Full-Time Equivalence Calculation for Express Entry, Worked Through
How many hours actually make a year of work experience? IRCC's own benchmark is specific: 1,560 hours, described on its own guidance as the same as working 30 hours a week for a year. Everything else in a full time equivalence calculation express entry applicants attempt on their own follows from that one number.
The benchmark, and what it means in practice
Thirty hours a week for 52 weeks comes to 1,560 hours, and IRCC treats that figure as one year of qualifying experience across several programmes, including the Atlantic Immigration Program's work-experience test. If you worked fewer hours per week, the maths still lands on the same total — you simply need more weeks to reach it.
Turning hours into years
To convert part-time hours to full-time years, add up total hours actually worked and divide by 1,560. Twenty hours a week for two years is 2,080 hours — comfortably past one year's worth, even though it never once looked like a full-time job on paper. The conversion counts total accumulated hours, however they were spread across individual weeks.
Whether two jobs can combine
Yes, in principle — but not automatically, and this is where people trip. If two part-time jobs add up for Express Entry purposes at all, it's because the combined hours sit within the qualifying period and both roles genuinely match the skill level and occupation being claimed. Two unrelated part-time jobs in different fields don't merge into one qualifying occupation just because the hours add up; each role is assessed against its own NOC (National Occupational Classification) code separately.
What overtime doesn't change
No, and this one surprises people who worked long weeks to get ahead. Overtime doesn't move the needle on the total. IRCC counts weeks and hours worked in the role, rather than gross pay or hours billed beyond a standard week. A candidate who worked unusually long weeks doesn't get to compress a year of experience into eight months by adding up overtime hours; the calculation runs on time actually spent in the role at a reasonable, sustainable pace.
What happens during unpaid leave
A period of unpaid leave doesn't erase the experience earned before it, but it also doesn't count toward the total itself — the hours simply pause. A maternity leave, an unpaid sabbatical or an extended illness sits outside the hour count on either side of it, which matters most for candidates close to a threshold who need to know exactly how much time they still have to work to reach it.
This is arithmetic, not eligibility advice — whether your specific combination of roles, hours and gaps satisfies a given programme's rules is a question for a licensed RCIC, who can look at your actual employment letters rather than a general worked example.
Start with our free Express Entry guide for the mechanics behind CRS and the three federal programmes before you build your own hours calculation.