What impact will Canada’s new NOC have on Express Entry eligibility?

In November 2022, 16 vocations will be eligible for Express Entry, while three will be disqualified.

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Statistics Canada are in charge of the NOC, which is updated every ten years. NEW TERMINOLOGY AND A REVISED CLASSIFICATION STRUCTURE WILL BE INTRODUCED IN NOC 2021, AFFECTING IRCC PROGRAMS.

The following 16 occupations will be eligible for Express Entry as a result of these changes:

• By-law enforcement and other regulatory officers;
• Estheticians, electrologists and related occupations;
• Residential and commercial installers and servicers;
• Pest controllers and fumigators;
• Other repairers and servicers;
• Transport truck drivers;
• Bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators;
• Heavy equipment operators; and
• Aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors.
• Payroll administrators;
• Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants;
• Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates;
• Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants;
• Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants;
• Sheriffs and bailiffs;
• Correctional service officers;

The following three occupations  will become ineligible:

• other performers;
• program leaders and instructors in recreation, sport and fitness; and
• tailors, dressmakers, furriers and milliners.

The major change to NOC 2021 is the current four-category “skill level” structure has been overhauled and replaced by a new six-category system. The new system outlines the level of Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) required to enter each occupation.

The previous NOC had four skill levels. NOC A represented jobs that tend to require university degrees, NOC B included jobs in the skilled trades or that require a college diploma, NOC C covered jobs that require intermediate skills or job-specific training, and NOC D was for labour jobs that require on-the-job training.

Last September, IRCC’s Executive Committee decided that the new TEER structure will be adopted as follows:

NOC 2021 will classify occupations using a five-tier hierarchical approach. In addition, instead of the current four-digit system, vocations will now be coded with a five-digit system. There are six categories in the TEER system: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

The TEER system is replacing the skill type model for two key reasons, according to Statistics Canada. To begin with, the TEER system tries to clarify the amount of education and work experience required to work in a certain occupation. Second, the skill type model artificially divides employment into low- and high-skilled categories. The goal of implementing TEER is to provide stakeholders a better understanding of the skills needed for each occupation.