Welcome to the beautiful weaving world, where threads and dreams mesh to create something magical. Whether you’re a passionate weaving lover or you love snuggling up on a cold evening, wrapped in the luxurious embrace of a woven blanket, this experience is all about superb softness and detailed craftsmanship!
To many, weaving is just a hobby they enjoy during their leisure time; however, it may appeal to some people to pursue a career, allowing them to merge their hobby with their professional life. Learning about opportunities like this may help you determine if it’s a good choice.
Weavers are in high demand throughout Canada’s manufacturing sector, and the demand for skilled workers in this category has rapidly increased during the pandemic, which is expected to continue in the coming years. In this article, we explain what weavers do, outline the various ways to immigrate to Canada as a weaver, and discuss the average salary for these professionals.
What is a Weaver?
Weavers, knitters, and other workers in fabric-making occupations work machines to process yarn or thread into woven, non-woven, and knitted products like cloth, lace, carpets, rope, industrial fabric, hose, and knitted garments or bed cover and embroidered fabric. It also includes workers who perform activities such as reproducing patterns, drawing in and tying warps, and setting up looms.
They often work in the textile industry and garment and mattress manufacturing companies. There are many opportunities for career advancement in these employment areas.
Weaver Duties
As a weaver, you may perform some or all of the following duties:
- Set up looms or other processing machines.
- Read loom patterns and prepare loom pattern mechanisms for processing.
- Work with looms to weave yarn or thread into textile fabrics or products.
- Operate machines that produce twine, ropes, or nets.
- Handle batteries for knitting machines to produce knitted fabric, hosiery, garments, and other products.
- Run carpet tufting machines, making needle-punch and other machines to produce textile products.
- Operate large automatic multi-needle machines to embroider material or to sew lengths of several layers of material to make yard goods, quilts, or mattress coverings.
- Patrol machines, check fabrics or products for defects, and confirm efficient operation.
- Look into machine stoppages.
- Repair minor mechanical problems such as broken or defective needles.
- Let the supervisor or repairers know about mechanical malfunctions.
Pathways to Immigrate to Canada and Apply for Permanent Residency as Weavers
94131 – Weavers, knitters, and other fabric-making occupations belong to T.E.E.R. 4. These occupations usually require a secondary school diploma or several weeks of on-the-job training.
Here are some prospects for permanent residency open to people with valid job offers and work experience in NOC/TEER 4 and 5.
1. Provincial Nomination Program (PNP)
The provincial nominee program allows Canada’s provinces and territories to design immigration programs according to economic and population growth strategies. They are non-expedited entry systems, and most Canadian provinces and territories often take part, except Quebec and Nunavut.
Here is a list of the provinces and their programs:
- British Columbia: Skilled immigration category for entry-level and semi-skilled.
- Alberta: Alberta Opportunity Stream.
- Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan experience category, Saskatchewan hard to fill skills pilot.
- Manitoba: Manitoba Skilled Worker Flow.
- Ontario: Job vacancies for in-demand skilled workers from Ontario.
- Nova Scotia: Nova Scotia In-Demand Occupations.
- New Brunswick: New Brunswick skilled worker with employer support.
- Prince Edward Island: Prince Edward Island Labor Impact Category – Critical Worker Flow.
- Newfoundland and Labrador: Newfoundland and Labrador skilled worker category.
- Yukon: Yukon, critical impact worker.
- Northwest Territories: Semi-qualified employer-led occupations of the Northwest Territories
2. Quebec Migration Program
The province of Quebec handles its immigration program separately. It is known as the Pilot Permanent Immigration Program for Food Industry Workers, which provides a pathway to permanent immigration for French-speaking workers in the food processing sector. The program has specific eligibility criteria: age, education, work experience, and language proficiency.
3. Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (A.I.P.)
The Atlantic immigration pilot program is a federal immigration program that permits employers in the Atlantic provinces to employ foreign talent without requiring a Labor Market Impact Assessment (L.M.I.A.). Atlantic Canada comprises four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. In addition, the Atlantic Intermediate Skills Program category of A.I.P. is created explicitly for workers in NOC TEER 4.
