Executive Summary

The National Occupational Classification and
the Designated Occupations List:
Study of the Optimum Level of Occupational Specification
Required for Effective Selection of Skilled Immigrant Workers

by

Anne C. Schaefer

for

Economic Services Branch, B.C./Yukon Region, Employment and Immigration Canada

Labour Market Services Branch, British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education, Training, and Technology

School of Public Administration, University of Victoria

August 1992

Background

Immigration has traditionally been, and still is, an essential source of skilled workers for Canada. In 1991, a concept piloted in the 1970s was revived: The Designated Occupations List is a federal-provincial labour market-oriented immigration program designed to fill regional labour market shortages and provide skilled personnel for economic development initiatives in a flexible and responsive manner. In this program, each province is given the opportunity to participate in setting criteria for selection of a certain number of skilled immigrants who state their intention to settle in the designating province.

British Columbia has been an active partner in designating occupations for immigration. B.C. allocated its entire 1992 quota of 500 immigrants to 21 skill shortage occupations. Other provinces, perhaps more affected by the recession, were more conservative. Ontario, for example, applied designations to less than one-third of the 2000 spaces allotted to it by the federal government.

Objectives

The present study was conducted for the Regional Economic Services Branch of Employment and Immigration Canada and the Labour Market Services Branch of the provincial Ministry of Advanced Education, Training, and Technology, in consultation with the provincial Immigration Policy Branch. The research addressed the following question: Given the forthcoming implementation of a new occupational classification system, what is the optimum level of specification of occupations required for effective operation of the program?

To date, Immigration Regulations have limited occupational specification to a code contained in the 20-year-old Canadian Classification and Dictionary of Occupations (CCDO), a complex instrument containing brief descriptions of more than 7500 occupations. Non-binding supplementary information, to describe actual skill shortages more accurately and precisely, can be made available to prospective immigrants, but applicants with the minimum skills and qualifications outlined in the CCDO code cannot be refused the extra points given for Designated Occupations, even if their skills do not align with the requirements of the designating region. The consequences are significant: Applicants selected in this way may not have the skills needed in the B.C. labour marketplace; furthermore, since a quota is set for each occupation, they use up spaces which could have been taken by others who do have those skills. And, once they arrive in B.C., they may face serious underemployment. Thus, an inadequate level of specification directly threatens program effectiveness.

The CCDO will be replaced sometime in 1993 by a streamlined system known as the National Occupational Classification (NOC), which consists of fewer than 525 entries. Officials are concerned that the more aggregated NOC will be even less satisfactory than the CCDO for selection of independent immigrants. The present study sought to determine whether the NOC would (1) attract applicants with the necessary qualifications and (2) screen out unqualified applicants. In addition, the study assessed whether variables on existing, validated supplementary checklists of skills were useful supplements to NOC entries considered inadequate.

Summary of Method

The research examined draft NOC entries for occupations which have already appeared on the B.C. Designated Occupations List. In-depth interviews were conducted with experts in the field, in this case those responsible for hiring in skill shortage occupations. The accuracy of occupational entry requirements outlined in the NOC and the need for supplementary information were considered, beginning with EIC’s JOBSCAN, a set of checklists of skills in broad occupational areas.

Results and Recommendations

Respondents provided a wealth of qualitative information which will serve as a rich resource for officials conducting future rounds of designation. Overall, the research found that the National Occupational Classification alone will not be an adequate tool for the Designated Occupations List. Precisely because the NOC is meant to be a streamlined taxonomy, it is in fact likely to hinder program goals of being a responsive and flexible labour market tool. The goals of the NOC are fundamentally at odds with the brass-tacks problem of filling skills shortages through immigration.

The report makes 18 recommendations in four areas: The mechanics of specification, designation methods, JOBSCAN, and policy and administration. Notably, it recommends that officials should be allowed a considerable amount of flexibility in describing occupations, and should not be limited to the NOC or to existing JOBSCAN checklists. Furthermore, the report suggests that the type and extent of consultation required should be clarified. It also recommends a communications strategy to educate employers and immigrants about the program, as well as simple measures to enhance the probabilities that skilled immigrants will find work in their fields as soon as possible after arriving in the province. Finally, it is suggested that planning should commence in January 1993 for a program evaluation in 1994.

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