Canada is switching to the NOC 2021

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will switch to the 2021 version of the National Occupational Classification (NOC), on November 16, 2022. This means that:

• the current NOC 2016 skill type and skill level structure (NOC 0, A, B, C and D) will be replaced with TEER Categories,
• the 4-digit occupation codes will become 5-digit codes, and
• IRCC will update the eligibility criteria for all programs that use the NOC.

About the National Occupational Classification

National Occupational Classification or NOC is a system of classifying all jobs in Canada. ESDC or Employment and Social Development Canada is the organization in charge of developing NOC. Of course, to keep NOC meaningful and relatable, ESDC reviews NOC every five years. Consequently, they may make changes on how they classify jobs and how they organize the NOC system. 

NOC 2021 is the latest version of NOC. While it shows many changes, the most prominent one is replacing the old skill levels with TEER categories. In the following article, Al Parsai explains in detail the TEER categories in NOC 2021 and how they compare with skill levels in NOC 2016 and the older versions: TEER Categories replace Skill Levels in NOC 2021.

You can also read ‘Everything you Need to Know About the NOC 2021 Version 1.0‘.

Affected programs

– Express Entry

Eligibility criteria	Canadian Experience Class	Federal Skilled Worker Program	Federal Skilled Trades Program
Language skills	English or French skills  – CLB 7 for TEER 0 or TEER 1 occupations – CLB 5 for TEER 2 or TEER 3 occupations	English or French skills  CLB 7	English or French skills  CLB 5 for speaking and listening. CLB 4 for reading and writing.
Type/Level of work experience	Canadian work experience in an occupation listed in 1 or more of these NOC TEER Categories: TEER 0, TEER 1, TEER 2, TEER 3	Also, work experience in an occupation listed in 1 of these NOC TEER Categories: TEER 0, TEER 1, TEER 2, TEER 3	Work experience in a skilled trade under key groups of TEER 2 or TEER 3
Amount of work experience	One year in Canada in the last 3 years (either combination of full-time or part-time work)	One year continuous within the last 10 years (combination of part-time, full-time, or more than 1 job in your primary occupation)	Two years within last 5 years (either combination of full-time or part-time work).
Job offer	Not required.	Not required. But you can get selection criteria (FSW) points for having a valid job offer.	Required:                            – a valid job offer of full-time employment for a total period of at least 1 year or – a certificate of qualification in that skilled trade issued by a Canadian provincial, territorial or federal authority.
Education	Not required.	Secondary education is required. You can get more selection criteria (FSW) points for your post-secondary education.	Not required.

– Atlantic Immigration Program

Visit IRCC’s website if you’re applying for a job offer on or before November 15, 2022. However, if you’re applying for a job offer on or after November 16, 2022, you should use the NOC 2021 page. This page indicates the requirements for acceptable work experience, using the new NOC.

For example, for this program, work experience must be in one of the following categories:

• TEER 0 (management jobs such as restaurant managers or mine managers)
• TEER 1 (professional jobs that usually need a degree from a university, such as doctors, dentists or architects)
• TEER 2 (technical jobs and skilled trades requiring at least 2 years of college or apprenticeship, or occupations with supervisory or safety responsibilities such as police officers and firefighters)
• TEER 3 (technical jobs and skilled trades requiring less than 2 years of college or apprenticeship; or more than 6 months of on-the-job training)
• TEER 4 (intermediate jobs that usually call for high school and/or several weeks of job-specific training, such as industrial butchers, long-haul truck drivers, or food and beverage servers)

<<Also Read: List of occupations that will shift to TEER 3 and become eligible for Express Entry>>

– Provincial Nominee Program

The changes will depend on the following situations:

• If you receive an invitation to apply (ITA) before November 16, 2022, you must submit your Express Entry application for permanent residence using the NOC 2016.
• If you don’t receive an ITA before November 16, 2022, you must update your profile with your NOC 2021 code to remain eligible.
• If you receive a nomination certificate on or after November 16, 2022:
  • If your nomination certificate has a 4-digit NOC code, you must use NOC code 93888 in every NOC field of your Express Entry profile. We’ll assess your application using the NOC 2016 code on your nomination certificate.
  • If your nomination certificate has a 5-digit NOC code, you must submit your Express Entry profile using your 5-digit NOC 2021 code.

– Global Skills Strategy

To help employers find highly skilled workers faster, Canada introduced the Global Skills Strategy (GSS). This strategy features faster application processing times (2 weeks), work permit exemptions and enhanced customer service.

Starting November 16, 2022, NOC 2016 skill type 0 will be updated to NOC 2021 Training, Education, Experience and Requirements (TEER) 0 and NOC skill level A will be updated to TEER 1. Therefore, you must use the NOC 2021 levels on any job offer submitted on or after November 16, 2022.

– Other affected programs

• Caregivers programs
• Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot
• Agri-Food Pilot
• Out-of-status construction workers
• International Mobility Program
• Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Find a job title, code and TEER: NOC 2021

You can visit IRCC’s website and use its table to find the NOC 2021 information that best matches your job. You just have to enter your job title or numeric code in the “Filter items” field. Or, you can also go to the NOC website and search for your NOC using the title or numeric code.

Let us help!

Let’s say TEER categories confuse you, but you still want to immigrate as a skilled worker. In this case, fill out the following form. Of course, you may alternatively book a consultation session with Al Parsai or fill out our assessment form.

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