18 November 2022
Canada Express Entry to Embrace New NOC System
The new National Occupational Classification (NOC) system for Canada’s immigration and work permit process has come into effect from November 16. It will be applied to all the immigration programs being managed by the Canada Express Entry system.
In order to classify their occupation, applicants to all programmes, including federal, provincial, and work permits, must enter a unique code.
Candidates who submitted their applications prior to November 16 don’t need to bother because they will be evaluated in accordance with the old NOC 2016 rather than the new NOC 2021.
The Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker, Federal Skilled Trades, and Express Entry-linked PNP streams will all use the new system, thus those who have a profile in the Express Entry pool will need to update it with the new code.
The introduction of NOC 2021 also means that other professions will be added to the list of in-demand jobs, expanding the pool of candidates for these programmes.
According to a ministerial directive released in late February, Express Entry will apply to jobs including orderlies, bus and truck drivers, teaching assistants, and dental assistants.
Some new occupations added to NOC are payroll administrators, dental assistants, bus drivers, transport truck drivers, nurse aides, heavy equipment operators and more.
The changes to NOC 2021 means immigration and work permit applications will require to search their occupation under the NOC 2021 list provided by the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) Website.
The IRCC is switching from classifying each occupation using a four-digit number to a five-digit code with the NOC 2021.
In order to more accurately reflect the amount of Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities, or TEER, of each employment, the NOC 2021 divides the skill level of each occupation into six categories inside the new five-digit code, as opposed to the current four.
The new NOC’s TEER categories take the place of the old Skill Levels.
The broad occupational category, major groups, sub-major groups, minor groups, and unit groups are the five hierarchical levels that make up the new NOC’s system for ranking occupational groups.
Foreign nationals seeking their NOC code for a position merely need to visit the NOC website’s search page and enter their job title. Make sure the primary responsibilities listed match those of the position before choosing the closest match from the resulting list.
Users are advised to use a different job title with duties that are more closely related to theirs if those duties don’t match up.
Then, candidates should write down the new numerical code, the job title (such as 72302 Gas fitters), and the TEER category.
The selection of the appropriate NOC code is one of the most crucial components of an immigration application because it is a nationally recognised and standardised system utilised by IRCC to assess the work experience of applicants for immigration.
All applications submitted after the NOC has undergone a redesign will be subject to the requirement that the applicant enter the correct, updated, five-digit NOC code.
Keep in mind that NOC system is reviewed and overhauled every 10 years to accommodate the unique changes in the economy of Canada as well as in the hiring requirements.
The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the skilled worker immigration programme are managed by the federal and provincial governments respectively, hence the NOC is crucial to the country’s immigration system.
A temporary foreign worker or immigrant must meet the program’s NOC eligibility requirements in order to participate.
In November 2021, the federal government has confirmed to make changes in the NOC system implemented in 2016. It takes almost a year as the government is likely to give some time to inform the stakeholders about the implementation and changes to be made later.
For more information on Canada Express Entry regarding NOC, consult our immigration experts at Landmark Immigration!
