NOC 41221 — Elementary school and kindergarten teachers in Canada
Duties, TEER level, employment requirements and example job titles for NOC 41221 — from the NOC 2021 classification.
What NOC 41221 means in plain English
Elementary school and kindergarten teachers teach basic subjects to students at the elementary school level. In NOC 2021, the first digit of the code (4) places this unit group in the broad category Occupations in education, law and social, community and government services, and the second digit (1) is its TEER level.
What TEER 1 means
TEER stands for Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities. TEER 1 usually means:
- Completion of a university degree (bachelor's, master's or doctorate), or
- Previous experience and expertise in subject-matter knowledge from a related TEER 2 occupation (when applicable).
Express Entry: Work experience in TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 occupations is the 'skilled' experience that the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class under Express Entry look for. Program rules, minimum hours and category-based draws change, so confirm current requirements on IRCC's website before you apply. See all TEER 1 occupations.
Main duties
- Prepare lesson plans
- Teach basic subjects
- Evaluate student progress
- Communicate with parents
Employment requirements
- Bachelor's degree in education
- Provincial teaching certificate
Example job titles under NOC 41221
If your job title is one of these, NOC 41221 is a likely match — confirm it by comparing your actual duties with the list above, since NOC is matched on duties, not titles.
- Elementary school teacher
- Kindergarten teacher
- Primary school teacher
How to use NOC 41221 on your resume
Recruiters and applicant tracking systems search for Canadian job titles and duty keywords. Use the example title that matches your work, mirror the duty wording above in your bullets, and check your draft with the free ATS checker. If you studied outside Canada, read our Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) guide.
Related occupations
Other occupations in education, law and social, community and government services we cover:
- NOC 41200 — University professors and lecturers (TEER 1)
- NOC 41220 — Secondary school teachers (TEER 1)
- NOC 42202 — Early Childhood Educators (ECE) (TEER 2)
Sources: National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021, Statistics Canada / ESDC (duties and requirements summarized). Always confirm your code on the official NOC site before using it on an application.