Maple News reports that the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) issued invitations to 500 candidates to apply for provincial nomination through an occupation-specific draw targeting priority workers, spanning five in-demand sectors: construction trades, healthcare, childcare, education, and veterinary care.
The invitations fall under BC’s Skills Immigration stream and represent the year’s 11th SI draw and the 19th round of selections overall.
The selections align with the province’s recently restructured nomination priorities, organized around two core objectives — care and build — aimed at attracting highly skilled talent while addressing critical labour shortages.
Construction trades drew the largest share of invitations in this round: 187 invitations across nine NOCs, with a minimum score of 88.
In the care category, childcare accounted for a large tranche of invitations (183) for a single NOC, with a minimum score of 102. Healthcare drew 124 invitations across 31 NOCs, with a minimum score of 84. Education attracted a smaller cohort, with five invitations across two NOCs and a minimum score of 68. Veterinary care accounted for six invitations across two NOCs, with a minimum score of 72.
Within targeted childcare, invitations were issued to early childhood educators (NOC 42202). Eligible candidates typically needed to hold an ECE certificate—either a one-year or five-year credential—issued by the ECE registry to be considered for a targeted invitation.
Looking ahead, BC’s PNP is likely to continue prioritizing care and build sectors to address ongoing labour shortages, issuing further rounds of invitations as the province aligns immigration intake with its workforce needs.