26 November 2021
Canada’s immigration system is going to revamp the way it categorizes occupations in fall 2022. The changes will impact some economic classes and foreign worker applications. However, the government is yet to confirm which type of applications can be affected.
The occupations are categorized by the National Occupational Classification or NOC. The Canada NOC is assessed every year and updated every 5 years to keep it updated to the changing labor market. It gets
The NOC plays an important role in the country’s immigration system since it is used by federal and provincial governments to manger Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and skilled worker immigration program.
An immigrant or temporary foreign worker is required to meet the NOC eligibility criteria of the program they are opting for.
For example, under Express Entry, skilled worker immigration applicants should show they have work experience in a NOC that is covered by one of the following codes:
NOC 0: These skill type jobs generally involve managerial skills
NOC A: These skill types of jobs require a university degree as they are professional.
NOC B: The skill types jobs are meant for skilled trades occupations that generally require a college diploma or apprenticeship.
The IRCC and provinces and territories in Canada use NOC 2016 to determine eligibility for skilled worker immigration programs.
NOC 2016 has also been used by ESDC (Employment and Social Development Canada) to assess the LMIA or Labour Market Assessment applications.
NOC 2021 to Be Implemented in September-November 2022
The federal government is believed to update NOC somewhere in fall 2022 so that the IRCC gets some time to inform stakeholders about the changes and implementation. IRCC is also integrating the rollout with ESDC to ensure consistency across the process of work permit application.
New TEER System Will Be Introduced to Replace NOC Skill Levels:
Rather than an existing approach of classifying jobs based on skill types, the government of Canada will now classify jobs based on Education, Experience, and Responsibilities (TEER) system. The TEER system will have six categories ranging from 0 to 5.
TEER 0:
Management occupations
TEER 1:
Requiring University degree
TEER 2:
Requiring a post-secondary education program of two to three years at community college, institute of technology, or CÉGEP; or an apprenticeship training program of two to five years; or occupations with safety responsibilities.
TEER 3:
Completion of a post-secondary education program of fewer than two years at community college, institute of technology or CÉGEP; or Apprenticeship training of fewer than 2 years; or over 6 months on-the-job training, training courses, or certain work experience with some secondary school education.
TEER 4:
Completion of secondary school; or Several weeks of on-the-job training with some secondary school education.
TEER 5:
Short work demonstration and no formal educational requirements.
Why NOC Skill Levels are Being Replaced with TEERs
Well, classifying occupations on “skill levels” is puzzling, as the NOC determines occupations and not skills. TEER system will consider the education and experience needed to work in a provided occupation.
Secondly, it has been found that the NOC categorization system artificially forms a low-versus high -skilled categorization. This overhaul shifts away from the high/low categorization to more precisely capture the skills needed in each occupation.
Why It is Important for Immigrants
Once NOC 2021 is enforced by IRCC and ESDC, immigration and foreign worker applicants should ensure their Canada NOC meets the eligibility criteria of the program they are opting for.
For example, one major area of interest is seeing how IRCC and ESDC choose to categorize jobs that are labeled as skill level “B”.
However, immigration applicants will have to wait for more updates from IRCC and ESDC.
To know more feel free to contact us.
