Secondary, elementary and kindergarten school teachers
Secondary school teachersNOC 41220, TEER 1
NOC 41220 (Secondary school teachers) is TEER 1.TEER 1
Occupations that usually require a university degree
- Express Entry
- IRCC counts TEER 0 to 3 work for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class, so work in NOC 41220 sits inside that range.
- 2026 categories
- IRCC's 2026 category lists include NOC 41220 in the Education occupations category.
- Median wage
- $45.67 an hour across Canada, from Job Bank's 2025 wage release (2023-2024 data).
- Provincial programs
- Each province sets which occupations its streams take. From our registry: OINP Ontario Workforce Priority stream, status Open, verified November 12, 2026.
How to read this code
- Broad category
- The first digit is the broad occupational category, the widest grouping in the NOC.
- TEER
- The second digit, 1, is the TEER category: TEER 1.
- Group
- The first four digits, 4122, are the minor group: Secondary, elementary and kindergarten school teachers.
- Occupation
- All five digits, 41220, are the unit group, the occupation itself: Secondary school teachers.
Also called: adult education teacher - secondary school, biology teacher - secondary school, commerce teacher - secondary school, English as a second language (ESL) high school teacher, English teacher - secondary school
This page shows the official duties for NOC 41220, where its TEER sits in immigration rules, and the wages Job Bank reports. It describes the rules. It does not decide anyone's case.
What the job involves
Statistics Canada text, quoted word for word. IRCC compares your duties with this description, not your job title.
Lead statement
Secondary school teachers prepare and teach academic, technical, vocational or specialized subjects at public and private secondary schools. Secondary school teachers who are heads of departments are included in this unit group.
Example job titles
- adult education teacher - secondary school
- biology teacher - secondary school
- commerce teacher - secondary school
- English as a second language (ESL) high school teacher
- English teacher - secondary school
- French as a second language teacher - secondary school
- history teacher - secondary school
- librarian-teacher - high school
- remedial teacher - secondary school
- secondary school department head
- secondary school teacher
- special education teacher - secondary school
- supply high school teacher
- trades instructor - secondary school
- vocational teacher - secondary school
Main duties: check yours
IRCC's rule for the Federal Skilled Worker Program: you must have performed "the actions in the lead statement" and "most of the main duties listed". Tick the duties you do. The count helps you compare. It is not a decision.
Verify on canada.ca(opens in a new tab)Lead statement: not ticked. Main duties ticked: 0 of 11.
The rule asks for the lead statement and most of the main duties. IRCC gives no number for "most", and an officer decides.
Few ticks? Read "Classified elsewhere" below: it names the codes for jobs that sit close to this one.
Your ticks are kept in this browser only, so they are here when you come back. Nothing is sent. "Clear ticks" erases them.
If your duties look different
Statistics Canada names the jobs that belong in a different NOC. If one of these sounds more like your work, open that code and compare.
Classified elsewhere
- 41210College and other vocational instructors (See 41210 College and other vocational instructors)
- 41320Educational counsellors (See 41320 Educational counsellors)
- 43100Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants (See 43100 Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants)
- 41221Elementary school and kindergarten teachers (See 41221 Elementary school and kindergarten teachers)
- 42203Instructors of persons with disabilities (See 42203 Instructors of persons with disabilities)
- 43109Other instructors (See 43109 Other instructors)
- 41301Psychoeducator (See 41301 Therapists in counselling and related specialized therapies)
- 40021School principals and administrators of elementary and secondary education (See 40021 School principals and administrators of elementary and secondary education)
- 52100Secondary school librarian (See 52100 Library and public archive technicians)
Usual employment requirements
- Teachers of academic subjects require a bachelor's degree in education which is often preceded by a bachelor's degree in the arts or sciences.
- Teachers of vocational or technical subjects require a bachelor's degree in education which is usually preceded by specialized training or experience in the subject.
- Instructors of trades in Quebec require completion of an apprenticeship training program and industry or trade certification.
- Department heads usually require several years of teaching experience.
- To specialize in special education or English or French as a second language, additional training is required.
- A provincial teaching certificate is required.
- Membership in a provincial or territorial teachers' association or federation may be required.
Where TEER 1 sits in immigration rules
Each row gives the rule, then what it means for this occupation. The programs set many other conditions too, so read the official page before you act.
Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class
The rule: both programs count work experience only in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3.
What this means: NOC 41220 is TEER 1, so work in it is inside that range. The TEER is one condition, not the whole test. Both programs also set how much work you need (at least 1 year, or 1,560 hours), when you did it, and minimum language results.
Federal Skilled Trades Program
The rule: this program goes by NOC group, not by TEER alone. IRPR s. 87.2 lists Major Groups 72 (less Sub-major Group 726), 73, 82, 83, 92 and 93 (less Sub-major Group 932), Minor Group 6320 and Unit Group 62200, other than a restricted occupation.
What this means: NOC 41220 is not in one of the listed groups, so work in it is not skilled trade experience under this program.
