Understanding the Importance of National Occupation Code (NOC)

Immigration and the NOC

As you may know, the Canadian government allows a foreign national that come from a variety of different fields, educational backgrounds, and work experience to obtain permanent residency in Canada under specific federal economic immigration programs. This is also known as the Express Entry immigration system. By applying for Express Entry, you are essentially establishing a mutually beneficial relationship with the Canadian Government. That being said, while you are obtaining your permanent residency, you are also contributing to the Canadian Labour Market and the economy. Since your job is an essential part of this type of immigration, you will need to make sure that you meet the strict rules set by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada. One of the rules for Express Entry is meeting the descriptions on the National Occupation Classification (NOC). In this blog, you will learn about what National Occupation Classification (NOC) is and how to select your NOC code.

What is the National Occupation Classification

The National Occupation Classification, also known as the NOC, is a list of all the occupations in the Canadian labor market. It describes the type of work performed by Canadians in the labour market according to skill type and skill level. The type of work usually is determined by the task, duties, and responsibility within the occupation. The classification gives employers, job seekers, statisticians, labour market analysts, career counselors insightful information that allows them to better understand the nature of work and what type of experience is needed to apply for a program. The NOC tool has a four digit code which represents important information that helps classify the occupation. For example, 0011 Legislator- the “001” indicates that the position is for legislators who are in senior management.

Selecting your NOC

In order to determine your NOC, you will need to identify your job title first. Second, you need to understand what the tasks, duties and responsibilities within your occupation are. Once you have relevant information about your job, you may start searching your job on Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship website. After the search, you will find the main duties of that occupation. At this stage, you will need to determine if the listed duties match what you did at your job. If they don’t, you’ll need to find a different job title with duties that match yours.

For immigration purposes the job information is broken down into number of groups to help you identify your correct NOC.

The Main Groups Include:

• Skill Type 0 (zero): includes management jobs such as restaurant managers, mine managers, shore captains (fishing).
• Skill Level A: includes professional job which usually require you to have degree from a university. These types of jobs include dentists, architects, doctors etc.
• Skill Level B: includes technical jobs and skilled trades that usually require you to have a college diploma or train as an apprentice. Some examples include chefs, electricians, and plumbers
• Skill Level C: Includes intermediate jobs such as industrial butchers, long-haul truck drivers, food and beverage servers. An intermediate job usually requires you to have a high school or job specific training or both.
• Skill Level D: includes labour jobs that usually give on-the-job training. For example, cleaning staff, fruit pickers, oil field workers, etc.

After you have determined your NOC, you will need to verify if it meets the requirement for the class from which you are applying for permanent residence.

If you want to use the Express Entry as a Skilled Immigrant to immigrate to Canada, you need to make sure you are Skill Type 0 or Level A or B.

If you want to come immigrate to Canada as a skilled immigrant, using the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program, your work experience must be skill type/level 0, A, B, or C.

If your job is skill level C or D, you may be able to immigrate to Canada through the Provincial Nominee Program or the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program. Alternatively, you may be able to work in Canada for up to two years.

Contact Akrami & Associates

If you have applied for permanent residency in Canada through the Express Entry System, it is important for you to understand what exactly National Occupation Code is before applying. The NOC plays an important role in getting your application approved or refused. Express Entry applications are already difficult to pursue on your own. Having to prepare for the application itself and determining your NOC can be confusing and exhausting. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you seek out professional and experienced help before attempting to apply. Akrami & Associates work and have experience with many different immigration issues. We have helped many of our clients obtain their permanent residence through the Express Entry System. Please feel free to contact Akrami & Associates at 416-477-2545 for more information about the NOC, or if you would like to book a consultation with an immigration professional form ore advice.

With Akrami & Associates, there is always a way!