The NOC 2021 version 1.0 will impact Canada immigration in a number of ways.

This new version of the National Occupation Classification (NOC) is meant to better align with Canada’s labour market and economic needs, as well as to ensure that people who come to Canada have the right skills for the jobs available. The NOC 2021 version 1.0 also includes updates to skills levels, occupational activities and titles, and work experience requirements.

• The new system will break occupations down into six categories based on the level of education, training and experience required for each job.
• Occupational groups are arranged in levels—from broad categories to specific occupations.
• Replaces the current four-digit coding system with a new five-digit one.

The new classification system will be used by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to determine an applicant’s eligibility for permanent residency in Canada based on their occupation or job offer. The changes introduced by this new classification system could have a significant impact on applicants who are applying for Canadian permanent residence through the Express Entry system.

When NOC 2021 is fully implemented by IRCC and ESDC, foreign workers and immigration applicants should list their skills according to the new codes and which TEER Skill category they fall under.

The following table shows how the unit groups were distributed among skill level.