| Regulated occupation |
Employment requirements |
| Architects |
A bachelor's degree from an accredited school of architecture or Completion of the syllabus of studies from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) is required. |
| A master's degree in architecture may be required. |
| Completion of a three-year internship under the supervision of a registered architect is required. |
| Completion of the architect registration examination is required. |
| Registration with the provincial association of architects in the province of work is required. |
| Landscape architect: |
| A bachelor's degree in landscape architecture is required. |
| A master's degree in landscape architecture may be required. |
| In Ontario and British Columbia, landscape architects require a two-year internship and the successful completion of a provincial registration exam. |
| In the remaining provinces and territories, landscape architects usually require two years of landscape design experience and an interview by their respective provincial associations to receive association certification. |
| Accountants |
Chartered accountants require a university degree and completion of a professional training program approved by a provincial institute of chartered accountants and, depending on the province, either two years or 30 months of on-the-job training and membership in a provincial Institute of Chartered Accountants upon successful completion of the Uniform Evaluation (UFE). |
| Certified general accountants and certified management accountants require a university degree and completion of a training program approved by the Society of Certified General Accountants or Society of Management Accountants and several years of on-the-job training and certification by the Certified General Accountants Association or the Society of Management Accountants. |
| Auditors require education, training and recognition as indicated for chartered accountants, certified general accountants or certified management accountants and some experience as an accountant. |
| Auditors may require recognition by the Institute of Internal Auditors. |
| To act as a trustee in bankruptcy proceedings, auditors and accountants must hold a licence as a trustee in bankruptcy. |
| Licensing by the provincial or territorial governing body is usually required for accountants and auditors practising public accounting. |
| Additional information: |
| There is limited mobility among the three professional accounting designations [Chartered Accountants (CA), Certified General Accountants (CGA) and Certified Management Accountants (CMA)]. |
| Progression to auditing or accounting management positions is possible with experience. |
| Chiropractors |
A minimum of two years of university undergraduate studies in sciences and completion of a four- or five-year program at an institution accredited by the Accreditation Commission of the Council on Chiropractic Education and completion of the examinations of the Canadian Chiropractic Examining Board and of the provincial licensing body are required. |
| Licensure by a regulatory body is required in all provinces and in the Yukon. |
| Dentists |
One to four years of pre-dentistry university studies, or, in Quebec, completion of a college program in sciences and a university degree from a recognized dental program are required. |
| Licensing by a provincial or territorial regulatory body is required. |
| Dentists in general practice can move into a specialized practice through advanced training. |
| Licensing for specializations is required. |
| Dieticians/Nutritionists |
Dieticians require a master's or bachelor's degree in dietetics, nutrition or a related field such as food and nutritional science or biochemistry and approximately 40 weeks of supervised practicum training. |
| Registration with a regulatory body is required in all provinces for dieticians. |
| Membership in the national association, Dieticians of Canada, may be required for dieticians to practise. |
| Nutritionists usually require the same education and training as dieticians. |
| Registration with a regulatory body is required for nutritionists in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and (as a registered dietician-nutritionist) New Brunswick. |
| Membership with the national association, Dieticians of Canada, and/or a provincial regulatory body is available for nutritionists who have the same education and practicum training as dieticians. |
| Engineers |
A bachelor's degree in civil engineering or in a related engineering discipline is required. |
| A master's degree or doctorate in a related engineering discipline may be required. |
| Licensing by a provincial or territorial association of professional engineers is required to approve engineering drawings and reports and to practise as a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.). |
| Engineers are eligible for registration following graduation from an accredited educational program, and after three or four years of supervised work experience in engineering and passing a professional practice examination. |
| Additional information: |
| There is considerable mobility between civil engineering specializations at the less senior levels. |
| Engineers often work in a multidisciplinary environment and acquire knowledge and skills through work experience that may allow them to practise in associated areas of science, engineering, urban planning, sales, marketing or management. |
| Supervisory and senior positions in this unit group require experience. |
| Lawyers |
Lawyers: |
| Two to three years of undergraduate studies or, in Quebec, completion of college program and a bachelor's degree from a recognized law school and successful completion of the bar examination and completion of a period of articling are required. |
| Licensing by the provincial or territorial law society is required. |
| Notaries (Quebec): |
| A bachelor's degree from a recognized law school and a Diploma of Notarial Law (D.D.N.) or a master's degree of law with specialization in notarial law and a 32-week vocational training program are required. |
| Registration with the Corporation of Notaries is required. |
| Additional information: |
| Lawyers wishing to practise in another province may be required to pass examinations set by the provincial law society. |
| Judges: |
| Extensive experience as a lawyer or as a professor of law with continuous membership in the bar association is usually required. |
