If you’ve considered hiring an employee using the Global Talent Stream, you may have heard of the Global Talent Occupations List. In this post, we’ll discuss what the Global Talent Occupations List is, which occupations are on it and how to find out if a job you are hiring for will qualify for one of the occupations.

The Global Talent Stream Category B

The Global Talent Stream is divided into two categories - A and B. For a rundown of each, see the short video I created below and then continue reading to better understand Category B and the occupations list:

Category B is the most popular and easiest category to apply under because the only requirement is that you are hiring for an occupation listed on the Global Talent Occupations List (unlike category A, which has many more requirements). If you want to learn more about the Global Talent Stream application in general, check out our blog post here.

The Global Talent Occupations List

To be eligible under category B, the foreign worker you are thinking of sponsoring must fall under 1 of the 13 occupations on the Global Talent Occupations List, which are listed below with their respective NOC codes. Note that the job title doesn’t have to be an exact match, and in the next section we’ll explain how to determine whether you qualify under the specific NOC code: 

• Computer and information systems managers (0213)

• Computer engineers (2147)

• Mathematicians and statisticians (2161)

• Information systems analysts and consultants (2171)

• Database analysts and data administrators (2172)

• Software engineers and designers (2173)

• Computer programmers and interactive media developers (2174)

• Web designers and developers (2175)

• Computer network technicians (2281)

• Producers and creative directors for visual effects and video games (2283)

• Digital media designers (5131)

• Information systems testing technicians (5241)

How To Find Out If Your Candidate Is On The Global Talent Occupations List

To find out if a candidate falls under one of the occupations on the Global Talent Occupations List, pick the NOC code above that is closest to the role you are hiring for. Next, go to the Canada’s National Occupational Classification website and type in either their title or the NOC(s) code you think is the best fit.

Note: if there are 2 NOC codes that it may fall under, we suggest trying them both to see which is the stronger match.

Take a close look at the NOC page and make sure that the job description and requirements are in line with your candidate, and that at least half of the “main duties” listed for the NOC code line up with the job description you are hiring for. If it does, it is likely a match - or if you’re trying out multiple NOC codes, look for the one that matches most closely with the description and has more matching “main duties”. You may not find a perfect fit for 1 NOC code, instead you want to make sure you’ve found the one that’s the best fit (as in, no other NOC code fits better).

What Is The Minimum Wage I Have To Pay?

There is a legal minimum wage requirement that you will have to pay to the foreign worker you are sponsoring. You can determine what that minimum is by visiting the Canadian government’s labour market information website, entering the NOC code of the employee you plan on hiring and the city they will be working out of.

You’ll then see 3 hourly wages show up - the “median” wage is what you’re looking for. Take the median hourly wage and multiply it by the number of hours the employee will be working in a year (2,080 if based on an 8-hour work day, or 1,950 if 7.5 hours) to get the annual salary requirement.

Note that if you pay all the other workers in your company that are under that NOC code more than the median salary, you will likely have to match that amount for the foreign worker you are sponsoring as well.

Conclusion

If you’re thinking of sponsoring a foreign tech worker through the Global Talent Stream, it’s important to understand the Global Talent Occupations List and how to calculate minimum required wages. Hopefully this article helped. And if you need help with a GTS application, make sure to connect with us here.