Do you have a career goal in sight? Now it’s time to figure out what education you need to get you there.

The answers are just a few clicks away.

The Working in Canada Tool describes lines of work and their educational requirements. It also gives you a list of institutions across Canada that offer the program or training.

Or, if you’d rather, you can search by educational level. Searching this way can tell you what occupations you could apply for with the education you have now, or what careers you could strive for if you returned to school.

The definitions below can lead you to those answers. They're grouped according to educational level and tie in to the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system. The NOC is a 4-digit job classification system used by many government agencies and employers to classify all occupations in Canada.

1. Occupations usually require university education: NOC Level A (1)
   
   This level requires a university degree at the bachelor's, master's or doctorate level.
   
   
2. Occupations usually require college education or apprenticeship training:
   
   This level requires:
   • 2 to 3 years of post-secondary education at a community college, institute of technology or CEGEP, or
   • 2 to 5 years of apprenticeship training, or
   • 3 to 4 years of secondary school and more than 2 years of on-the-job training, specialized training courses or specific work experience.

   Note: Occupations with supervisory responsibilities and occupations with significant health and safety responsibilities, such as firefighters, police officers and registered nursing assistants, are all assigned the skill level B.

3. Occupations usually require secondary school and/or occupation-specific training: NOC Level C (4 or 5)
   
   This level requires:
   • 1 to 4 years of secondary school education, or
   • up to 2 years of on-the-job training, specialized training courses or specific work experience.
4. On-the-job training is usually provided for occupations: NOC Level D (6)
   
   This level requires:
   • short work demonstration or on-the-job training, or
   • no formal educational requirements.