advantageous.

The Home Support Worker Pilot

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Home child care providers, who fall under the Canada National Occupational Classification code (NOC) 4411, offer assistance to parents who need an extra pair of hands when it comes to taking care of their children. This program is open to au pairs, nannies, babysitters, foster parents and parent’s helpers.

Duties for this group include:

  • Supervising and caring for children in your employer's or own home
  • Bathing, dressing and feeding babies and children
  • Possibly some housekeeping duties
  • Ensuring a place of safety for the child
  • Playing a role in development of children by organizing educational activities and excursions
  • Transporting children to and from school

Employment requirements

  1. High school education
  2. Home management experience
  3. College or other courses in home support
  4. First aid certification
  5. Completion of a training program that will equip you with skills to care for the elderly, persons with disabilities

Applications

Applications for the Home Child Care Provider Pilot are closed to new applications. The Canadian Government received 2750 applications for this pilot by January 2022. Because of this, no more applications will be accepted for the year. New applications will be accepted from January 1, next year. BUT don't let that worry you. It's best to firstly see if you are eligible for this program. If you are, prepare and submit when the applications are open again.

Issues from previous similar pilots solved by the The Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker Pilots:

Workers that fall in these groups can now apply for more jobs. They’d previously be bound to just one family. Family members, such as spouses and children can now join these workers and will be able to apply for open work permits, as well as student permits.

Who is eligible for these pilot programs?

You will be able to apply for the Home Child Care Provider Pilot or Home Support Worker Pilot, if:

  1. Your offer of employment is a valid one
  2. You are qualified
  3. You pass the language requirements
  4. Are eligible to enter Canada

What is a Valid offer of employment?

You will have to be in possession of an official employment offer from a Canadian employer. This document should confirm that the job will be a permanent, 30-hour per week one. The offer excludes employment in the province of Quebec. For the Home Childcare Pilot, the children you’ll care for, should be under 18 years old. You can do the job from your home or the employer’s.

The employment offer must:

  1. Come from a Canadian person
  2. Come from an individual
  3. Not come from an embassy or other official office
  4. Indicate a legitimate need for your services.

What if the employment offer is from a relative?

The exact level of inspection will apply if your potential employer is a relative. The application must be examined to motivate an assessment of the eligibility and legitimacy of the offer and relationship.

How to check whether a job offer is genuine

Offers of employment must be investigated to protect home child care and home support providers. This is also done to validate the credibility of the pilots. Proof that a job offer is valid and genuine may include a genuine need for assistance. This can be proof of a school-age child or sick person, committing to a wage from the beginning and/or offering decent accommodation..

Competency

If you’ve provided proof of at least 24 months of eligible Canadian work experience in your application, you won’t have to do an assessment to prove that you are suitable for these jobs. Applicants who have not obtained at least 24 months of qualifying Canadian work experience must demonstrate that they are able to perform the work described in the lead statement of the occupational description of the NOC. Failure to do so may result in permit refusal.

What Are The Education Requirements?

Applicants must provide evidence that they have a Canadian one-year post-secondary (or higher) educational qualification. Anyone who obtained qualifications outside of Canada, should have qualifications that are equivalent to Canadian standards.

Home Support Worker Pilot applicants will have to have at least a high school education, along with suitable training for the positions they plan to fill. For the Home Childcare Provider Pilot, you may also be up for consideration if you are able to demonstrate any childcare or home support experience and training. You may have to complete a 12-month course in Canada. For Home Support Worker Pilot, past experience or training in home management will count in your favour. You’ll probably also have to complete a 12-month course in Canada.

Language Competency

You will have to take a language test to prove you meet the minimum language requirements. You’ll have to take the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) for English and the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadien (NCLC) assessment, for French.

How To Apply

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You’ll need to apply for your work permit application and permanent residence paperwork together. Should you meet the pilot requirements you’ll get the temporary work permit. This will allow you to get the work experience needed for a permanent residence application.

As a child care provider or home care provider, once you make the decision to live and work in Canada you’ll find a world of new opportunities waiting for you. Make sure you tick all the boxes before you apply, to solidify your road to Canadian permanent residency.

Let’s get Your Move To Canada Started

With all the Canadian programs, visas and pilots, things are bound to become somewhat overwhelming and confusing. Our accredited Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) will work with you to achieve the best possible outcome throughout the application process. Our RCICs are registered with the ICCRC and are legally permitted to assist you by evaluating your eligibility, reviewing all documentation, and submitting it to the Canadian government on your behalf.