OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS:

Occupational classification systems provide a basis for ordering the existing occupational structures. This helps job seekers plan their careers by:

• finding out the nature of jobs
• finding out the education and training required to perform jobs
• finding out about mobility

The Government of Canada in conjunction with Stats. Canada has a job classification system known as the National Occupational CLassification (NOC).
The NOC, in putting together its classification system will:

• Identify specific occupation and find a list of job titles associated with the occupational group.
• Give a description of the main duties of the job.
• Give the requirements for employment, including education, training, certification and licensing.
• Find similar occupations listed to look up and compare.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE NOC

• 26 major groups - each group has a unique two digit code number and is composed of one or minor groups (See text)
• 139 minor groups - each minor group has a unique three-digit code number and is composed of one or more unit groups. The first two digits of this code indicate the major group to which the minor group belongs.
• 522 unit groups - each unit group has a unique four digit code. The first three digits of this code indicate the minor and major groups to which it belongs.

Skill types are:

0 - Legislators and Senior Management
1 - Business, Finance, and Administration
2 - Natural and Applied Sciences and Related Occupations
3 - Health
4 - Social Science, Education, Government Service, and Religion
5 - Art, Culture, Recreation, and Sport
6 - Sales and Service
7 - Trades, Transport, and Equipment Operators and Related Occupations
8 - Occupations Unique to Primary Industry
9 - Occupations Unique to Manufacturing, Processing and Utilities

Skill levels are:

Skill Level A (1) - University education
Skill Level B (2 or 3) - College level education including trade apprenticeships
Skill Level C (4 or 5) - Secondary school plus a period of job-specific training
Skill Level D (6) - Short work demonstration (no formal education required)

Example of larger fields with "low" growth compared to a smaller fields with "high" growth
B.C. 1995 - 2001

	Number employed 1995	Projected growth %	Job openings from growth	Job openings from attrition	Total Job Openings
Secretaries	39,000	15%	5,800	6,000	11,800
Systems Analysts	6,600	17%	1,100	300	1,300
Athletes	200	35%	70	6	80
EEG/Other Diagnostic Technician	90	33%	30	4	30

NOTE: The secretaries occupational classification (NOC code 1241) falls within the major two digit NOC of Skilled Administrative and Business Occupations, and includes Executive Secretaries and Technical Secretaries. These more highly skilled administrative occupations require one or two years of post-secondary secretarial/business training and/or several years of previous clerical experience. This occupational classification does not include the lower skills clerical occupations such as general office clerks (NOC code 1411), and word processing operators (NOC code 1412).

Various studies, facts, etc. provided by the NOC lead HR professionals to be able to use such statistics as this:

 

Canada 1994 - 2001

Projected Number of Job Openings