By Efim Cheinis
The majority of Canadian immigrants are university, college or trade school graduates and have years of work experience. Is it necessary to start your professional career in Canada from the very beginning? Not at all!
Many newcomers may continue working in their trades in Canada. But, to do so successfully you have to be prepared and do your homework. What does this mean? First of all you need to carefully learn about the Canadian job market and find out how your occupation is classified. You also have to research educational and employment requirements needed to continue your career in Canada.
The best way to gather all of this information is by getting acquainted with the official Canadian trade directory – National Occupational Classification (NOC). Ask for NOC in libraries or at Employment Resource Centers and you will get 2 books. The first is called “National Occupational Classification. Index of Titles”. There are almost 40,000 Canadian jobs, listed alphabetically, in this small book. Each occupation is followed by a unique four-digit code. Look for your job title if you know it, and you will find your occupational code. Then, take the second book, “National Occupational Classification. Occupational Description” and using the code from the Index of Titles, find your occupational description, which includes:
- industries and workplaces where the occupation is found,
- examples of titles which are commonly used within the group,
- the most significant duties of this occupation,
- educational and employment requirements.
If you do not know exactly what your job title is, look in the second book. You will find 10 types of skills:
- Management occupations
- Business, finance and administration (such as accountants, secretaries, office clerks)
- Natural and applied sciences (engineers, technicians, technologists, etc.)
- Health (physicians, pharmacists, nurses, dentists)
- Social science, education, government service and religion (lawyers, teachers, social workers, ministers of religion, paralegals)
- Art, culture, recreation and sport (Librarians, Journalists, Musicians, Graphic Designers, Coaches)
- Sales and service (Retail and Wholesale People, Insurance and Real Estate Representatives, Cooks, Barbers, Cashiers, Cleaners, Babysitters)
- Trades, transport and equipment operators (Machinists, Tool and Die Makers, Electricians, Plumbers, Carpenters, Mechanics, Drivers)
- Occupations unique to primary industry (Farmers, Oil, Gas and Mine Workers)
- Occupations unique to processing, manufacturing and utilities (Machine Operators, Assemblers, Laborers)
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