New occupation eligibility NOC 2021 and TEER system for Express Entry!

Jun 23

On November 16, 2022, IRCC will be switching how they assess work experience. In particular, IRCC will switch from the previous NOC 2016 Skill Levels to the NOC 2021 structure. This means that some occupations, such as personal support workers, nursing aides, truck drivers, and other occupations, will become eligible for Express Entry (‘EE’) as of November 16, 2022. These changes can impact current and future candidates for EE. This blog addresses the expected changes and how you can prepare for EE.

What will change?

The national occupation classification (NOC) is currently being overhauled by Statistics Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). As a result, new occupations will become eligible and ineligible for EE and the Atlantic Immigration Program. The five groups of the NOC system - NOC 0, A, B, C and D will change to six groups under TEER – a new classification system that recognizes an individual’s Training, Education, Experience and Responsibility:

    NOC 2016
    NOC 2021
  
    Skill Type 0
    TEER 0
  
    Skill Type A
    TEER 1
  
    Skill Type B
    TEER 2
  
    TEER 3
  
    Skill Type C
    TEER 4
  
    Skill Type D
    TEER 5

You can search for the NOC 2021 versions that will take effect on November 16, 2021, here and select NOC 2021 under the drop-down menu for the version.

How will the changes impact you?

The Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Workers (FSW), and Federal Skilled Trades (FST) through EE is open to occupations that are at Skill Level B or above. With the new changes, the program eligibility cut-off will become TEER 3, which is unlikely to impact the majority of EE candidates.

However, the occupational changes may impact the eligibility of some EE candidates, who were previously ineligible due to a lack of work experience in a relevant NOC code, due to some professions which currently fall under NOC codes C and D, being raised to TEER 3 under the new system. For example, under the current NOC, you may not qualify for the Federal Skilled Worker program through EE as a truck driver, since this is a Skill Level C (NOC 7511). But with the expected changes in November 2022, you will likely fall under TEER 3 and start to qualify as work experience for EE.

The occupational changes may also impact your Comprehensive Ranking System score. Your previous work experience may provide you with more years of work and, as a result, more points. For example, you may be eligible for EE due to other work experience under the current NOC. With the changes expected in November 2022, you may receive additional points for the new occupations based on your previous work experience (personal support worker, payroll administrator, etc.)

What occupations will become eligible?

It is expected that the following 16 occupations will become eligible for EE in November 2022:

Payroll administrators;
Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants;
Nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service associates; (also known as personal support workers)
Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants;
Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants;
Sheriffs and bailiffs;
Correctional service officers;
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

The new occupations may result in updated requirements for training, education, experience, and responsibilities. In addition, the changes in the occupation classification could make certain occupations eligible for other programs. However, the updated requirements and their impact on other programs are not known at this time.

What occupations will become ineligible?

The changes in the occupation classification will result in some occupations becoming ineligible for EE and the Atlantic Immigration Program.

For EE, it is expected that the following occupations will become ineligible in November 2022:

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

For the Atlantic Immigration Program, it is expected that the following occupations will become ineligible in November 2022:

Other support occupations in personal services;
Longshore workers;
Material handlers;
Taxi and limousine drivers and chauffeurs;
Delivery service drivers and door-to-door distributors;
Boat and cable ferry operators and related occupations;
Livestock labourers;
Nursery and greenhouse labourers;
Trappers and hunters;
Food and beverage servers; and
Labourers in textile processing and cutting.

How can you prepare for the upcoming changes?

As of June 2022, EE is very competitive due to the program being paused throughout much of the pandemic. Therefore, it is crucial to maximize your score to be invited to apply.

If your current occupation will now fall within an eligible job category, you nevertheless need to assess if you are eligible for EE based on other factors, such as requirements relating to the amount of work experience, language, education, criminal and medical admissibility, and proof of funds. The changes are not yet finalized, and there may be programmed eligibility changes come November 2022.

If you are currently in the pool for EE, or preparing to enter the pool, you should first do a thorough review of your NOC codes to ensure you have selected the correct codes and understand the proposed changes under the TEER system, if any. If you are unsure of which NOC code best corresponds to your employment, you should spend the time doing an analysis of the possible codes to identify the best match. We recommend having at least a 75% match between your job and the corresponding NOC code.

How will this impact your current EE profile?

If you already have an EE profile but have not received an Invitation to Apply (ITA), you must search for your occupation under the NOC 2021 list and update your profile with your TEER category, including the 5-digit occupation code. To remain eligible to receive an ITA, your profile must be updated on or after November 16, 2022. If you plan to submit an EE profile after November 16, 2022, you must submit your TEER category and the 5-digit code when filling out your profile.

You should also spend some time calculating the number of hours you have worked in any eligible occupations, to ensure you meet the amount of work experience requirements, and collect relevant documents to demonstrate this, such as pay stubs, tax documents, and employment contracts. You can also start reaching out to former employers to obtain the employment letter, which is a required document to provide as part of your EE application, and/or make your current employer aware that you will require this letter once you receive an Invitation to Apply. You should ensure that the format of the employment letters meets all the content and format requirements provided by IRCC. You must also ensure the duties outlined in the employment letter make it clear that the position falls within the relevant NOC code/TEER.

Keep in mind that the proposed changes to the NOC codes/TEERs are not yet finalized, and the specifics of each occupation, such as lead statements and main duties are not yet known. The new occupations may result in new requirements for training, education, experience, and responsibilities, so keep an eye out for these and once the TEERs are finalized take the time to carefully review the information to understand your corresponding TEER and how the changes will affect you.

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