Express Entry Draw 321: A Trades Draw on October 23

Key Takeaways for Express Entry Candidates

• Type of draw: Category-based: Trade Occupations
• Invitations issued: 1,800
• CRS score: 433
• Tie-breaking rule: March 12, 2024 at 14:30:36 UTC
• Prediction for the next draw: Category-Based Draw on October 24.
• Learn more about the changes proposed for the 2025 Express Entry categories.

Watch this reel for a quick breakdown of this week’s Express Entry draws:

Our Analysis of This Express Entry Draw

Today’s category-based trades draw is the second trades draw this year and the fourth trades draw ever (since these were introduced in mid-2023).

It’s also the equal largest trades draw — at 1,800 invitations. The last trades draw, in July 2024, also issued 1,800 invitations. Meanwhile, the trades draws we saw in 2023 were smaller — at 1,000 and 1,500. So, we are seeing an increase in the number of trades workers being invited to apply for Express Entry in 2024.

One other interesting note from today’s trades draw is the CRS cut-off. It decreased slightly from 436 to 433. While these cut-offs are both significantly lower than the cut-offs we’re seeing for the program-based draws, including the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) CRS which has been upwards of 509 in 2024, the cut-off did decrease this round. But the number of invitations was the same. This shows that there has been a slight decrease in competition among trades workers in the pool.

The draws we saw earlier this week, a PNP on Monday and CEC on Tuesday, resumes the recent trend of bi-weekly PNP draws after an unusual September that saw only three draws (one CEC, one PNP, and one French draw).

We noted in our post yesterday that it had been almost three months since we saw a category-based draw outside of draws for French speaking candidates. In July, we saw a run of draws for trades and healthcare workers over the course of just a few days. So, we are wondering if we will see further category-based draws this week — likely in healthcare and/or STEM, given that we have already seen a French draw this month.

What Do We Expect For The Rest Of October?

So far, 6,061 invitations have been issued. As we close out October, based on past months, we could still see another category-based draw issuing between 1,000 and 2,000 invitations.

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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