Frequently asked questions

The OaSIS is a database that provides detailed information on the competencies required by occupations, such as skills and abilities, as well as on the work environment. It gives youth, students, job seekers, employers, career counselors, and labour market analysts a standardized way to understand an occupation’s expected requirements. Each of these user groups may use the OaSIS differently:

• Youth, students, and parents: can explore career options and choose education or training paths that lead to satisfying jobs
• Workers and job seekers: can assess their competencies to see if they match a specific occupation, helping them re-enter the labour market or switch careers
• Career and employment counselors: can use detailed occupational information on work characteristics and requirements to guide clients towards a career path that best suits them
• Employers: can use OaSIS data to identify their needs in terms of competencies, which may assist in hiring new employees to meet their needs or guiding current employees towards the right training to fill skills gaps
• Education and training-related service providers: can use the OaSIS occupational competency information to guide their curricula’s design
• Programs developing occupational standards or occupational information: can use the expansive and detailed information available in the OaSIS to inform their work
• Analysts doing research on occupational patterns and trends: can rely on the OaSIS as a key resource for detailed occupational information
• Governments: can utilise OaSIS data to better understand the competencies required by the economy, assisting in the development of programs and policies to address gaps and challenges in the world of work and to maximize employment.

OaSIS data is regularly updated, with occasional minor updates as needed. Large updates, such as additions of new sections or major revisions of ratings, result in a new version of the OaSIS. To learn more, consult the Versions of the OaSIS page.

Previous versions of the OaSIS can be accessed from the Versions of the OaSIS section on the main page. A link to each version will be provided whenever a new one is published.

While the O*NET database is not the only source of information for the OaSIS, it was used significantly in the development of the OaSIS. Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) chose a comprehensive and cost-effective approach, using O*NET as the primary data source due to its high quality, detailed information, and its alignment with the North American labour market.

The OaSIS data only shows what is usually expected for the listed occupation. The information in the OaSIS is not meant to be comprehensive and your job may not exactly match these expectations. Differences between your job and what is listed in the OaSIS may arise due to:

• Your employer’s expectations differing from the general standards for this occupation
• Your job title being generic and applicable to multiple occupations with different skill and competency ratings
• Specializations within an occupation that require different or higher competencies
• The ratings may not reflect all aspects of the occupation. Please contact us if you believe important information is missing.

You can search for a specific skill or competency on the Welcome page. Alternatively, you can explore the skills or competencies by category on the Skills and competencies included in the OaSIS page.

You can search for a specific occupation on the Welcome page by using the keyword or OaSIS code searches. Alternatively, you can explore the complete list of occupations in alphabetical order.

OaSIS uses labour market data to maintain a consistent database. This means that occupations that are insufficiently sampled, underrepresented in labour market surveys, or insufficient in number, may not have a dedicated profile. To find the closest match, search by keyword or by National Occupational Classification code. If you have further inquiries, please contact us.

If a competency is marked as ‘0 - Not applicable’ for your occupation, it means that this competency is generally not required for this occupational profile. However, this may not apply to all cases, as employers' requirements may vary.

The OaSIS is revised and updated on a regular basis. Stakeholders and other interested parties can submit their comments or specific inquiries by contacting us. A member of the team will be in touch afterwards.

The OaSIS datasets are available on the Government of Canada Open Data website. Access to the OaSIS API can also be requested by contacting us directly.

Skills Match is an alternative way to search the OaSIS system by identifying similarities between occupations. By searching with an OaSIS code, you can view other occupations that share similar ratings in the Skills, Abilities, Knowledge and Personal Attributes categories. For more information on Skills Match, consult the OaSIS methodology page.