Express Entry Draw 300 – 1,800 Trades Workers Invited To Apply

Key Takeaways for Express Entry Candidates

• Type of draw: Category-based targeting Trade occupations
• Invites issued: 1,800
• CRS score: 436
• Tie-breaking rule: July 16, 2023
• Prediction for the next draw: The week of 15 July 2024
• Learn more about changes proposed for the 2025 Express Entry categories. 

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Our Analysis of This Week’s Express Entry Draw

This is the first Trades Occupation Express Entry draw for 2024, and the second draw so far in July. Given the tie breaking rule is so far in the past, it seems likely that there are many trades applicants in the EE pool with this CRS score. So the tie-breaking rule may cause some heartache for applicants who entered the pool after July 16 last year.

From May 1, 2024, we have seen 5 draws, including two in May and just one in June. Of those 5 draws, 3 were Provincial Nominee Program rounds and one was a Canadian Experience Class round. This is the first category-based draw we have seen since April 2024, which is surprising given that earlier this year, an IRCC internal memo suggested that it was going to prioritize category-based draws this year.

Encouragingly, the first draw this week took place on a Tuesday less than two weeks from the previous round, which was a PNP draw on Wednesday June 19. We hope this signals a move back to a regular schedule, with draws taking place every second Tuesday. However, it is too early to determine if this trend will re-emerge in 2024.

For those of you awaiting a general Express Entry draw, a provincial nomination comes with 600 additional points. The result in this week’s PNP round is not a sign that General Express Entry draws will have scores above 600 in the future.

Comparison To Previous Rounds

This is the first Trades Occupations draw for 2024 and the largest Trades Occupations draw ever. The previous round took place in December 2023, and invited 1,000 candidates with a CRS cut-off of 425 (which is lower than this draw). The first ever Trade Occupations draw took place on August 3, 2023 and invited 1,500 candidates with a CRS cut-off of 388.

Given that this round has a higher CRS and more candidates were invited, this shows that the competition is higher within the Trades Occupations pool.

For more information:

• Learn more about the latest Express Entry draws.
• Learn more about the state of the Express Entry pool.
• Learn when to expect the next Express Entry draw.

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