Express Entry category-based selection, 2026
The rule: IRCC publishes a closed list of NOC codes for each category. NOC 41220 is on these 2026 lists:
- Education occupations
What this means: A category round can invite only people who are already eligible for an Express Entry program and who have at least 12 months of full-time work (or the same amount part-time) in a listed occupation in the past 3 years. The work does not need to be continuous.
Being on a list does not mean a round will be held. IRCC says it may not need a category round when enough top-ranking candidates are invited through general or program-specific rounds.
IRCC page modified October 16, 2026, checked November 12, 2026.
Atlantic Immigration Program
The rule: the program takes job offers in TEER 0 to 4 from designated employers in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The job must be full-time and non-seasonal.
What this means: A TEER 1 offer must last at least 1 year from the day the person becomes a permanent resident.
Provincial Nominee Programs
The rule: each province and territory sets its own requirements and streams, including which occupations and TEER levels a stream takes.
What this means: Check the stream's own page for this NOC code. One example from our program status registry:
Program status: OINP Ontario Workforce Priority stream: Open
The stream has launched and the expression of interest portal opened on August 4, 2026. It covers skilled workers with a qualifying job offer in any NOC occupation, plus self-employed physicians.
Verified November 12, 2026 · Official source
Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
The rule: an employer, not a worker, applies for an LMIA, and ESDC assesses each job offer. The wage offered, compared with the provincial or territorial threshold, puts the job in the high-wage or low-wage stream.
What this means: Service Canada refuses to process low-wage applications for jobs in census metropolitan areas where unemployment is 6% or higher. Some sectors are exempt, such as primary agriculture, construction, food manufacturing, hospitals, and nursing and residential care. ESDC updates the list of areas each quarter. When this page was checked (September 26, 2026), the ESDC page showed the list for July 10 to October 8, 2026; open the ESDC page for the list in force today. A separate pause covers low-wage jobs in Montréal and Laval.
Wages in Canada
The wages Job Bank publishes for NOC 41220, for Canada as a whole and for each province and territory.
- Low
- $28.85
- per hour
- Median
- $45.67
- per hour
- High
- $59.76
- per hour
What this means: half of the people in this occupation earn less than the median and half earn more. Pay changes with the province, the employer and your experience.
Median by province or territory
| Province or territory | Median (per hour) |
|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $51.81 |
| Prince Edward Island | $44.44 |
| Nova Scotia | $41.35 |
| New Brunswick | $41.03 |
| Quebec | $44.23 |
| Ontario | $48.08 |
| Manitoba | $45.67 |
| Saskatchewan | $44.71 |
| Alberta | $47.12 |
| British Columbia | $44.33 |
| Yukon | $54.95 |
| Northwest Territories | Not published |
| Nunavut | $59.77 |
Reference period 2023-2024. Data source: Labour Force Survey. ESDC Job Bank wages, release revised 2025-11-19. (opens in a new tab)
Search jobs for NOC 41220 on Job Bank(opens in a new tab)ClearToEnter is not affiliated with Job Bank or ESDC.
Related occupations
Codes in the same NOC group as 41220, the closest first.
- 41221Kindergarten teacherElementary school and kindergarten teachersTEER 1
- 41210Vocational trainerCollege and other vocational instructorsTEER 1
- 41201Post-secondary research assistantPost-secondary teaching and research assistantsTEER 1
- 41200University professorUniversity professors and lecturersTEER 1
Questions about this code
What is the TEER of NOC 41220?
NOC 41220 (Secondary school teachers) is TEER 1: occupations that usually require a university degree. In NOC 2021, the second digit of a code is its TEER: in 41220, it is 1. Every job title in this unit group, such as adult education teacher - secondary school, shares that TEER.
Is NOC 41220 eligible for Express Entry?
IRCC counts work experience in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class. NOC 41220 is TEER 1, so work in it sits inside that range. IRCC's 2026 category lists include NOC 41220 in the Education occupations category. The TEER is one condition: the programs also set how much work counts and minimum language results, and IRCC decides each case.
What is the median wage for NOC 41220?
Job Bank reports a median wage of $45.67 an hour for NOC 41220 across Canada. The low figure is $28.85 and the high is $59.76. Medians by province and territory run from $41.03 in New Brunswick to $59.77 in Nunavut. The figures come from Job Bank's 2025 wage release (Labour Force Survey, 2023-2024).
What job titles are under NOC 41220?
Statistics Canada lists 15 example job titles for NOC 41220, including adult education teacher - secondary school, biology teacher - secondary school, commerce teacher - secondary school, English as a second language (ESL) high school teacher and English teacher - secondary school. The title alone does not set the code: IRCC compares your duties with the lead statement and main duties on this page.
Can an employer hire for NOC 41220 through an LMIA?
An employer, not a worker, applies for an LMIA, and ESDC assesses each job offer, including the wage. For low-wage jobs, Service Canada refuses to process applications in census metropolitan areas where unemployment is 6% or higher, with some exemptions.
Next steps
Read the rules behind this page, then compare pathways.
Guides
The law
Compare pathways for this occupation
The Pathway Explorer lists each major program and its published criteria. Take NOC 41220 and its TEER with you.
NOC 2021 Version 1.0: Statistics Canada and ESDC.