If you're researching Express Entry, you've almost certainly bumped into the phrase "TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3" and if you're like most applicants, your next question is: what does that actually mean, and does my job qualify?
This is one of the most common eligibility questions we see at Up Immigration, and it's also one of the most consequential. Your job's TEER level determines whether you can apply through Express Entry at all, which programs you qualify for, and how many CRS points your work experience earns. Get it wrong, and you can spend months preparing an application IRCC will refuse on the first review.
This guide breaks down the entire TEER system: what each level means, the kinds of jobs that fall into each category, how Express Entry treats them, and the practical steps to confirm your own TEER level before you commit to applying.
What is TEER, and why does it matter for Express Entry?
TEER stands for Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities. It's the framework Statistics Canada uses to classify every occupation in the Canadian labour market under the National Occupational Classification (NOC).
The current version is NOC 2021, which IRCC has used for all Express Entry decisions since November 16, 2022. NOC 2021 replaced the older "skill type / skill level" system (Skill Type 0, A, B, C, D) with a five-tier structure: TEER 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
For Express Entry, only TEER 0, 1, 2, and 3 are considered "skilled" work experience. If your job sits in TEER 4 or 5, you can't use that experience for any of the three federal economic programs: Federal Skilled Worker (FSW), Canadian Experience Class (CEC), or Federal Skilled Trades (FST).
That single fact is why the TEER level of your job is the first thing every Express Entry applicant should verify before language tests, before ECA, before anything else.
The TEER decoder: what each level means
Here's the practical version of how TEER levels are defined under NOC 2021:
| TEER | Typical training/education requirement | Typical job examples |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Management occupations — broad managerial responsibility | Restaurant managers, IT managers, financial managers, construction managers, marketing managers |
| 1 | University degree (bachelor's, master's, or doctorate) | Software engineers, civil engineers, registered nurses, accountants, lawyers, secondary school teachers |
| 2 | College diploma (2–3 years) OR apprenticeship training (2–5 years) OR supervisory roles | Computer network technicians, registered practical nurses, electricians, plumbers, chefs, police officers |
| 3 | College program (less than 2 years) OR apprenticeship (less than 2 years) OR six months of on-the-job training plus secondary school | Bakers, dental assistants, transport truck drivers, heavy-duty equipment mechanics, home support workers |
| 4 | Secondary school plus several weeks of on-the-job training | Retail salespersons, food and beverage servers, security guards, janitors |
| 5 | Short demonstration only — no formal education required | Cashiers, food counter attendants, fruit pickers, parking lot attendants |
Important nuance: the TEER level is assigned to the occupation itself, not to your individual credentials. A nurse with a master's degree and a nurse with a bachelor's degree are both TEER 1 because the occupation "registered nurses" is classified as TEER 1. Your personal qualifications can affect your CRS score, but not the TEER classification of your work experience.
TEER 0 jobs in Canada: management occupations
TEER 0 covers managers — people responsible for planning, organizing, directing, controlling, and evaluating the activities of an organization or department.
Common TEER 0 occupations include:
- Senior managers — public administration, financial/communications/business services, trade/broadcasting/utilities
- Specialized middle managers — IT, financial, human resources, engineering, marketing, sales
- Restaurant and food service managers
- Accommodation service managers (hotels, motels)
- Retail and wholesale trade managers
- Construction managers
- Transportation managers
- Health care managers
If you supervise other employees, set departmental strategy, manage budgets, and report to executive leadership — there's a strong chance your role is TEER 0. Job titles alone are unreliable, though; IRCC looks at duties.
Express Entry programs that accept TEER 0: FSW, CEC. (FST does not — it's restricted to specific trades.)
TEER 1 jobs in Canada: university-degree professions
TEER 1 covers occupations that typically require a university degree — bachelor's, master's, or doctoral level.
High-volume TEER 1 examples:
- Software engineers and designers, computer programmers and interactive media developers
- Civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical engineers
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
- Family physicians, specialist physicians, dentists
- Accountants, financial auditors, financial analysts, investment professionals
- Lawyers, notaries (Quebec), Quebec notaries
- Secondary school teachers, college and other vocational instructors, university professors
- Architects, urban and land use planners
- Pharmacists, optometrists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists
- Human resources professionals, business management consultants
TEER 1 is the largest single bucket of skilled workers in Express Entry. If you have a bachelor's-level professional role, your job almost certainly lands here.
Express Entry programs that accept TEER 1: FSW, CEC.
TEER 2 jobs in Canada: college diplomas, trades, supervisors
TEER 2 covers two broad groups:
- Occupations that usually require a 2- to 3-year college diploma or a 2- to 5-year apprenticeship
- Supervisory occupations in industries like manufacturing, retail, food services, etc.
Common TEER 2 examples:
- Computer network and web technicians
- Web designers, graphic designers and illustrators
- Registered practical nurses (RPNs / LPNs)
- Paramedics, ambulance attendants
- Electricians (industrial, construction, power line)
- Plumbers, gas fitters, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics
- Welders, machinists, tool and die makers, sheet metal workers
- Carpenters, cabinetmakers, automotive service technicians
- Chefs
- Police officers (except commissioned)
- Early childhood educators and assistants
- Insurance agents and brokers, real estate agents, financial sales representatives
- Supervisors in food service, retail, manufacturing, mining, oil and gas drilling, etc.
Many of the highest-demand occupations in Canada — electricians, plumbers, welders, RPNs, ECEs — sit in TEER 2.
