The National Occupational Classification, or NOC, is Canada's benchmark for evaluating all occupations in the country and is comprised of about 30,000 job titles, organized according to four skill levels and 10 occupational categories. This classification is a collaborative effort of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Statistics Canada. Currently, the determination of occupational codes is done using the NOC 2016 version.

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This classification is used to manage economic immigration programs such as Express Entry, Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) and the Atlantic Program (AIP), among others. These immigration programs aim to receive more than 400,000 applicants per year by 2022, 2023 and 2024, according to the report issued by IRCC: Notice - Supplementary Information for the 2022-2024 Immigration Levels Plan - Canada.ca

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Changes in the NOC:

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Every 10 years the NOCs go through a restructuring and in September 2021, IRCC unveiled the new classification of occupations that will go into effect the following November 16, 2022. This means that all applications submitted after this date must be in accordance with the 2021 NOCs.

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In essence, the changes are as follows:

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• The current structure of skill categories (NOC 0, A, B, C and D) will be replaced by a system of six categories representing the level of Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities required to perform an occupation or TEER. 
• Four-digit occupancy codes will be converted to five-digit codes .
• Five-level hierarchical organization of occupational groups with level subdivisions containing occupational categories, primary, sub-primary, secondary and unit groups. 

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This change in classification is intended to clarify the distinction between formal education or education required to perform certain occupations, especially at the "B" skill level, where approximately 42% of all occupations in Canada are located.

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Given the fact that education and training are not "skills" in the marketplace, the organization of skills was considered "fuzzy"; therefore, this new classification is intended to be based on Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities(TEER). 

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TEER categories:

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Programs that previously used NOC skill levels will then switch to using TEER categories. 

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• Most of the jobs will remain in the TEER category, according to the attached table.
• There are some jobs that will change to another TEER category.
• Occupations at skill level "B" become TEER 2 or TEER 3. 

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Below is the table of occupations and where they will fall under the new classification:

In summary, based on the new categories and the table of occupations, occupations that were previously part of group "C" and therefore not eligible for programs that only took skill levels 0, A or B, such as Express Entry and some Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP), will now be included. Below are some of the occupations that were previously ineligible for Express Entry, but will become eligible with this update. 

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• Payroll administrators;
• Dental and laboratory assistants;
• Nursing assistants, orderlies and patient service associates;
• Pharmacy Assistants and Pharmacy Technician Assistants;
• Teacher assistants for elementary and secondary school teachers;
• Bailiffs;
• Correctional Services Officers;
• Police officers and other officials;
• Beauticians, electrologists and depilators;
• Residential and commercial installers and service providers;
• Pest controllers and fumigators;
• Other repairers;
• Transport truck drivers;
• Passenger bus drivers, subway operators and transit operators;
• Heavy equipment operators;
• Aircraft assembly inspectors;

If you are currently in immigration proceedings with our team of Immiland consultants, don't worry, we are aware of these changes.

If you still don't know how to "find my noc", our consultants are here to help you throughout your immigration process.

If you have any questions please write to our email: info@immilandcanada.com

With love,

Immiland.

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