4. Pilot programs for family child care providers and in-home support workers
These federal immigration programs are created primarily for nannies and providers of parenting assistance and in-home support. Qualified candidates must meet specific requirements, such as work experience, language proficiency, and education.
5. Pilot program for immigration in the agri-food industry
This federal program is designed for individuals in eligible industries engaged in meat processing, greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture production, including mushroom production and agriculture. As a candidate, you must have Canadian work experience, language proficiency, and high school education.
6. Pilot Immigration Program in Rural and Northern Areas (R.N.I.P.)
The R.N.I.P. permits selected communities to nominate new residents for Canadian immigration. Eligibility criteria include work experience, education, language proficiency, and community-specific requirements.
Working Environment for Weavers
Weavers usually work in a regular, controlled indoor environment. Meanwhile, their work environment may contain airborne particles such as textile dust.
They may also work with equipment, instruments, machinery, or power/hand tools that may cause harm or injury. Additionally, noise in the workplace may cause distraction or hearing loss.
Salary of Weavers in Canada
The high demand for skilled workers in this field has also resulted in competitive salaries and excellent benefits in Canada. According to Talent.com, the average weaver salary in Canada is $35,100 per year or $18 per hour.
Entry-level positions earn $29,900 annually, while most experienced workers make up to $39,180 annually. However, the salary will depend on experience, location, and specialization. Still, they tend to be higher than average in this industry.
Benefits of Weaving
Eye-hand coordination and concentration
Weaving isn’t just about crafting captivating textiles; it’s a symphony of hand movements and visual focus. As each weft passes through the warp, your fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination get a severe workout. This defines turning weaving into fine art and your fingers into nimble dance partners.
Problem-solving skills
For weavers, it is like navigating a maze of design choices and color combinations, from planning the perfect pattern to selecting the ideal shades and materials. Weavers fix design puzzles and troubleshoot like pros; they sharpen their problem-solving skills, exercise that critical thinking muscle, and become masters of adaptability.
Understanding of patterns and sequencing
Weaving is an exquisite dance with patterns and threads. Weavers often follow detailed designs and master the art of thread placement; they cultivate skills that extend far beyond the loom.
This understanding of patterns becomes a foundation for future literacy and numeracy development, unlocking the door to mathematical thinking and enhancing reading comprehension. Therefore, weave away and watch as the beauty of patterns weaves its way into various disciplines, enriching your journey through mathematics and the written word.
Language skills
As earlier described, weaving is an art that involves working with patterns and series of threads. Weavers follow these patterns and understand the order of thread placement, and they develop skills essential for later development in literacy and numeracy.
You can apply this understanding of patterns to various disciplines, such as mathematics and reading comprehension. So, by immersing yourself in the world of weaving, you not only create beautiful textiles but also sharpen your cognitive abilities, making connections that extend beyond the loom into other areas of learning.
Creativity and relaxation
Weaving is a realm of self-expression and creativity. It allows weavers to explore endless possibilities with colors, textures, and patterns, offering artistic freedom.
Additionally, weaving brings a calm and reflective state, promoting relaxation and reducing stress. Immerse yourself in weaving, where creativity knows no bounds and tranquillity weaves its way into every stitch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the N.O.C. update important?
Choosing the correct N.O.C. is a crucial step in immigrating to Canada. Whether you’re applying to Canada through an economic immigration program such as the Federal Skilled Worker Program of Express Entry or a temporary program such as the Temporary Foreign Worker Program — your approval hangs mainly on a correct choice of N.O.C. code.
What is the T.E.E.R. 4 Category?
To be eligible as teer 4, you must complete secondary school, have several weeks of on-the-job training with some secondary school education, or have experience in a related occupation from T.E.E.R. 5.
What is Canada’s N.O.C. system?
The National Occupational Classification (N.O.C.) is a classification of occupations used by the Government of Canada for various purposes, including immigration. The Government states that the hierarchical N.O.C. system provides a standardized framework for organizing the world of work.