Express Entry programs that accept TEER 2: FSW, CEC, and FST (only for the specific trades listed in NOC major groups 72, 73, 82, 83, 92, 93, and 6320).
TEER 3 jobs in Canada: shorter college programs and apprenticeships
TEER 3 covers occupations that usually require:
- A college program shorter than 2 years, OR
- An apprenticeship shorter than 2 years, OR
- More than 6 months of on-the-job training plus secondary school
Common TEER 3 examples:
- Bakers, butchers, fishmongers
- Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants
- Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants
- Massage therapists, acupuncturists
- Transport truck drivers
- Heavy-duty equipment mechanics, automotive service technicians (some)
- Home support workers, housekeepers and related occupations
- Hairstylists and barbers
- Roofers, shinglers, glaziers
- Concrete finishers, bricklayers
- Material handlers (some)
- Cooks (note: chefs are TEER 2, cooks are TEER 3 — duties matter)
Express Entry programs that accept TEER 3: FSW, CEC, and FST (for the listed trades only).
What about TEER 4 and TEER 5?
TEER 4 and 5 occupations are not eligible as primary skilled work experience under FSW, CEC, or FST. Examples include:
- TEER 4: retail salespersons, food and beverage servers, security guards, light duty cleaners, customer service representatives
- TEER 5: cashiers, food counter attendants, fruit and vegetable pickers, dishwashers, gas station attendants
If your only Canadian or foreign work experience is in TEER 4 or 5, Express Entry through the federal programs is generally not an option. But there are alternatives — see "What if your job isn't TEER 0–3?" below.
How to find your job's TEER level (the right way)
The only authoritative source for an occupation's TEER level is the NOC 2021 reference on the Government of Canada's website (noc.esdc.gc.ca). Here's the step-by-step:
- Go to noc.esdc.gc.ca and click "NOC 2021 Version 1.0" (the current version IRCC uses).
- Search by job title — type your role (e.g. "registered nurse", "software engineer", "chef").
- Open the matching occupational unit group. Pay attention to the four-digit code that starts with the TEER level: a code starting with 0 is TEER 0, starting with 1 is TEER 1, etc.
- Read the "Main duties" section carefully. Don't rely on the job title alone — IRCC compares your actual day-to-day work against this list.
- Confirm at least 50% of your duties match, including the lead statement at the top of the description.
If your duties straddle two NOC codes, pick the one that matches the majority of your responsibilities and the lead statement most closely. Document your reasoning — you'll need to defend it if IRCC questions the classification.
Common edge cases and pitfalls
A few situations regularly trip up Express Entry applicants:
Job title ≠ TEER level. A "Sales Manager" might be TEER 0 (specialized middle manager) or TEER 6 (retail sales supervisor) depending entirely on duties. Always check the NOC description, not the title on your business card.
Multiple roles or hybrid jobs. If you've held two distinct roles at the same company (say, you started as an analyst and were promoted to manager), each role is a separate work experience entry — with potentially different TEER levels.
Self-employed work. It counts for FSW only, not CEC. The TEER classification is the same — what changes is which Express Entry program you qualify for.
Part-time work. IRCC accepts part-time work, but the hours need to total at least the equivalent of one year full-time (1,560 hours). Two years of 15 hours/week is the same as one year of 30 hours/week.
Internships, articling, residency. Generally counted toward work experience if paid. Unpaid work doesn't qualify for Express Entry.
Work without legal status. Cannot be counted, even if it actually happened. Only work done with valid status (in Canada or abroad) qualifies.
What if your job isn't TEER 0–3?
If your work experience falls in TEER 4 or 5, federal Express Entry isn't an option for you right now — but you have alternatives:
-
Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs): Some provinces nominate workers in lower-TEER occupations through specific streams — for example, in agriculture, food processing, hospitality, long-haul trucking, or other in-demand sectors. PNP nomination adds 600 CRS points if you're already in the Express Entry pool, and provinces also have non-Express Entry "base" streams that route around it entirely.
-
Caregivers Pilots: If you're working or planning to work in home child care or home support, the Caregivers Pilots offer a direct path to PR.
-
Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP): Some occupations in TEER 4 are eligible if you have a job offer from a designated employer in Atlantic Canada.
-
Rural and Francophone Community Immigration Pilots: Same logic — some TEER 4/5 occupations qualify if you have an offer from a designated employer in a participating community.
-
Working toward a higher-TEER role: Some applicants take additional training, complete a Canadian credential through PGWP, or transition into a TEER 3 role to become Express Entry eligible.
These alternative paths are more nuanced than Express Entry and often hinge on a specific job offer, location, or employer designation. This is exactly the kind of situation where a initial consultation with an RCIC can save months of wasted prep time.
Putting it all together
The TEER system isn't complicated once you understand it, but the consequences of misclassifying your work experience are huge. A wrongly chosen NOC code is one of the most common reasons Express Entry applications get refused or returned for incompleteness.
Before you submit anything, take 30 minutes to:
- Look up your job on noc.esdc.gc.ca
- Read the entire occupational description, not just the title
- Confirm your actual duties match at least the lead statement and a majority of the listed tasks
- Save the NOC code and screenshot the description for your records
If you're unsure about your classification — especially if your role is unusual, hybrid, or has changed over time — get a second opinion. We see Express Entry applications every week where the difference between a refusal and an approval came down to selecting the right NOC code in the right TEER tier.
Larissa Castelluber is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC #R710678) and the founder of Up Immigration Consulting in Abbotsford, BC. Up Immigration helps individuals and families navigate Canadian immigration with personalised, RCIC-led strategies.
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