The National Occupation Classification (NOC 2021)

The National Occupation Classification 2021 (NOC 2021) has been developed by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Statistics Canada. It is a nationally recognized and standardized system assigning a five-digit code and job description to every occupation in the Canadian labour market. It outlines the nature of various occupations by considering the job title, duties, responsibilities, and required training. Although NOC 2021 has several purposes, it’s especially significant in immigration applications to Canada, as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) uses NOC codes to evaluate every applicant’s work experience. Therefore, understanding the role of the NOC system in the Canadian immigration context is paramount. Keep reading to learn about its structure, use cases, revisions, updates, and how to use it.

The National Occupation Classification 2021 System

NOC 2021 comprises over 40,000 job titles organized into 516 unit groups according to six Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities (TEER) categories and ten broad occupational categories. The hierarchical system consists of five levels, with broad occupational categories at the higher levels (e.g. health occupations) and more specific occupations at the lower levels (e.g. Registered Nurse).

NOC codes are broken down as follows:

• The first digit represents the broad occupational category and describes the type of work, or industry. NOC 2021 has ten broad occupational categories. For example, Skill Type 3 includes all health occupations, and the NOC codes for healthcare occupations begin with 3.
• The second digit represents the TEER category, describing the occupation's necessary training, education, experience, and responsibilities.

TEER 0:

Management occupations

TEER 1:

Occupations that usually require a university degree.

TEER 2:

Occupations that usually require a college diploma, apprenticeship training of 2 years or more, or supervisory occupations.

TEER 3:

Occupations that usually require a college diploma, apprenticeship training of less than two years, or more than six months of on-the-job training.

TEER 4:

Occupations that usually require a high school diploma or several weeks of on-the-job training.

TEER 5:

Occupations that usually require short-term work demonstration and no formal education.

• The first two digits combined represent the major group. For instance, 31 refers to most health industry occupations requiring a university education. All these occupations will be assigned a NOC code beginning with 31, such as dentists (31110).

• The first three digits represent the sub-major group.
• The first four digits represent the minor group, referring to the first three digits of a NOC code. They group similar occupations within each major group. For example, judges (41100) and lawyers (41101) are both in Minor Group 411.
• The whole five digits represent the unit group or the occupation itself. Each unit group provides a short description and lists its primary duties, employment requirements, and examples of job titles.

Use Cases of NOC 2021

NOC 2021 is used by various individuals, organizations and professions, such as labour market analysts, statisticians, career counsellors, employers, job seekers, and government analysts. As mentioned above, NOC 2021 also plays a crucial part in the Canadian immigration process as an easy, standardized way for immigration authorities to determine whether an individual possesses the required work experience for a particular immigration program. NOC codes are critical when applying for an LMIA or Permanent Residence through an economic program such as Express Entry or a Provincial Nominee Program.

Revisions and Updates

The first version of the National Occupational Code system was introduced in the early 1990s, and regular updates have been made since then using insights from research data from public consultations, censuses, employment services, and more. Minor revisions focussing on content updates, such as adding job titles into a unit group and modifying lead statements, or the primary duties of a unit group, have been conducted annually since 2017. In contrast, major revisions usually occur every ten years and often introduce more critical changes. This can include introducing new unit groups and reallocating unit groups. The next major revision is scheduled for 2031.

The most recent revision took effect on November 16th, 2022, when NOC 2016 was replaced by NOC 2021. The new version introduced TEER categories instead of skill type and level structure. It also moved from a 4-digit codification system to a 5-digit one, introducing the sub-major group, ten vertical broad occupational categories and six horizontal TEER categories. Additionally, many new job titles and unit groups were added, and the content was updated for most unit groups.

Identifying the Correct NOC Code

You can view all NOC 2021 occupations listed on the ESDC website. In addition, IRCC has designed a tool that simplifies finding your NOC code. There are two options:

1. You may search for your job title, related duties or industry directly using keywords. From there, you can review your results by consulting the lead statement, main duties, employment requirements, and example job titles. This will help you determine whether they match your experience.
2. If you cannot find your NOC unit group using the job title search, access the NOC matrixvia the Hierarchy and Structure For example, you may limit your search to NOC unit groups found under one broad occupational category, such as health occupations, or search by the usually required education level.