Québec Food Processing Workers Pilot Program

Québec Food Processing Workers Pilot Program – Eligibility

Employment & Work Experience

To be eligible, you must:

• have an valid job in an eligible occupation/sector at the time you apply, and
• have an valid work experience in an eligible occupation/sector for at least 24 of the 36 months before you submit your application.

To be considered valid, the job and the work experience must be:

• full-time, for a minimum of 30 hours a week,
• legally performed in Québec, and
• remunerated.

To be eligible, the job and the work experience must be :

• in one of the following occupations, under the National Occupational Classification (NOC):
  • NOC 94141 – Industrial Butchers and Meat Cutters, Poultry Preparers and Related Workers
  • NOC 95106 – Labourers in Food and Beverage Processing
  • NOC 95107 – Labourers in Fish and Seafood Processing
  • NOC 65311 – Specialty Cleaners
  • NOC 94140 – Machine and Process Operators in Food and Beverage Processing
  • NOC 85100 – Labourers in the care of livestock, but only the job title chicken gatherer
  • NOC 94142 – Workers in fish and seafood processing plants

AND

• in one of the eligible sectors under the North American Industry Classification System  (NAICS):
  • NAICS 311 – Food manufacturing
  • NAICS 3121 – Beverage manufacturing

Work experience cannot have been gained in one of the ineligible sectors (see Intention to Settle in Québec requirements below) and/or on behalf of a company over which you exercise legal or de facto control, directly or indirectly.

Language

You must demonstrate you have a knowledge of spoken French that corresponds to level 7 of the Québec scale of French proficiency levels.

There are three ways to demonstrate your knowledge of spoken French:

1. Transcripts proving successful completion of three years of full-time study, in Québec or abroad, at the secondary or post-secondary level, entirely in French. If the national language of instruction is not exclusively French, an attestation from the education institution confirming that the courses were taken in French is required.

2. Document provided by a Québec professional order attesting to knowledge of spoken French, either (i) a valid or expired within the last two years regular permit to practice or (ii) an attestation proving that you have passed the Office québécois de la langue française exam for professional orders within the last two years.
3. Language test results or diplomas accepted by the MIFI attesting to your knowledge of French.

Education

To be eligible, you must have a diploma corresponding at least to a high school diploma or a Québec vocational diploma, obtained in a full-time program of study lasting at least one year.

Age

At the time your application is submitted, you must be at least 18 years old.

Intention to Settle in Québec

You must intend to reside in Québec and work in a job where you do not have direct or indirect control. Employment and work experience in certain ineligible sectors is not permitted:

• Payday loans, cheque cashing or pawnbroking; 
• Production, distribution or sale of pornographic or sexually explicit products, or services related to the sex industry, such as nude or erotic dancing, escort services or erotic massages.

Financial Self-Sufficiency

You must demonstrate the ability to support yourself and your immediate family members financially for the first three months upon obtaining permanent residence.

The minimum required funds are set below and depend on your family size.