BC — Career Paths for Skilled Immigrants

About this award

Career Paths for Skilled Immigrants (CPSI) is a wraparound employment program — not a cash scholarship — that helps internationally trained skilled immigrants in BC get back into their trained profession. It is jointly funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Province of British Columbia, and delivered by a coalition of settlement agencies including ISSofBC, MOSAIC, Douglas College, Back in Motion, PICS, YWCA, Archway, KCRS, CVIMS, and ICA. The program exists because BC's labour market loses huge value when newly arrived doctors, engineers, accountants, and tradespeople end up in survival jobs — CPSI is the structured route back to professional work. What you receive is service-based: credential assessment, occupation-specific language training, funded skills upgrading or licensing courses, workshops, job-search support, and Canadian work experience through practicums or paid placements. The program runs in three streams. Stream 1 (high-demand priority occupations like tech, healthcare, engineering, and business) provides up to 24 months of support. Stream 2 (regulated professions requiring licensing) provides up to 22 months. Stream 3 (other unregulated BC occupations) provides up to 18 months. The support is bounded by stream length and is not renewable beyond the assigned window — once your placement and credentialling are complete, you exit the program. To qualify you must have become a permanent resident within the last decade (or be a refugee, protected person, or IRCC-approved permanent residency applicant), have at least one year of prior work experience, intermediate-to-advanced English, and be unemployed or underemployed. Apply by contacting the regional service partner closest to you on welcomebc.ca.

Who qualifies

Permanent resident within the last 10 years OR protected person/refugee OR PR-approved-in-principle. Minimum 1 year of home-country professional experience. Intermediate-to-advanced English. Currently unemployed or underemployed in BC.

This is what the award's own page said when we last checked. Rules change, so confirm with the provider before you apply.

• ✓ Permanent resident, protected person or refugee
• ✓ Open to certificate, professional or college students
• ✓ Resident of British Columbia

How to apply

1. 1

   Read the award's own page

   Check you meet every requirement, and note each document they ask for.

2. 2

   Apply when you're ready

   This one takes applications all year.

More details