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Key Takeaways
- NOC (National Occupational Classification) assigns every job in Canada a 5-digit code; the first digit is the TEER level (0-5), and TEER — not your job title or salary — decides whether a role counts as skilled work experience for immigration.
- Canadian Experience Class and most Express Entry pathways require TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3. TEER 4 and 5 roles, most retail, food service, and general labour jobs, don't count no matter how long you hold them.
- Look up your own offer at the official NOC search tool (noc.esdc.gc.ca) using the actual duties listed, not the job title — titles are inconsistent between employers in a way the code isn't.
- A software engineer, financial analyst, or registered nurse role is TEER 1 or 2 and qualifies outright; a retail associate or food counter role is TEER 4-5 and doesn't, regardless of hours worked or how demanding it feels.
- Save the job posting or offer letter that describes your actual duties — it's the evidence you'd need later if a classification is ever questioned.
What NOC and TEER actually are
NOC is the code; TEER is the tier. Every occupation in Canada gets its own distinct 5-digit NOC code, whatever it's informally called day to day. The first digit of that code is its TEER level — Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities — running from 0 to 5:
| TEER | Typical requirement | Counts for CEC/Express Entry? |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Management occupations | Yes |
| 1 | Usually requires a university degree | Yes |
| 2 | 2+ years of post-secondary education, apprenticeship, or supervisory role | Yes |
| 3 | College diploma under 2 years, or 6+ months of on-the-job training | Yes |
| 4 | High school diploma, several weeks of training | No |
| 5 | Short demonstration or no formal education requirement | No |
Canadian Experience Class and most Express Entry pathways only count TEER 0-3 as qualifying skilled work experience. TEER 4 and 5 roles don't count toward those pathways at all, however many hours you log or however demanding the day-to-day work actually is.
If you're researching this and find older articles or forum posts talking about "Skill Level A" or "Skill Level B" instead of TEER, that's not a different system — it's the old one. NOC 2021 replaced the previous Skill Type/Skill Level structure (Skill Type 0, then Skill Levels A through D) with the current TEER 0-5 scale. The underlying logic is similar, but the codes themselves also changed in that update, so a 2019 forum post citing a specific NOC code for your occupation may be citing a code that no longer exists under the current system — always check the current NOC 2021 code directly rather than trusting an older reference.
Real examples, so this isn't abstract
- Software engineers and designers — NOC 21231, TEER 1. Qualifies outright.
- Financial and investment analysts — NOC 11202, TEER 1. Qualifies outright.
- Registered nurses — NOC 31301, TEER 1. Qualifies outright.
- Accounting technicians and bookkeepers — NOC 12200, TEER 2. Qualifies.
- Retail salespersons — NOC 64100, TEER 4. Does not qualify.
- Food counter attendants and kitchen helpers — NOC 65201, TEER 5. Does not qualify.
Two new grads can both call themselves "associate" and be in completely different positions here — one at TEER 1 building a case for permanent residence, the other at TEER 4 building none, regardless of which job pays more or looks better on paper day to day.
A few more common new-grad roles, spanning both sides of the line: administrative assistants (NOC 13110, TEER 2) and paralegal and related occupations (NOC 42203, TEER 2) both qualify; general office support workers (NOC 14100, TEER 4) and customer service representatives in most contexts (NOC 64409, TEER 4) generally don't. The pattern worth internalizing: roles built around applying specialized knowledge, judgment, or defined technical skill tend to land TEER 0-3; roles built around following established procedures with minimal independent judgment tend to land TEER 4-5, regardless of how the job title dresses it up.
How to check your own offer in five minutes
- Read the actual duties listed in your offer or job posting, not the title, since the title alone tells you almost nothing reliable about the classification.
- Go to the official NOC search tool (noc.esdc.gc.ca) and search using those duties as keywords rather than the job title — titles vary between employers in a way the underlying classification doesn't.
- Confirm the "main duties" listed for the matching code against what you'd actually be doing. If the posting is vague, ask the employer directly for a written duties description — a completely normal, reasonable request that costs them nothing to answer.
- Note the TEER level (the first digit of the code) and check it against the pathway you're targeting.
Negotiating title vs. duties
If the actual duties genuinely match a TEER 0-3 code but the employer's job title obscures that — "coordinator" instead of "analyst," for instance — asking for a title that more accurately reflects the real duties is reasonable. Employers with any experience hiring international graduates generally understand exactly why you're asking and will adjust it without friction, since the substance of the role isn't changing, only its label. Keep the original job posting or offer letter describing your actual duties regardless — it's the evidence you'd point to later if a classification is ever questioned.
Provincial programs sometimes weight this differently
Provincial nominee streams can define or prioritise qualifying occupations differently from the federal system — a role that's unremarkable federally can be well-positioned under a specific province's in-demand occupation list. Check both the federal TEER level and any relevant provincial list before assuming a role's value one way or the other.
One more wrinkle worth knowing: NOC codes are used for more than immigration. Employers, Statistics Canada, and labour market reports all use the same classification system, which means the code assigned to your role also shows up in wage surveys, LMIA applications (for employer-sponsored work permits), and various government labour market reports. If you ever want to research realistic salary ranges or demand levels for a specific occupation, searching by its NOC code rather than its informal job title gets you considerably more precise, comparable data than a generic job-title search would.
Common Mistakes
- Judging a role by its title instead of looking up the actual NOC code for its duties. Titles are inconsistent between employers; the code isn't.
- Assuming a TEER 4 or 5 role will eventually count if you hold it long enough. It won't, for CEC/Express Entry purposes, regardless of duration.
- Assuming salary or how demanding a role feels tells you its TEER level. Neither is a reliable indicator — check the code.
- Not checking before accepting an offer, when a five-minute lookup at noc.esdc.gc.ca would have caught it.
- Not keeping the original posting or offer letter describing actual duties, making it harder to substantiate the role's classification later.
- Ignoring a relevant provincial occupation list that might value the role differently than the federal system does.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between NOC and TEER?
NOC is the full 5-digit occupational code; TEER is just its first digit, the tier (0-5) indicating the typical training and education level for that occupation. TEER is what immigration pathways actually check.
Which TEER levels count for Canadian Experience Class and Express Entry?
TEER 0, 1, 2, and 3. TEER 4 and 5 don't count, regardless of hours worked or role difficulty.
How do I find my job's NOC code?
Search noc.esdc.gc.ca using the actual duties from your offer or posting, not the job title, and compare the "main duties" listed for the closest matching code against your real responsibilities.
Does a high salary mean a role automatically qualifies?
No. Salary isn't part of the TEER determination — a well-paid TEER 4 or 5 role still doesn't count, while a more modestly paid TEER 1-3 role does.
Can I ask my employer to change my job title?
Yes, if the actual duties genuinely support a more accurate title. Most employers experienced with international hiring accommodate this without difficulty, since the underlying role isn't changing.
Do all provinces use the same TEER cutoffs as the federal system?
Not necessarily — some provincial nominee streams have their own in-demand occupation lists that can value a role differently. Check both.
I found an old article citing "Skill Level B" for my job. Is that still accurate?
Probably not directly usable — that terminology is from the pre-2021 NOC system, replaced by the current TEER 0-5 scale, and the specific codes changed in that update too. Look up your occupation's current NOC 2021 code directly rather than relying on older references.
Is NOC only relevant for immigration purposes?
No — the same classification underpins wage surveys, LMIA applications for employer-sponsored work permits, and government labour market reports, so it's also a genuinely useful tool for researching realistic salary data for a specific occupation.
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