NOC 42202: Early childhood educators and assistants

NOC 42202 is the NOC 2021 unit group for early childhood educators and assistants, with job titles such as early childhood assistant, early childhood educator (ECE) and early childhood education worker. It is a TEER 2 occupation in broad category 4, occupations in education, law and social, community and government services. Also searched as: ECE NOC code, ECA NOC code, RECE NOC code.

TEER 2Broad category 4NOC 2021

Decode the code

Pick a level to see what each digit means.

42202

Unit group 42202: early childhood educators and assistants. This is the code you put on your application.

NOC 42202 job description: early childhood assistant duties and responsibilities

  • Develop and implement child-care programs that support and promote the physical, cognitive, emotional and social development of children
  • Lead activities by telling or reading stories, teaching songs, taking children to local points of interest and providing opportunities to express creativity through the media of art, dramatic play, music and physical activity
  • Plan and maintain an environment that protects the health, security and well-being of children
  • Assess the abilities, interests and needs of children and discuss progress or problems with parents and other staff members
  • Observe children for signs of potential learning or behavioural problems and prepare reports for parents, guardians or supervisor
  • Guide and assist children in the development of proper eating, dressing and toilet habits
  • Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with co-workers and community service providers working with children
  • May plan and organize activities for school-age children in child-care programs before and after regular school hours
  • May supervise and coordinate activities of other early childhood educators and early childhood educator assistants.
  • Support early childhood educators in carrying out programs that promote the physical, cognitive, emotional and social development of children
  • Engage children in activities by telling stories, teaching songs and preparing crafts
  • Prepare snacks and arrange rooms or furniture for lunch and rest periods
  • Assist with proper eating, dressing and toilet habits
  • Submit written observations on children to early childhood educators or supervisors
  • Maintain daycare equipment and assist in housekeeping and cooking duties
  • Attend staff meetings to discuss progress and problems of children
  • May assist early childhood educators or supervisors in keeping records.

Job titles under NOC 42202

See every job title and its code in the A–Z job title index, or all TEER 2 jobs.

Is NOC 42202 eligible for Express Entry?

By TEER, yes. TEER 2 is inside the TEER 0 to 3 range that the Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class accept. You still need qualifying work experience, language test results and enough CRS points to get an invitation. Category-based draws and provincial nominee programs use their own occupation lists.

Federal program TEER requirements for NOC 42202
ProgramTEER checkWhy
Federal Skilled WorkerTEER qualifiesTEER 2 is within TEER 0 to 3
Canadian Experience ClassTEER qualifiesTEER 2 is within TEER 0 to 3
Federal Skilled TradesNot a listed tradeOnly certain trade groups qualify. Check IRCC
Spouse's open work permitQualifiesOn IRCC's TEER 2–3 list. SOWP rules

Category-based draws: NOC 42202 is on IRCC's Education list (checked 2026-10-16). Under NOC 2016, TEER 2 was skill level B ("NOC B").

Category-based Express Entry draws and provincial nominee programs use their own occupation lists. Check the current lists on IRCC's Express Entry page and provincial nominee page.

NOC 42202: common questions

What is NOC 42202?

NOC 42202 is the code for early childhood educators and assistants in Canada's National Occupational Classification (NOC 2021). Its first digit, 4, is the broad category and its second digit, 2, is the TEER level. Immigration forms, job offers and LMIA applications use this five-digit code.

What TEER is NOC 42202?

NOC 42202 is TEER 2. Occupations that usually need a college program of two to three years or an apprenticeship of two to five years, or that carry supervisory or significant safety responsibilities. Under the older NOC 2016 system, TEER 2 lines up with skill level B.

Is NOC 42202 eligible for Express Entry and PR?

By TEER, yes. TEER 2 is inside the TEER 0 to 3 range that the Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class accept. You still need qualifying work experience, language test results and enough CRS points to get an invitation. Category-based draws and provincial nominee programs use their own occupation lists.

Is NOC 42202 in a category-based Express Entry draw?

Yes. As of IRCC's list dated 2026-10-16, NOC 42202 is in the education category. Category-based draws invite candidates with at least 6 months of continuous work experience in one of the listed occupations, and IRCC updates the lists from time to time.

Is NOC 42202 eligible for a spousal open work permit (SOWP)?

Yes. NOC 42202 is on IRCC's list of TEER 2 occupations that qualify, so a worker in this job can support a spouse's open work permit, as long as their own work permit has at least 16 months left when the spouse applies (IRCC page modified 2026-06-12).

What is the NOC code for an early childhood assistant?

Early childhood assistant is listed under NOC 42202, early childhood educators and assistants. The job title alone does not decide your code: your duties should match the main duties of NOC 42202.

How do I know if NOC 42202 is my NOC code?

Compare what you actually do with the main duties listed for NOC 42202, not just your job title. IRCC expects your duties to match the lead statement and most of the main duties of the code you choose. If they fit another code better, use that one. You can paste your duties into nocfinder to see how they line up, duty by duty.

Source: ESDC NOC 2021 · IRCC program pages. Not legal advice.