Overview

Tech draws are a new Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) opportunity that falls under the Human Capital Priorities Stream. The purpose is to identify people with technological skills in the Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Express Entry pool.

Through this dedicated approach, we’re helping to make it easier for businesses in the technology sector to recruit top talent from around the world.

Tech draws

The OINP will be searching the Express Entry pool to find candidates who may:

If we identify you in the pool, you will receive a Notification of Interest (NOI) in your IRCC online account. Receiving a NOI does not necessarily mean that you qualify for one of our streams. You are responsible for reviewing program guides to confirm your eligibility.

If you receive a Notification of Interest (NOI)

You may submit an online application to the OINP if you qualify under Ontario’s Express Entry Human Capital Priorities Stream. You must submit your application within 45 calendar days of receiving your NOI.

Your application will be processed and a decision to grant or refuse your application will be made in accordance with the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015 and its regulations.

See how many NOIs we’ve issued to date.

List of targeted National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes

  • Data Scientists (NOC 21211)
  • Software engineers and designers (NOC 21231)
  • Computer systems developers and programmers (NOC 21230)
  • Software developers and programmers (NOC 21232)
  • Web developers and programmers (NOC 21234)
  • Web designers (NOC 21233)
  • Database analysts and data administrators (NOC 21223)
  • Computer and information systems managers (NOC 20012)
  • Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers (NOC 21311)

To be eligible for nomination, applicants must demonstrate work experience in one of the eligible NOC codes. Your application may be refused if you do not demonstrate work experience in one of the eligible NOC codes.

How we chose the eligible occupations

To ensure that this initiative meets the needs of Ontario employers, we engaged with stakeholders across the province through a survey and face-to-face consultations. This helped us choose priority occupations for the targeted technology occupations draws.

In addition to these tech draws, we also meet employer priorities through targeted priority occupation draws for non-tech priority occupations.

Employers gave their feedback on their current labour needs and hiring practices, including their need for specific information and communication technology skills and occupations.

Support for businesses

If you are a tech employer interested in finding out more about using immigration to fill your labour market needs, the OINP’s Business Immigration Services team can help. The team takes an active role in helping employers find talent solutions with immigration, including:

  • support in understanding federal and provincial immigration pathways
  • info sessions, in-person or teleconference meetings
  • dedicated staff to help employers fill labour shortages, hire foreign talent, retain international students and get skilled workers faster

If you’re interested in using immigration to fill a labour shortage, contact our Business Immigration Services team at business.immigration@ontario.ca.

Employers can also get up-to-date information about application processing times and nominations issued to date. Estimated processing time as of June 13, 2019, for the Human Capital Priorities stream is 30 to 60 days.

Contact us

Ask us a question via webform or by phone from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at: