Tutorial

Revised April 2006

Introduction

Overview

The National Occupational Classification (NOC) is a system for describing the occupations of Canadians. It gives statisticians, labour market analysts, career counsellors, employers and individual job seekers a standardized way of describing and understanding the nature of work. The system includes a series of publications that help these people to organize and use statistics and other labour market facts.

This tutorial is a companion to these publications and a training resource for anyone who is using or intends to use the NOC. By the end of this training, you will be able to:

• understand the structure and components of the NOC

• understand the importance and applications of the NOC

• properly classify occupations according to the NOC

In order to complete this training you will need to have access to the NOC Occupational Descriptions, the NOC Matrix and the Index of Titles either in hardcopy format or via the Internet at: www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/NOC-CNP/app/index.aspx?lc=e .

The structure of this tutorial is based on a progressive learning format. We will first look at the origin of the NOC, its importance and its uses and examine the structure of the NOC. You will learn the meaning of the digits of NOC codes and how they relate directly to the structure. By the end of this training you will know how to use the NOC for looking up occupational titles, finding occupational descriptions, for coding purposes and for other applications.

Let us start by understanding the origin of the NOC and its significance in Canada.

History

The NOC was implemented in 1992 as a replacement for the Canadian Classification and Dictionary of Occupations (CCDO). It was created through an extensive program of research, collecting information from employers, workers, educators and associations. Analyses and consultations were also conducted with providers and users of labour market data across the country. Human Resources and Skill Development Canada (HRSDC) worked closely with Statistics Canada to ensure strong links between the NOC and Statistics Canada's Standard Occupational Classification (SOC), for the collection and use of labour market data.

This training guide introduces the revised editions of the NOC. The NOC 2001 replaced the original publication and the parallel 1991 SOC produced by Statistics Canada. The revised SOC is now entitled the National Occupational Classification for Statistics (NOC-S). The NOC 2001 and the NOC-S fill the gaps that were identified as shortcomings of the 1992 NOC. These included a missing technical level for information technology occupations, inconsistencies in relation to the statistical structure and the challenges in capturing the emergence of new work methods and new titles used in the labour market. The NOC 2001, while conservative with respect to structural change, reflected the evolution of occupations over the past decade in Canada.

The NOC is updated on a regular basis through an ongoing program of research. This results in updates or revisions which coincide with Census cycles. The NOC has been updated for Census 2006 in collaboration with Statistics Canada. This was a minor update and is available online only (with the possibility of an update insert or addendum which will be available upon request). Research continues for the 20th anniversary of the NOC, which will result in the release of the revised NOC for Census 2011. Structural changes and significant content revisions are expected for this edition.

The goal of the NOC is to make it easier for users at all levels to achieve a better understanding of the world of work. For this reason, there are two main NOC publications:

1. The Occupational Descriptions binder provides formal descriptions of 520 occupational groups. These descriptions are identified by codes and titles organized in a three-level numerical hierarchy.

The NOC ensures that labour market statistics are collected and assembled in a standard way that will be meaningful to users. At the same time, the descriptions allow technical users, such as economists and business analysts, to understand exactly what the statistics mean.

2. The Career Handbook is the counselling version of the NOC. It links work performed in occupations with worker characteristics. This two-volume set provides details of aptitudes and interests as well as physical activities and educational requirements for over 900 occupations, along with information about potential workplaces in each. This resource is intended primarily for guidance and employment counsellors, but individuals seeking to plan their own careers will also find it useful.

The second edition or 2003 release of the Career Handbook is used in conjunction with the NOC 2001 structure to ensure proper concordance. A new, on-line only, edition of the Career Handbook will be available for consistency with the NOC 2006 Update. Information on this release will be posted on the Web site.

The NOC publications support a variety of career information resources published by the Government of Canada and others. For example, Job Futures, the widely-used source of information about occupational outlooks, and the national Job Bank, an electronic listing of jobs, work or business opportunities provided by Canadian employers are both organized according to the structure of

the NOC. By providing a standard way of organizing labour market information, the NOC helps all Canadians to be better informed about the world of work.

Applications

The NOC provides a standardized language for describing the work performed by Canadians. It is used at all stages of the process from defining and collecting data, to managing information databases, to analyzing labour market trends and extracting practical career planning information.

Data Collection

The hierarchical coding structure of the NOC is used in the collection of occupational information. For example, economists and statisticians use the NOC to guide the collection and compilation of data. And, the Government of Canada uses the NOC-S for the analysis of occupational data collected from the Census, Labour Force Survey and other surveys.

The NOC is also used for a variety of special surveys with respect to worker mobility, technological change, administrative data and other indicators of labour market behaviour. In addition, provincial governments and private survey companies use the NOC to ensure that the information they collect will be directly comparable to data they get from other sources.

Labour Market Analysis

Labour market researchers use the NOC to understand the underpinnings of the statistics they use, and more importantly, to interpret them correctly. The NOC provides the context for the interpretation of statistical information. These users analyze the Canadian labour market to understand emerging trends, to guide policy decisions and to develop systems for training, recruiting and job matching. National, regional, and local labour market information can be accessed by visiting www.labourmarketinformation.ca.

Labour market analyses include work done within the government to set policy and make the labour market work more efficiently. For example, the Federal Government uses this type of analysis to allocate spending for labour market programs, to manage its systems for matching jobs with people and for immigration selection procedures. Provincial and municipal governments have similar applications.

Career Planning and Job Seeking

Career developers, counsellors and students use the NOC and the Career Handbook for career planning. An understanding of occupational definitions, requirements and opportunities is central to their goal of matching the interests and aptitudes of individuals to the requirements and opportunities associated with occupations.

Job seekers, employment counsellors and employers rely on the NOC to make effective use of labour market information services provided by the Federal Government and other sources. An important application is the national Job Bank, which is accessible over the Internet and can be viewed at www.jobbank.gc.ca.

Exploring the NOC

In a nutshell, the NOC is a tool that is used to classify occupations according to their Skill Level and Skill Type. A four-digit code, called the "NOC code", identifies the occupation. Each digit of this code reflects an important trait of the occupation it represents.

Let's begin by looking at each digit and the significance it has with respect to the NOC.

Skill Type

Skill Type is based on the type of work performed, but it also reflects the field of training or experience that is normally required for entry into the occupation. This includes the educational area of study required, as well as the industry of employment in cases where experience within an internal job ladder is required for entry. These categories are intended to indicate easily understood segments of the world of work.

The first digit of the NOC code normally designates the Skill Type (see chart below). For example, Occupations Unique to Processing, Manufacturing and Utilities start with the digit 9. Management Occupations, which are found across all Skill Types, start with 0. Remember that an occupation that is coded with a first digit of 1 through 9 refers to the Skill Type of that occupation. An occupation that has a 0 as the first digit indicates management.

The 10 Skill Types that represent the first digit of a NOC code.

Let us look at each Skill Type in more detail.

0. Management Occupations
This Skill Type category contains legislators, senior management occupations and middle and other management occupations. These occupations span all Skill Type categories.

1. Business, Finance and Administration Occupations

This category contains occupations that are concerned with providing financial and business services, administrative and regulatory services and clerical supervision and support services. Some occupations in this Skill Type are unique to the financial and business service sectors; however, most are found in all industries.

2. Natural and Applied Sciences and Related Occupations
This category contains professional and technical occupations in the sciences, including physical and life sciences, engineering, architecture and information technology.

3. Health Occupations
This category includes occupations concerned with providing health care services directly to patients and occupations that provide support to professional and technical health care staff.

4. Occupations in Social Science, Education, Government Service and Religion
This Skill Type category includes occupations that are concerned with law, teaching, counselling, conducting social science research, developing government policy, and administering government and other programs.

5. Occupations in Art, Culture, Recreation and Sport
This Skill Type category includes professional and technical occupations related to art and culture, including the performing arts, film and video, broadcasting, journalism, writing, creative design, libraries and museums. It also includes occupations in recreation and sport.

6. Sales and Service Occupations
This Skill Type category contains sales occupations, personal and protective service occupations and occupations related to the hospitality and tourism industries.

7. Trades, Transport and Equipment Operators and Related Occupations

Skill Type category includes construction and mechanical trades, trades supervisors and contractors and operators of transportation and heavy equipment. These occupations are found in a wide range of industrial sectors, with many occurring in the construction and transportation industries.

This Skill Type includes most of the apprenticeable trades, including all of those related to the construction industry. Other occupations in this category usually require completion of college or other programs combined with on-the-job training. Progression to supervisory or self-employed contractor status is possible with experience. There is limited mobility or transferability of skills among occupations in this category due to specific apprenticeship, training and licensing requirements for most occupations.

8. Occupations Unique to Primary Industry
This category contains supervisory and equipment operation occupations in the natural resource-based sectors of mining, oil and gas production, forestry and logging, agriculture, horticulture and fishing. Most occupations in this category are industry specific and do not occur outside of the primary industries.

9. Occupations Unique to Processing, Manufacturing and Utilities
This category contains supervisory and production occupations in manufacturing, processing and utilities.

You now know how occupations are classified according to a work domain that is called "Skill Type". We will now learn how the NOC further categorizes occupations according to different levels of skill required within each Skill Type.

Skill Level

In the context of the NOC, Skill Level corresponds to the type and/or amount of training or education typically required to work in an occupation. The NOC consists of four Skill Levels identified A through D and each is assigned a numerical value ranging from 1 to 6. To illustrate this concept, have a look at the following chart to see the relationship between the alphabetical value of each Skill Level and its accompanying numerical value.

Skill Level is primarily based on the nature of education and training required to work in an occupation. This criterion also reflects the experience required for entry and the complexity of the responsibilities involved in the work, compared with other occupations. In most cases, progression to Skill Level A, from B, is not usually possible without completion of additional formal education, whereas progression from Skill Level D to Skill Level C is often achievable through on-the-job training and experience.

Each Skill Level is intended to reflect commonly accepted paths to employment in an occupation. Where there are several paths to employment, the Skill Level most commonly identified by employers is used, considering the context of the occupation and the trends in hiring requirements.

For Trades, Transport and Equipment Operators and Related Occupations, Skill Level B occupations may be coded with either a 2 or a 3. The reason for this is that there are more than 9 minor groups within the major group. When there are more than 9 minor groups within a major group, the Skill Level digit is increased by one, but corresponds to the same alphabetical character. The same applies for Skill Level C in Occupations Unique to Processing, Manufacturing and Utilities, where the second digit can be either 4 or 5. We will discuss Major and Minor Groups in more detail shortly. For now, just understand that the second digit of the NOC code represents the Skill Level of an occupation.

The 4 Skill Levels (both alphabetic characters and numerical values) used in the NOC.

Management Occupations

Management occupations are not assigned to a Skill Level category. Factors other than education and training (e.g., previous experience, ownership of real property and capital, ownership of intellectual property, inherent decision-making skills and organizational capabilities) are often more significant determinants for employment in management occupations.

Management occupations span the Skill Types of the entire classification structure and are found in all areas of the labour market. All NOC codes that begin with a zero represent management occupations. When the second digit is zero, this represents "senior" management occupations. To identify all other management occupations, the second digit (1 through 9) is the corresponding Skill Type.

To illustrate this concept let us look at the following:

• Management occupations in sales and services begin with 06. The 0 indicates that it is a management level occupation and the 6 indicates that the occupation falls under the Sales and Service Skill Type.

• Now consider an NOC code that has a zero as its first and second digit. Similar to the example above, we know that this occupation is a management occupation because it begins with zero. We also know that the second digit for management occupations may reflect the Skill Type. However, because there is no Skill Type 0, we can conclude that this is a senior management occupation.

Major Groups

A major group is simply the first two digits of an NOC code. It is a roll-up, or, an aggregation of minor groups (which we will look at shortly). There are 26 major groups in the NOC and these are classified as follows:

64   Intermediate Sales and Service Occupations
66   Elemental Sales and Service Occupations

Minor Groups

At the three-digit level, the major groups are further divided into 140 minor groups. For example, major group 64, Intermediate Sales and Service occupations, includes eight minor groups:

641   Sales Representatives, Wholesale Trade
642   Retail Salespersons and Sales Clerks
643   Occupations in Travel and Accommodation
644   Tour and Recreational Guides and Casino Occupations
645   Occupations in Food and Beverage Service
646   Other Occupations in Protective Servic
647   Childcare and Home Support Workers
648   ther Occupations in Personal Service

By now you have probably realized that each digit of the NOC code helps to further specify an occupation. At the minor group level, you can pinpoint a domain in which an occupation is carried out. However, we need to go one step further to identify an actual occupational group.

Unit Groups

At the four-digit level, the system is expanded into 520 occupational groups identified as unit groups. Unit groups represent further specificity within an occupational domain. To continue with the same example from above, minor group 643, Occupations in Travel and Accommodation, is further divided into five unit groups:

6431   Travel Counsellors
6432   Pursers and Flight Attendants
6433   Airline Sales and Service Agents
6434   Ticket Agents, Cargo Service Representatives and Related Clerks (Except Airline)
6435   Hotel Front Desk Clerks

You have now learned about the structure of the NOC and how codes are related to Skill Level and Skill Type. The question now is: how do you find these codes and use them in practical terms? This will be addressed in the following section, which will introduce you to the NOC tools that you can use to code and describe occupations. We will begin by looking at the Occupational Descriptions binder that contains all of the information that you need to code occupations. We will then look at the NOC Matrix - a tool to help you see the entire NOC structure. Finally, we will discuss the importance and usefulness of the Index of Titles.

Occupational Descriptions

Whether you are an economist analyzing labour market data for a specific occupation or an employment counselor helping someone determine what type of training to take, occupational descriptions help us understand an occupation using a standardized language.

Occupational descriptions are published for each of the 520 unit groups included in the NOC. Each description is referred to as a "NOC group". Each description includes the following elements:

Lead Statement

The lead statement provides a general description of the occupation and the boundaries of the unit group. It also indicates the kinds of industries, workplaces or establishments where the occupation is found.

Example Titles

Example titles are the occupational titles commonly found within the group. This list is not exhaustive. A more complete listing of alphabetical job titles can be found in the NOC Index of Titles.

Main Duties

The main duties section describes the most significant duties of the occupations in the group. It may include:

• a series of statements that can be applied to all occupations in the group;

• two or more sub-sets of occupations with statements that apply to each component; and/or

• a series of brief statements that are linked to specific occupations, that, while similar enough to be in the same group, can be described separately.

Statements in Italics, at the end of this section, identify a specialization that may exist within the occupation.

Employment Requirements

Employment requirements are prerequisites generally needed to enter the occupation. Several types of requirements are listed:

• type and level of education, starting with the lowest possible requirement for entry into the occupation;

• specific training required, including apprenticeship, on-the-job or internal training;

• experience in a related occupation, especially for supervisory or managerial occupations;

• licences, certificates or affiliations; and/or

• other requirements not dependent on formal education, such as athletic abilities, artistic talent or presentation of a portfolio.

While some occupations have very specific employment requirements, others have a wide range of acceptable requirements. The following terminology is used to indicate the level of the requirement:

• "Is required" indicates a definite requirement.

• "Is usually required" means that the qualification is generally expressed as required by a majority of employers, but not always mandatory.

• "May be required" describes requirements that some employers may impose, but are not universal.

Qualities related to personal suitability that may have an impact on employability are not described in this publication. These factors are subjective and determined by employers and assessed during the hiring process.

Additional Information

Some descriptions include additional information to give details on:

• mobility patterns;

• progression to another occupation;

• trends and anticipated changes in employment requirements; and/or

• other information that may clarify the occupational description.

Classified Elsewhere

The classified elsewhere section helps to clarify the boundaries of the unit group by identifying similar groups or occupations that are separately classified.

The Matrix

Achart called the NOC Matrix shows the Major and the Minor groups, and the relationship between Skill Types and Skill Levels. This provides an overview of the entire classification structure. The Matrix is included in the NOC and it may also be viewed at: www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/NOC-CNP/app/index.aspx?lc=e .

Skill Types are represented in the columns while the Skill Levels are found in rows. Managerial occupations are found in the top portion of the chart, indicating the presence of management across all segments of the labour market.

While the Matrix can be helpful in identifying Major and Minor Groups, it does not identify Unit Groups due to space limitations.

Index of Titles

As useful as the unit group headings are, they do not always correspond with the real-world job titles we use every day. For this reason, the Index of Titles is a tool used to search for occupational titles that do not appear in the occupational descriptions.

Scope of the Index of Titles

The Index of Titles contains thousands of titles classified within the 520 occupational groups of the NOC. With millions of people in the employed labour force, it is impossible to capture all of the individualized job titles that could potentially exist. While the listing in the Index is not meant to be exhaustive, it does provide extensive coverage of commonly used and understood titles in the economy, as well as the more obscure and specific titles found in many occupational areas. Some of the more commonly used titles in an occupation are listed within each NOC Unit Group description.

Approximately 20,000 titles included in the Index have been carried forward from the original NOC, published in 1992, as they are still currently used in the labour market. Many new and additional titles were added to the revised NOC 2001 and to the 2006 update. These titles have been collected in ongoing occupational research conducted since the implementation of the first edition.

To assist users, the Index includes both formally recognized occupational titles (e.g., radiography technologist) and less formal titles that are commonly used (e.g., X-ray technician). Some titles represent occupations (e.g., librarian; chef), while other titles refer to specializations within an occupation (e.g., music librarian; pastry chef). Still, others correspond to a range of jobs (e.g., furniture assembler; sawmill machine operator).

Inversions

Occupational titles appear in the Index both in natural order (e.g., travel agent) and in inverted order (e.g., agent, travel). Inverted titles use a comma as a separator in the title string. To facilitate the location of particular generic titles, such as clerk, director, supervisor, etc., many inversions have been included.

However, when an occupational title is modified to provide more specificity, such as criminal lawyer, tax lawyer and real estate lawyer, and are all classified in the same NOC unit group, the Index includes the modified titles in natural order. It also includes the generic title, lawyer, but does not list all the inversions. When the modified titles are classified in different NOC unit groups (e.g., chemical engineer, civil engineer and industrial engineer), inversions are included in the Index to assist users in finding the appropriate unit group from the range of choices.

Modifiers

Industry, institution or subject matter modifiers are added to many titles. This information is attached to the title following a dash (e.g., customer service supervisor - retail; electronics mechanic - avionics) to provide a means of differentiation among titles. Often, the extensions provide further information to clarify the placement of titles in the classification structure (e.g., painter - visual arts; painter - motor vehicle manufacturing). These modifiers should be considered when coding an occupational title.

Military Titles

Titles of military occupations are indicated by adding the modifier military after a dash (e.g., sonar technician - military). In a very few cases where military appears in the title itself (i.e., military police officer; military pilot), the modifier is not added.

When a military occupation includes more than one NOC unit group, the title has been given a descriptive modifier in brackets as well as the military modifier, for example, medical officer (specialist) - military.

Concordance Between Languages

The terminological research conducted for the translation and adaptation of the titles contained in this revised Index of Titles has dealt with a component that was not previously addressed. Concordances for all titles in both official languages have been identified. The level of concordance identifies correspondence between one title (or several where there are equivalent titles) to one or many titles in the other language. Contact us if you wish to learn more about concordance information.

Putting It All Together

Now that you have a better understanding of the structure and concepts surrounding the NOC, it is time to put what you have learned into practice. The remainder of your learning will bridge the gap between theory and application. We will concentrate on learning how to code an occupation based on minimal criteria. This will enable you to better understand the uses of the NOC. Finally, we will learn advanced tips and strategies to classify some of the more difficult occupations. So, let's go...

Learning to Code

The numerical hierarchy upon which the NOC is based is familiar to regular users of statistics; it offers the convenience of describing the entire structure, and all its underlying definitions, with one number.

It is important that all users learn how to properly code. Accurate coding is especially important to users who depend on data that is collected using the NOC. For example, when analyzing Census occupational data, an economist must be aware of the potential impacts of coding error.

Understanding how coding works will help users recognize errors, why they are made and how to avoid making the same errors in the future.

The usefulness of the NOC occupational descriptions is enhanced by the fact that each occupational code reflects the skills required; this means that the NOC is directly focused on the work performed. Each occupation is defined in terms of the type and level of skill required.

The type of skill is assigned based on 10 broad occupational areas (0 to 9). These areas combine work type - such as management, work sectors - such as health or sales, and some other characteristics of work - for example, subject matter domains such as natural and applied sciences. The first digit of an occupational code normally reflects the Skill Type.

The level of skill required is based on the type of education or training needed to perform the work. There are four basic levels where occupations require either university, college/technical school or apprenticeship/training, high school/on-the-job training, or short demonstration training. Skill Level is shown as the second digit of the NOC code, except for management occupations.

Together, the first and second digit make up the Major Group. The first, second, and third digit make up the Minor Group, with the third digit representing more specificity related to the area in which an occupation is carried out.

The Unit Group refers to the four-digit NOC code. The four-digit code represents the occupation within the area represented by the Minor Group.

If you're thinking, "Ok, I already know all of this" that's great - you are almost an expert in the NOC! Now, your last challenge will be to apply what you have learned.

Classification Criteria

As much as a classification system is important, it cannot deliver valid results without having a reliable method for organizing data. This is the point where learning how to properly classify occupations is critical.

Often, the easiest way to classify occupations is achieved by using the Index of Titles. While this is an easy method, it is not necessarily the most reliable method. The person coding an occupation must always keep in mind that occupational titles defined by only one source does not always coincide with the NOC definition.

For example, most private companies create their own occupational titles without consulting the NOC. Therefore, a "customer service representative" who works for a particular company may in fact be a "telemarketer" according to the NOC. This case exemplifies one of the major fallacies of the coding practice - the assumption that all occupational titles and descriptions are universal or standardized - they are not and the coder must recognize this fact.

Unfortunately, there is no simple formula or recipe to identify whether an occupational title or description is the same as the title and description in the NOC. However, we will discuss the most important criteria to consider when assigning codes. You may inevitably come across any of the following challenges when coding:

Coding Examples

A. Coding an occupation with only a job description

A personnel administrator in a large corporation wants to find the occupational code for a proposed new position within the company. The duties indicate the new position is assistant to a senior executive and it has been decided that a community college diploma in business administration will be required. The company wants to use the NOC to classify their new position. The NOC may also be used to assign a title to the position. Here is how the administrator would locate the occupational code for the position.

The administrator identifies the Skill Type and Skill Level specified in the job description and consults the Occupational Descriptions binder. Starting with the Skill Type, she concludes that the occupation is part of the group called Business, Finance and Administration Occupations, all of which start with the digit 1.

Next, she considers that community college graduation indicates Skill Level B, which can be reflected as either a 2 or a 3 in the second digit of the code. She finds three major groups: professional (11), skilled (12) and clerical (14), so the position will be in Major Group 12: Skilled Administrative and Business Occupations.

Next, she considers the four minor groups in this category, which are delineated by area or domain of work:

The new position is not supervisory and does not involve finance or insurance, so the choice is narrowed down to minor groups 122 and 124. After reviewing the 8 unit groups included in Administrative and Regulatory Occupations, the administrator finds that the most relevant unit group is 1222 Executive Assistants. The NOC description of duties includes such elements as analysis, research and meeting independently with clients. However, the proposed position is oriented more towards handling correspondence and scheduling meetings on behalf of the executive and therefore, she decides that this is not the appropriate code.

Turning to minor group 124, the administrator finds that unit group 1241 Secretaries (Except Legal and Medical) is a possibility, since the other unit groups in that category are specialized. The duties for NOC 1241 Secretaries listed in the Occupational Descriptions closely match those listed in the new job description. Also, the description indicates that completion of a one- or two-year college diploma is a typical requirement. She checks the "Classified Elsewhere" section and finds that none of them are appropriate, so codes the position as 1241 Secretaries. Using the example titles, she assigns the "executive secretary" title to the company's new position.

B. Coding an occupation using the title and description

In this example, a paralegal in an immigration lawyer's office wants to find the occupational classification code for a client who is seeking to immigrate to Canada. He knows that the client assists with patient care in a dentist's office, and that she will be seeking similar work in Canada. Here is how he would locate the code for her occupation.

The paralegal knows that the title of the client's previous job in another country was "Clinical Assistant". He uses his copy of the NOC Index of Titles and looks at the listings. Clinical Assistant is shown with a reference to unit group 3414. The paralegal locates the entry for classification 3414 in the NOC Occupational Descriptions binder, and he discovers that this group does not include dental occupations. He looks in the Index again, this time under "dental". There are nearly 40 titles beginning with the word "dental". There are a number of assistants listed in the dental field and he finds dental assistant and dental clinical assistant titles, both referring to the same unit group, 3411.

In the NOC, the paralegal locates unit group 3411 Dental Assistant. The duties and education requirements are very similar to the experience and qualifications outlined in the client's resume. The paralegal checks the "Classified Elsewhere" section and sees that there is also a related occupation called 3223 Dental Technicians. He reviews that description and notes that the duties relate to the manufacture of dentures, which he realizes is not relevant to his client. After reviewing all of the dental related occupations and their descriptions, the paralegal concludes to code the occupation as 3411 Dental Assistant.

C. Coding an occupation with only the title

Occasionally, the only information you will have in order to assign an NOC code is the title of an occupation. In this case, when there is no way of obtaining additional information, use the Index to search for the occupational title or for the closest approximation, and use the corresponding NOC code. Be sure to look at possible inversions as well.

When titles do not appear in the Index of Titles, assign an NOC code that reflects as closely as possible the essence of the work. For example, the title forensic scientist or its inversion scientist, forensic does not appear in the Index. In this example, we would assign a 2 (Natural and Applied Sciences) for the first digit given that scientist forms part of the occupation title. Secondly, we can assign digit 1 as the second digit of the code because scientists are classified in Skill Level 1 of the NOC. Thirdly, we narrow our search by looking at the minor groups for Major group 21. We have several options, however, there are two that relate much more to the occupation that we are trying to code: 211 - Physical Science Professionals and 212 - Life Science Professionals. At this point, you must exercise your own judgment as to which minor group and unit group you choose.

Remember that the NOC is only as good as the person using it. Guessing should be avoided unless it is absolutely necessary.

Other Coding Tips:

• Apprentices are coded in the same group as qualified workers.

• Residents and articling students are coded in their respective professional groups.

• Supervisors of professionals are usually classified within the occupational group they supervise, in Skill Level A.

• Supervisors of other occupations are usually classified in specific unit groups in Skill Level B within the same Skill Type as those supervised.

• Self-employed construction contractors and supervisors are usually classified as Skill Level B.

• Management occupations start with 0, and for middle and other management occupations, the second digit (1 to 9) of the major group classification indicates the Skill Type, rather than Skill Level.

• In certain cases, you may consider the wage that a person is making to help you code their occupation. For example, a person may indicate that they work as a manager in a retail store. If the person is making minimum wage, this may be an indication that the occupation is supervisory rather than managerial.

For more information

For additional information about the NOC and related occupational publications, or to obtain NOC information in an alternate format, please contact us:

Skills and Labour Market Information Division
Program Policy and Coordination Directorate
Human Resources and Skill Development Canada (HRSDC)
Place du Portage, Phase IV, 4th Floor
140, promenade du Portage
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0J9

Internet: www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/NOC-CNP/app/index.aspx?lc=e
E-mail: noc-cnp@workingincanada.gc.ca