Major changes to NOC in late 2022

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Statistics Canada, as well as Employment and Social Development Canada ESDC recently announced that they are planning to make big changes to the National Occupation Classification (NOC).

What does this mean for a potential immigration applicant?

The National Occupational Classification (NOC) is a major part of Canada’s immigration system. Skilled worker candidates and temporary foreign workers need to demonstrate their work experience corresponds with the NOC requirements of the program they are applying to. For instance, Express Entry is the main way to immigrate to Canada as a skilled worker, and candidates need to demonstrate their work experience falls under NOC skill level 0, A, or B as one of the eligibility factors under Express Entry.

In September, Statistics Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) unveiled NOC 2021.

NOC 2021 is the final outcome of a major process that involved extensive research, analysis, and assessment of the Canadian economy.

Currently, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), ESDC, and Canada’s provinces and territories use NOC 2016 to operate immigration and foreign worker programs. In an email to CIC News, IRCC explained that both it and ESDC will not implement NOC 2021 until the fall of 2022.

Main Changes to the NOC System

1. Change to terminology

The first main change is the actual terminology. Currently known as the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system it has now aptly been renamed the Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities or TEER. This now highlights the fact that NOC doesn’t just assess the skill level of an Express Entry applicant or temporary foreign worker, but rather their training, formal education, work experience, and responsibilities associated with that work experience.

2. Change to skill level categories

The second major change to the NOC system is that the number of categories or tiers has increased. The previous four main categories have been upped to six categories. In the 2016 NOC, skill level B has the most occupations of all skills levels. By adding more categories, the distinction between employment requirements can be more defined and clearer which should make the selection process more consistent.

TEER 0	Management occupations.
TEER 1	Completion of a university degree (bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate); or Several years of experience in a specific occupation from TEER category 2 (when applicable).
TEER 2	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 (police officers and firefighters) responsibilities; or Several years of experience in a specific occupation from TEER category 3 (when applicable).
TEER 3	Completion of a post-secondary education program of less than two years at community college, institute of technology or CÉGEP; or Apprenticeship training of less than 2 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 specific occupation from TEER category 4 (when applicable).
TEER 4	Completion of secondary school; or Several weeks of on-the-job training with some secondary school education; or Several years of experience in a specific occupation from TEER category 5 (when applicable).
TEER 5	Short work demonstration and no formal educational requirements.

3. Change from four to five-level classification system

The third major change is that the actual NOC code will change from being a four-digit to a new five-digit NOC code. This allows for more flexibility and consistency; allowing for new unit groups to be incorporated in the future.

Below is the breakdown of the new five-digit NOC code:

The first digit represents the broad occupational category;
The second digit represents the TEER category;
The first two digits together represent the major group;
The first three digits represent the sub-major group;
The first four digits represent the minor group, and finally
The full five digits represent the unit group or the occupation itself.

As it stands, most Canadian immigration and foreign worker applicants shouldn’t be affected as work experience will still be the main eligibility criteria for most programs. However, these changes could work in your favour or against you. Whereas some applicants may now be eligible for programs that they previously weren’t, others may no longer be eligible for that very same reason.

Statistics Canada explains there are two major reasons why the skill type model is being replaced by the TEER system. First, the TEER system aims to provide more clarity on the level of education and work experience required to work in an occupation. Second, Statistics Canada believes the skill type model creates artificial categorizations between low- and high-skilled jobs. Implementing TEER will hopefully give stakeholders a better sense of the number of skills required for each occupation.

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