What is the difference between the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and the Home Support Worker Pilot?

These are two parallel federal pilot pathways with a similar structure, but they cover different kinds of caregiving work. The Home Child Care Provider Pilot is aimed at people providing child care, while the Home Support Worker Pilot is aimed at people supporting seniors, people with disabilities, or people recovering from illness or injury. The specific eligibility criteria, the duties assessed, and the occupation a job offer must fit are what actually separate the two, not the general shape of the program.

Structurally, both pilots work the same way: an eligible job offer supports an occupation-specific work permit, the caregiver accumulates qualifying Canadian work experience in that occupation, and a permanent residence application is generally assessed alongside the work authorization rather than only afterward. Neither pilot generally requires the caregiver to live in the employer's home, unlike the older live-in caregiver model.

Because the two pilots are assessed against different occupational descriptions, a job that looks similar on paper might fit one pilot and not the other. Confirm which occupation your job offer actually matches, and whether either pathway is currently open and accepting applications, with IRCC's current published guidance, or with an immigration lawyer.