Irish cabinetmaker Gerard Minogue was recruited to Canada at a job expo in Dublin in 2012, when Canadian employers were desperately looking for foreign skilled-trade workers.

After three years of multiple work visas in Canada, Minogue and many others in the skilled trades who are here on temporary permits — the vast majority from the now defanged Celtic Tiger — are trying to become permanent residents. But they find themselves left in the lurch under Ottawa’s new Express Entry immigration system.

Immigration experts say the program favours those with formal post-secondary education and puts skilled-trade applicants at a disadvantage because their apprenticeships back home and Canadian provincial certifications count for very little.

“As long as you have a one-year college diploma, it’s easier for bar managers, administrative assistants and retail supervisors than for trades workers to be invited to immigrate under Express Entry,” said immigration consultant Roxanne McInnis Jessome. “Education is the missing link between a trades person and a non-trades worker.”

Ottawa launched the two-step selection system in January. Applicants are screened to enter a pool based on points allotted for their education, language, work experience and whether their skills are in short supply. They are then ranked against each other, and those with the highest scores are invited to immigrate.

A positive labour market impact assessment (LMIA) — a certificate proving there’s a shortage of a particular skill in Canada — guarantees 600 points toward a maximum of 1,200 per candidate.

The passing score varies from draw to draw. Of 16 draws held, 10 had a passing score under 600, meaning an LMIA wasn’t essential.

Critics have complained about the dark secrecy of how the score is set each time. The lowest benchmark so far was 450 points, in the latest round held Oct. 2.

The incoming Liberal government has already vowed to review the Express Entry system and adjust the point allocations if needed.

Like most of his compatriots who came in under the popular International Experience Canada program, Minogue, 35, arrived in the Prairies during the oilsands boom and now lives in Calgary.

He applied for Express Entry, but managed to score only 360 points despite passing the Canadian trades skill test known as the Red Seal.

“Express Entry treats me as a normal worker with no skills,” said Minogue, who made $126,000 last year. “I personally believe I’m a valuable asset to Canada.”

Electrician Patrick Hever, also 35, said he had a full-time job when Canada knocked on Ireland’s door for skilled-trade workers. Despite his four-year apprenticeship in Ireland and $80,000-a-year job in Toronto, he scored only 324 points in his bid for immigration.

“Canada came out and asked me to come here. We have invested a lot of time and money here, but for what?” asked Hever, who has a Canadian-born daughter and will see his work permit expire next May. “We feel cheated.”

Immigration officials said there are two types of Express Entry draws: the general invitation round and the program-specific round. So far this year, all draws have been for all categories, but still, 1,887 applicants were invited under the federal skilled-trade class.

“There are things that a candidate can do to improve their score and increase their chances of being invited to apply,” advised an immigration spokesperson, citing a higher language score and improving one’s education.

Gerd Damitz, past president of the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants, said those successful skilled-trade candidates would have had additional formal education on top of their apprenticeships or somehow secured the elusive LMIA.

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He said none of Immigration’s assessment agencies can evaluate foreign trade qualifications. Skilled-trade applicants with apprenticeships only score points as a high school graduate, he added, making it impossible for them to compete against university graduates despite their sought-after skills.

Mario Bellissimo, past chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s immigration section, said the new selection system benefits those who are trade school graduates and have the provincial Red Seal.

“Without tangible education and schooling, it’s difficult for officials to measure their skills,” Bellissimo said.

Sheet metal worker Darran McNulty said it is unfair that skilled-trade workers like him are good enough to work here on temporary permits, but not good enough to become permanent residents.

“Why would you go to Ireland and advertise that Canada needed you and when we came and settled, you are making it so difficult for us to stay permanently?” asked the 25-year-old, who has 335 points under Express Entry and will have to leave Canada when his work permit expires in 2017.