This guest article was authored by Samuel Escobar, Canadian Immigration Lawyer, HowTo Immigration Law.
Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC) structure – used to collect, analyze and communicate occupational information – has been overhauled by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Statistics Canada. This major revision to the categorization of occupations is the biggest since 2011 and will have consequential effects to Canadian immigration. The transition from the current NOC 2016 to NOC 2021 will begin in early 2022 and is expected to be fully implemented as the official classification used by ESDC and Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) by the fall of 2022. This timeframe for implementation should enable consistency across both IRCC and ESDCs’ work permit and immigration application channels.
From 4 Skill Levels to a 6 TEERs System of Occupation Classification
The most notable change with NOC 2021 is the reorganization of the current four (4) category NOC “Skill Levels” to a six (6) category system representing the level of Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities (TEER) required for an occupation. One goal of this revision is to address the limited ability to distinguish between the large percentage of occupations disproportionately classified under “Skill Level B.” Further, this redesign will abandon the current “low-skilled” vs “high-skilled” classification and instead focus on reflecting the differences in the qualifications needed in each occupation.
The new TEER system replaces the 0,A,B,C,D skill level with a scale of 0 to 5:
| TEER | Requirements |
| TEER 0 (Formerly Skill Type 0) | Legislative and senior-level management occupations. |
| TEER 1 (Formerly Skill Level A) | Occupations that require completion of university education (bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate); OR Occupations that require previous years of experience and expertise in a subject matter knowledge from a related occupation found within TEER 2 (when applicable). |
| TEER 2 (Formerly Skill Level B) | Occupations that require completion of post-secondary education program of two to three years at community college, institute of technology or CÉGEP; OR Occupations that require completion of an apprenticeship training program of two to five years; OR Occupations with supervisory or significant safety (police officers and firefighters) responsibilities; OR Occupations that require several years of experience in a specific occupation from TEER 3 (when applicable). |
| TEER 3 (Formerly Skill Level C) | Occupations that require completion of a post-secondary education program of less than two years at community college, institute of technology or CÉGEP; OR Occupations that require completion of less than 2 years of apprenticeship training; OR Occupations that require more than six months of on-the-job training, training courses, or specific work experience with some secondary school education; OR Occupations that require several years of experience in a specific occupation from TEER 4 (when applicable). |
| TEER 4 (Formerly Skill Level D) | Occupations that require completion of secondary school; OR Occupations that require several weeks of on-the-job training with some secondary school education; OR Occupations that require several years of experience in a specific occupation from TEER 5 (when applicable). |
| TEER 5 | Occupations that require short work demonstration and no formal education. |
Current Usage by IRCC and ESDC
NOC 2016 is the current NOC structure used by IRCC and ESDC.
IRCC and provinces/territories use NOC 2016 when assessing eligibility for skilled worker immigration programs. For instance, IRCC’s Express Entry application management system for permanent residence accepts the candidacy of skilled workers whose occupation fall under the NOC Skill level 0, A or B, while rendering NOC skill level C and D as ineligible. However, IRCC and the provinces operate other streams to candidates with NOC C and D work experience.
Meanwhile, ESDC uses it to distinguish between high-skilled and low-skilled categories of Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) required to determine if hiring a foreign national will have a positive or neutral impact on Canada’s Labour Market.
Potential Impacts
With the new revisions, IRCC and ESDC have yet to confirm which TEERs will be eligible and accepted for their permanent and temporary programs. At this time, it is speculated that IRCC will likely deem those with occupations that fall under TEER 0, 1, and 2 as meeting Express Entry’s work experience criteria.
There is concern that previously eligible occupations (e.g. administrative assistants and technical salespersons) may be re-categorized as TEER 3, 4, or 5, and thus not eligible to apply for permanent residence under Express Entry because of the re-balancing of the large percentage of occupations classified as Skill Level B. As the transition begins in 2022, a clearer picture will develop of how skilled foreign workers will need to adjust their Canadian immigration plans.
