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Cassandra Fultz, RCIC-IRB
On November 16, 2022, the old 2016 NOC switched to the 2021 version of the National Occupational Classification (NOC).
What is NOC?
The National Occupational Classification (NOC) is a Canadian system used to classify and categorize jobs based on the training, education, experience, and responsibilities (TEER) required. The NOC provides valuable information for career development, skills training, labor market analysis, and employment equity, among other things. The NOC is a crucial tool for the administration of employment-related programs and services.
TEER categories and examples of jobs
| TEER | Occupation types | Explanation | Express Entry Eligibility | Examples |
| TEER 0 | Management occupations | Management jobs are about leading and making decisions for a group of people. These jobs can be at different levels, from entry-level to top management, and can be found in many different industries. Management occupations involves overseeing and directing the work of others, setting goals, creating and implementing plans, and making decisions. These jobs typically involve managing a team, a department, or an entire organization. | Eligible | Advertising, marketing and public relations managers Financial managers |
| TEER 1 | Occupations that usually require a university degree | Jobs that usually require a university degree typically demand at least a bachelor’s degree from a recognized university. These positions usually need a higher level of education and expertise, and often offer better career opportunities, higher salaries, and greater job security. These jobs often demand a high level of education and specialized knowledge | Eligible | Financial advisors Software engineers |
| TEER 2 | Occupations that usually require
| These are job roles that have specific education and training requirements. College diploma occupations means completion of a college-level program. Apprenticeship training of 2 or more years refers to a type of on-the-job training that combines hands-on experience with theoretical instruction. Supervisory occupations refer to job roles that involve overseeing the work of others and making decisions. | Eligible | Computer network and web technicians Medical laboratory technologists |
| TEER 3 | Occupations that usually require
| These are job roles that have specific education and training requirements. College diploma occupations means completion of a college-level program. Apprenticeship training involves learning on the job through a combination of practical experience and theoretical instruction, but for a shorter duration than 2 years. On-the-job training involves learning the job by actually doing it for a period of time longer than 6 months. These requirements ensure that individuals have the necessary skills and knowledge to perform their job effectively. | Eligible | Bakers Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants |
| TEER 4 | Occupations that usually require
| A high school diploma is a certificate earned after completing secondary education. On-the-job training involves learning the job by actually doing it for a few weeks. | Not eligible | Home child care providers Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers |
| TEER 5 | Occupations that usually need short-term work demonstration and no formal education | These are positions that can be learned through hands-on experience, without the need for a diploma or degree. Jobs requiring short-term work demonstration instead of formal education focus on hands-on experience to prove abilities. | Not eligible | Landscaping and grounds maintenance labourers Delivery service drivers and door-to-door distributors |
How to find your job title, code and TEER
If you are unsure of which National Occupational Classification (NOC) code is associated with your job, you can first try to search by job title. The results will return a list of NOC unit groups associated with the job title you have entered. If there are no results, please try again using other related job titles.
You can find your job title by searching on the official government website, but first you need to correctly enter the NOC 2021 version, as shown in the image below and then write your job title.
For example, as shown in the image below, if you search for a graphic designer job title, you can find out your 5-digit code, TEER number and occupational category. You will need the code when you are applying online so it is of the utmost importance that you have the right 5-digit code that matches your job title.
What should you do if you have one or more NOC codes in your search results?
Click on any of them to look at its occupational description and review the main duties and employment requirements within the occupational description to determine if these correspond to those associated with your occupation. If the occupational description does not correspond to your job, consult a different one.
What should you do if you can’t find the the unit group associated with your occupation using the title job search?
You need to access the NOC matrix to narrow down your research.
- To do so, you will need to know which sector of activity your occupation is associated with (health, natural sciences, trades, or transportation, for instance).
- Then, further reduce the scope of your search based on the education level usually required to be employed in your job. Do people usually require a university degree, apprenticeship training, or on-the-job training? The level of education generally required (or skill level) corresponds to the second digit of the NOC code and is represented by a letter in the columns in the NOC matrix. Please note that this may differ from your personal education level.
- Once you have identified both the broad occupational category and the skill level associated with your job, you will be able to identify a short list of relevant NOC minor groups (represented by the first three digits of the NOC code).