| Membership in good standing with a provincial or territorial law society or bar association is required. |
| Judges are appointed by federal or provincial cabinet. |
| Those appointed to more senior positions in a court, such as chief justice, usually have experience as judges in that court. |
| Occupational Therapists |
A university degree in occupational therapy including supervised fieldwork is required or graduation from an occupational therapy program approved by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) is accepted in some provinces. |
| Completion of the national certification examination may be required. |
| Licensure with a regulatory body is required in all provinces. |
| Membership in the national association, Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, is required in some provinces. |
| Occupational therapists may obtain expertise in a particular area through additional training or experience. |
| Optometrists |
One to three years of college or university, with a concentration in mathematics and science courses and a four-year university program in optometry are required. |
| Licensing by the provincial or territorial regulatory governing body is required. |
| Pharmacists |
A bachelor of science degree in pharmacy is required. |
| Pharmacists also require practical training under the supervision of a pharmacist. |
| Licensure is required in all provinces and territories for community and hospital pharmacists. |
| Doctors |
General practitioners and family physicians: |
| A bachelor's degree or In Quebec, completion of a college program and one year of pre-medicine university studies is usually required. |
| Graduation from an approved medical school and two to three years of family medicine residency training are required. |
| Completion of the qualifying examinations of the Medical Council of Canada and licensing by the provincial or territorial licensing authority are required. |
| Additional information: |
| General practitioners and family physicians may become specialist physicians with additional training. |
| Specialist physicians: |
| A bachelor of science degree or, in Quebec, completion of a college program and one year of pre-medicine university studies is usually required. |
| Graduation from an approved medical school and specific specialty training are required. |
| Completion of the certifying examinations of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and licensing by the provincial or territorial licensing authority are required. |
| Specialists in clinical medicine: |
| Four to five years of specialty residency training are required. |
| Two years of subspecialty training may also be required. |
| Specialists in laboratory medicine: |
| Four to five years of specialty residency training are required. |
| Specialists in surgery: |
| Five to six years of specialty residency training are required. |
| Two years of subspecialty training may also be required. |
| Additional information: |
| Progression to management positions, such as director of laboratory medicine or chief of surgery, is possible with experience. |
| Physiotherapists |
A university degree in physiotherapy and a period of supervised practical training are required. |
| A licence or registration with a regulatory body is required to practise physiotherapy in all provinces. |
| Completion of the Physiotherapy National Exam, administered by the Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulatory Boards, may be required. |
| Registered Nurses |
Head nurses: |
| Completion of a university, college or other approved registered nursing program is required. |
| Courses in management studies such as the Nursing Unit Administration Course offered by the Canadian Hospital Association or other degree, diploma, certificate or studies in management or administration may be required. |
| Registration as a registered nurse by a provincial or territorial regulatory body or, in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, provincial registration as a registered psychiatric nurse is required. |
| Clinical experience as a registered nurse is required. |
| Registered nurses: |
| Completion of a university, college or other approved registered nursing program is required. |
| Additional academic training or experience is required to specialize in a specific area of nursing. |
| A master's or doctoral degree in nursing is usually required for clinical nurse specialists, clinical nurses, nursing consultants and nursing researchers. |
| Registration with a regulatory body is required in all provinces and territories. |
| Nurse practitioners: |
| A master's degree in nursing, or a nursing program or other advanced nurse practitioner diploma program is required. |
| Registration with a regulatory body is required in all provinces and territories. |
| In Ontario, successful completion of the Extended Class Registration Examination (ECRE) is required for registration as Registered Nurse in the Extended Class RN(EC). |
| Registered psychiatric nurses: |
| Completion of a university or college registered psychiatric nursing program is required. |
| Registration with a regulatory body is required in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. |
| Additional information: |
| Nurses trained exclusively as registered psychiatric nurses (RPN) are regulated in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. In all other provinces and territories, registered nurses (RN) may work as psychiatric nurses without separate registration. |
| Registered nurses may progress to supervisory and managerial positions with experience. |
| Teachers |
Secondary school teachers: |
| 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. |
| Elementary school teachers: |
| A bachelor's degree in education is required. |
| Additional training is required to specialize in special education or second- language instruction. |
| A provincial teaching certificate is required. Additional certification is required to teach English or French as a second language. |
| Veterinarians |
Two to four years of pre-veterinary university studies or, in Quebec, completion of a college program in health science and a four-year university degree in veterinary medicine and completion of national certification examinations are required. |
| Provincial licensing is required. |
| Entry into research positions may require postgraduate study. |
|
Source: Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) National Occupational Classification (NOC) manual. |
