Work Experience Hours to Years
Enter your jobs to see how many years of work experience you have — and what may count toward the Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class, Skilled Trades and CRS.
Enter your jobs
Add each job from the last 10 years. Different rules count different parts of it, so a few short questions per job tell us what can count — you can skip any and still get an estimate.
Job 1
Counted only as "possible" until you pick an occupation — we never assume it.
Hours above 30 a week do not shorten the time needed.
A few more questions appear once you add the hours and dates.
Jobs that overlap in time are never double-counted: for any period, IRCC counts at most one full-time week (30 hours).
Usually the day you expect to submit your permanent residence application — IRCC counts the program look-back windows from the application date, and CRS from the day points are assigned. If those dates differ, run it for each. Defaults to today.
* A preliminary estimate from what you entered. Your work must also match the NOC’s lead statement and main duties — an RCIC can confirm.
How IRCC counts your work experience
IRCC defines full-time work as 30 hours a week, and one year of full-time work as 1,560 hours total. That is the unit every Express Entry program measures against — not calendar time, and not whatever your contract happens to call "full-time."
You do not need one continuous full-time job to reach it. IRCC lets you combine part-time work, or work at more than one job, as long as the total adds up:
- One job, full-time: 30 hours a week for 12 months = 1,560 hours.
- One job, part-time: 15 hours a week for 24 months is the same 1,560 hours, spread over twice the calendar time.
- Multiple concurrent jobs: the hours from jobs held at the same time add together toward the same weekly total.
There is one hard cap on that last option: IRCC does not count any hours worked above 30 a week, however many jobs they come from. Two concurrent jobs at 20 hours a week each count as 30 full-time hours that week, not 40 — the calculator above applies this cap automatically so it cannot silently overcount overlapping work.
How many years does each Express Entry program need?
The hours-to-years conversion is the same everywhere, but the minimum, the lookback window, and where the work had to happen all differ by program:
| Program | Minimum | Where it must be gained |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) | 1 year, continuous | Anywhere — foreign or Canadian |
| Canadian Experience Class (CEC) | 1 year, within the last 3 years | In Canada only, under authorised temporary-resident status |
| Federal Skilled Trades (FST) | 2 years, within the last 5 years | Anywhere you were legally qualified to practise the trade |
Not sure which of the three you qualify under, or whether your occupation is eligible at all? The program eligibility checker tests all three requirements at once, and the NOC finder confirms your job's TEER level, which decides which programs your occupation can even be assessed under.
What does not count
Self-employment does not count toward the minimum requirements for these programs, and neither does work experience gained while you were a full-time student — including a co-op work term. The work also has to be skilled: NOC TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 for FSW and CEC, and a listed skilled trade for FST. TEER 4 and 5 experience does not qualify for any of the three programs, however many hours you worked.
Rules verified 2026-09-04 against IRCC's published Federal Skilled Worker eligibility criteria. This tool applies that arithmetic to the dates you enter; it is general information, not a determination that a specific job qualifies as skilled work.
Frequently Asked Questions
1,560 hours, based on 30 hours a week counting as full-time. You can reach that total in one full-time job, in one part-time job spread over more calendar time, or across several jobs held at once — the calculator above handles all three.
Yes, but IRCC does not count any combined hours above 30 a week. Two 20-hour-a-week jobs held concurrently count as 30 full-time hours that week, not 40 — the calculator applies this cap automatically for any overlapping date ranges you enter.
No. Self-employment does not count toward the minimum work-experience requirements for FSW, CEC or FST, and neither does work experience gained while you were a full-time student, including a co-op work term.
It depends on the program. Federal Skilled Worker experience can be gained anywhere. Canadian Experience Class experience must be gained in Canada, under authorised temporary-resident status, within the 3 years before you apply. Federal Skilled Trades experience can be gained anywhere you were legally qualified to practise the trade, within the 5 years before you apply. The program eligibility checker tests all three at once.
Now that you know your experience, calculate your CRS score
Your Canadian and foreign work experience directly drives your CRS score in Express Entry.
📊 Calculate My CRS ScoreFree Tool · Official IRCC 1,560-hour rule · Supports multiple full- & part-time jobs · No sign-up required