Keeping those minor groups in mind, go to the hierarchy and structure section and drill down the structure to list all NOC unit groups found under the relevant NOC minor groups. You can then access the occupational description of each unit group to find where your occupation has been classified.
Who uses the National Occupational Classification?
The National Occupational Classification (NOC) is used by various groups for different purposes, mostly for statisticians, labour market analysts, career counsellors, employers, and individual job seekers as a standardized way of describing and understanding the nature of work. People who want to come to work in Canada also use the NOC 2021 to find their code and occupation category.
Why is my occupation combined with other occupations?
The purpose of the NOC is to categorize and classify occupations in Canada for the purpose of data collection and analysis.
A given unit group may represent one or more occupations according to the following criteria:
- Broad occupational category;
- Skill level;
- Main duties;
- Employment requirements and;
- Education level in the occupation(s) considered.
The National Occupational Classification (NOC) system aims to group occupations that have similar duties and requirements under the same broad category and skill level for data collection and analysis purposes. As a result, occupations found under the same broad occupational category and skill level but with different duties and/or different employment requirements, such as air pilots, flight engineers, and flying instructors (associated with NOC code 2271) can be combined together into one unit group.
What are broad occupational categories and skill levels?
The National Occupational Classification (NOC) classifies occupations using two main criteria:
- broad occupational category (The first digit of the NOC code identifies the broad occupational category of an occupation, which means the type of work performed or educational area of study required. For example, the NOC code of occupations associated with the health sector begin with a three (3).)
- skill level (skill levels are used to represent training or education required for entering an occupation and are represented by letters A to D in the NOC MATRIX and are associated with the second digit of the NOC code.)
NOTE: The exception is management occupations, for which the first digit of the code represents the type of work (management) and the second digit represents the sector of employment.
For instance, for NOC unit group 0601, corporate sales managers, the first digit (0) represents the management broad occupational category, while the second digit (6) represents the sales and service sector.
As the first digit identifies the Occupation and the second digit identifies the TEER, they are also referred to as the Major Group.
NOC 2021 Version 1.0 Broad Occupational Categories
Broad Occupational Categories are defined as the type of work performed based on, notably, the field of study required for entry into an occupation and the industry of employment. The ten BOCs are classified from 0 to 9.
| NOC 2021 V1.0 Broad Category – Occupation | when the first digit is… |
| BOC 0 – Legislative and senior management occupations This broad category comprises legislators and senior management occupations. | 0 |
| BOC 1 – Business, finance and administration occupations This broad category comprises specialized middle management occupations in administrative services, financial and business services and communication (except broadcasting), as well as professional occupations in financial and business; administrative and financial supervisors and specialized administrative occupations; administrative occupations and transportation logistics occupations; and office and administrative support and supply chain logistics occupations. | 1 |
| BOC 2 – Natural and applied sciences and related occupations This broad category comprises occupations in natural sciences (including basic and applied sciences and experimental development), engineering, architecture and information technology. These occupations cover specialized middle management occupations in engineering, architecture, science and information systems; professional occupations in natural sciences (basic and applied sciences and experimental development); and technical occupations related to natural sciences (including basic and applied sciences and experimental development). | 2 |
| BOC 3 – Health occupations This broad category comprises specialized middle management occupations in health care, as well as occupations concerned with providing health care services directly to patients (professional and technical occupations in health) and occupations that provide support to health services. | 3 |
| BOC 4 – Occupations in education, law and social, community and government services This broad category comprises managers in public administration, in education and social and community services and in public protection services, as well as occupations concerned with teaching, law, counselling, conducting social science research, developing government policy, and administering government and other programs, and related support occupations. | 4 |
| BOC 5 – Occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport This broad category comprises specialized middle management occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport, as well as professional, technical, support and other occupations concerned with art and culture (including the performing arts, film and video, broadcasting, journalism, writing, creative design, libraries and museums), recreation and sports. | 5 |
| BOC 6 – Sales and service occupations This broad category comprises middle management occupations in wholesale and retail trade, and customer services, as well as occupations concerned with wholesale and retail sales, and customer, personal and support service occupations related to a wide range of trade and service industries, such as accommodation and food services, travel, tourism and cleaning services. | 6 |
