Canada NOC List 2022: Understanding NOC Codes

The NOC Skill Level identifies the occupations by the amount and type of education and training that is generally required. There are four Skill Levels in the NOC matrix:

A: Occupations that usually require university education

B: Occupations that usually require college education or apprenticeship training

C: Occupations that usually require secondary school and/or occupation-specific training

D: Occupations that usually require on-the-job training

Each of these Skill Levels is usually represented by the second digit in NOC codes:

A – 0 or 1 B – 2 or 3 C – 4 or 5 D – 6 or 7

The first digit of a NOC code indicates the Skill Type, while the second digit indicates Skill Level. The only exception to this formula is occupations in Skill Type 0: Management occupations. Since there are management occupations in each employment industry, the second digit of all management occupations indicates the industry of the occupation.

NOC Major or Minor Groups may be mentioned in immigration program instructions at times.

NOC Major Groups: The first two digits of a NOC code are referred to as Major Groups. For example, Major Group 31 refers to the majority of healthcare professions (Skill Type 3) that often need a university education (Skill Level A). All of these occupations will be allocated a NOC code beginning with the letters 31. Dentists (3113), pharmacists (3131), and dietitians (3132) are among those included.

NOC Minor Groups: The first three digits of a NOC code are referred to as Minor Groups. Within each main group, they put together professions that are comparable. Judges (4111) and lawyers (4112), for example, are both in Minor Group 411. Minor Group 415 includes both social workers (4152) and family counsellors (4153). It's worth noting that the first two numbers of each minor group correspond to the main group to which it belongs. Major Group 41 in this case.