Which jobs qualify for the West Kootenay RCIP in 2026?

West Kootenay scores the offer in two parts and caps the total at 25. The first part is the employer's sector: 20 points for Health, for Education, law and social, community and government services, and for Trades, transport and equipment operators; 15 for Business, finance and administration and for Manufacturing and utilities; 10 for Sales and service.

The second part is a bonus for an occupation on the 2026 list: 0, 5 or 10 points. So a registered nurse at a health employer scores 20 plus 5, which is 25, and a cook at a restaurant scores 10 plus 0. There is no wage bonus. The West Kootenay calculator applies the grid to your answers.

Ten points: financial auditors and accountants (NOC 11100).

Five points: accounting technicians and bookkeepers (12200), administrative assistants (13110), registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (31301), licensed practical nurses (32101), nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (33102), social and community service workers (42201), early childhood educators and assistants (42202), retail and wholesale trade managers (60020), restaurant and food service managers (60030), chefs (62200), insurance agents and brokers (63100), construction millwrights and industrial mechanics (72400), automotive service technicians (72410), transport truck drivers (73300) and process control and machine operators in food and beverage processing (94140).

Zero points, but still on the list: home support workers and caregivers (44101), cooks (63200), bakers (63202), hotel front desk clerks (64314), food and beverage servers (65200), painters and decorators (73112), material handlers (75101), construction trades helpers and labourers (75110) and other labourers in processing, manufacturing and utilities (95109). Finding your NOC and TEER explains how to match a job to a code.

Seven occupations on the 2025 list were removed for 2026: general office support workers (14100), career development practitioners (41321), food counter attendants and kitchen helpers (65201), light duty cleaners (65310), carpenters (72310), heavy-duty equipment mechanics (72401) and other trades helpers and labourers (75119).

Every offer must be for at least 30 hours a week and pay at least $21.00 an hour or the Job Bank minimum for the occupation, whichever is higher. Some occupations carry their own conditions. Food and beverage servers, material handlers, construction trades helpers and other labourers need work experience in the same NOC. Transport truck drivers must do at least 75 percent of their driving inside the region. Private households are not eligible employers for home support workers.

Restaurant and food service managers and food and beverage servers are each capped at 5 percent of 2026 recommendations. Excluded employers include fast food and other counter-service businesses, gas stations unless the site has a distinct full-service grocery store, and law firms.

A job that is not on the list can be filed as a secondary NOC by a designated employer in a priority sector. It earns the sector points and no bonus, and the community limits secondary NOCs to a small share of recommendations.

The floor is 50 points with at least 10 in each of the five factors, and that only gets a file assessed. In the June 2026 intake the community received 281 applications, assessed about 120 and recommended 70, and the lowest score it assessed was 91. For the September intake, staff reviewed files with a preliminary score of 93 or more and checked those at 91 or 92, which the community said was not a final cut-off.

West Kootenay says it will not keep a pool after the September 2026 intake, so a new application will be needed in 2027. It says the next intake will be in 2027, with dates not yet set. Candidates on visitor status are not eligible under its current process.

IRCC's requirements sit underneath the community's list: at least one year (1,560 hours) of related work experience in the past three years, a language test at the level set by the job offer's TEER, a Canadian credential or an assessed foreign equivalent, and settlement funds unless you already work in Canada on a valid permit. Our RCIP page sets them out, and the West Kootenay calculator checks them before it scores you.

Your employer files the application. Employers with fewer than 50 staff can file two to three a year and larger employers four to six, with health care and child care employers exempt. The community asks candidates and immigration representatives not to contact designated employers for a job offer unless a position has been publicly advertised.

The pilot becomes a permanent program on January 1, 2027. The community had not published a 2027 occupation list when we checked on November 11, 2026, so this guide describes the 2026 list.

Which sector the employer is in, because that is most of the job offer score. Whether the NOC earns a bonus and carries a same-NOC or other condition. Then your total against the 91 assessed in June, not the 50 floor. The figures in this guide come from the community's pages as we last checked them on November 4, 2026.