| BOC 7 – Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations This broad category comprises middle management occupations in trades, transportation and equipment, as well as occupations such as technical trades and transportation officers and controllers; general trades; mail and message distribution, other transport equipment operators and related maintenance workers; and helpers and labourers and other transport drivers, operators and labourers. | 7 |
| BOC 8 – Natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations This broad category comprises middle management occupations in natural resources, agriculture and related production, as well as occupations concerned with supervision and equipment operation in the natural resource-based sectors of mining, oil and gas production, forestry and logging, agriculture, horticulture and fishing. Harvesting, landscaping and natural resources labourers are also included. Most occupations in this category are industry specific and do not occur outside of the primary resources industries. | 8 |
| BOC 9 – Occupations in manufacturing and utilities This broad category comprises middle management occupations in manufacturing and utilities, as well as occupations concerned with supervisory, production and labouring in manufacturing, processing and utilities. | 9 |
The NOC 2021 Version 1.0 TEER Categories
The “TEER” categorization defines the requirements of the occupation by considering the type of training, education and experience required for entry, as well as the complexities and responsibilities typical of an occupation. In general, the greater the range and complexity of occupational tasks, the greater the amount of formal education and training, previous experience, on-the-job training, and in some instance’s responsibility, required to competently perform the set of tasks for that occupation.
| The NOC 2021 V1.0 Training, Education, Experience and Responsibility (TEER) | when the second digit is… |
| Management – TEER | 0 |
| Completion of a university degree (bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate); or Previous experience and expertise in subject matter knowledge from a related occupation found in TEER 2 (when applicable). | 1 |
| Completion of a post-secondary education program of two to three years at community college, institute of technology or CÉGEP; or Completion of an apprenticeship training program of two to five years; or Occupations with supervisory or significant safety (e.g. police officers and firefighters) responsibilities; or Several years of experience in a related occupation from TEER 3 (when applicable). | 2 |
| Completion of a post-secondary education program of less than two years at community college, institute of technology or CÉGEP; or Completion of an apprenticeship training program of less than two years; or More than six months of on-the-job training, training courses or specific work experience with some secondary school education; or Several years of experience in a related occupation from TEER 4 (when applicable). | 3 |
| Completion of secondary school; or Several weeks of on-the-job training with some secondary school education; or Experience in a related occupation from TEER 5 (when applicable). | 4 |
| Short work demonstration and no formal educational requirements. | 5 |
How are employment requirements defined?
To enter a certain occupation, there are specific requirements generally set by employers and professional associations. These include: education level, required training, related work experience, necessary licenses or certifications, and other abilities not related to formal education.
While some occupations have very specific employment requirements, others have a wide range of acceptable requirements. The following terminology is used to indicate the level of the requirement:
- “Is required” indicates a definite requirement.
- “Is usually required” means that the qualification is generally expressed as required by a majority of employers, but is not always mandatory.
- “May be required” describes requirements that some employers may impose, but are not universal.
Qualities related to personal suitability that may have an impact on employability are not described in the classification. These factors are subjective and determined by employers and are assessed during the hiring process.
How can I find jobs related to my National Occupational Classification code?
Job Bank helps job seekers find related jobs using the NOC. Job seekers can browse job postings and receive alerts for new matching jobs.
You can access Job Bank’s website here.
National Occupational Classification 2021
Structure of the NOC
The NOC 2021 supports career resources published by the Canadian government and other organizations, such as information on job prospects, the national job listing, and current labor market trends. All of these resources are organized using the structure of the NOC, making it easier for individuals to access and use the information for their occupations when applying for work permit in Canada.
Data collection
The NOC is also used for conducting research and ensuring that all the information that provincial governments and private survey companies collect will be directly comparable to data they get from other sources.
Labour market analysis
NOC is also used for understanding labor market statistics and is used by researchers to analyze emerging trends and therefore guide policy decisions, such as allocating spending for labor market programs, managing job matching systems, and immigration procedures. National, regional, and local labour market information can be accessed by visiting Job Bank. , all levels of government use this type of analysis to allocate spending for labour market programs, to manage systems for matching jobs with workers who have the required skills, and for immigration selection procedures.
Career planning and job seeking
Career developers, counsellors, and students use the NOC for career planning and exploration purposes.
