Hi there, everyone! I’m currently in the process of applying for the Ontario OINP Employer Job Offer: International Student stream (PNP), and I’ve run into some doubts about which NOC to include in my profile.
I'm currently working as a Level Designer in a Toronto videogame company, and well, if you check the Job Bank website for Level Designers, it clearly says that the NOC number for this role is 52120.
The problem is that if you check the duties of the 52120 on the NOC website, they don't match what I'm doing at all. On the other hand, the duties of the NOC 21233 closely match what I do—with the only difference being the use of “website” instead of “video game” in their descriptions.
I’ve read in various threads here in the forum that when there’s a discrepancy between your job title and the duties listed under a specific NOC, it’s more important to match the duties rather than the title. As I understand it, if the company provides a Letter of Explanation (LOE) detailing this mismatch, it’s generally acceptable.
I brought this up with the international mobility specialist at my company, hoping they could assist since using NOC 21233 would significantly boost my PNP score—making it more likely I’ll be invited in the next draw. Unfortunately, my score with NOC 52120 is far less competitive.
But when I raised this with the specialist, they replied:
The problem, as I mentioned earlier, is that I don’t have a high enough score to be invited if I use NOC 52120. Unfortunately, I can’t see any other way to increase my score since I already have two bachelor’s degrees and achieved the maximum score on the CELPIP. My only hope is to use NOC 21233 instead.
With all this in mind, my questions are:
I'm currently working as a Level Designer in a Toronto videogame company, and well, if you check the Job Bank website for Level Designers, it clearly says that the NOC number for this role is 52120.
The problem is that if you check the duties of the 52120 on the NOC website, they don't match what I'm doing at all. On the other hand, the duties of the NOC 21233 closely match what I do—with the only difference being the use of “website” instead of “video game” in their descriptions.
I’ve read in various threads here in the forum that when there’s a discrepancy between your job title and the duties listed under a specific NOC, it’s more important to match the duties rather than the title. As I understand it, if the company provides a Letter of Explanation (LOE) detailing this mismatch, it’s generally acceptable.
I brought this up with the international mobility specialist at my company, hoping they could assist since using NOC 21233 would significantly boost my PNP score—making it more likely I’ll be invited in the next draw. Unfortunately, my score with NOC 52120 is far less competitive.
But when I raised this with the specialist, they replied:
I tried explaining that this isn’t about the title—“Level Designer” is correct—but rather about how broad the field is. Two people with the same title could have very different specializations. For instance, my role is entirely technical, not artistic, so it aligns with NOC 21233, whereas 52120 seems more fitting for Level Artists. Even my job description at the company aligns closely with NOC 21233, as you can see below:
Despite my arguments, the specialist maintained their position, stating that the documentation will list NOC 52120 and advised against using a different code.
The problem, as I mentioned earlier, is that I don’t have a high enough score to be invited if I use NOC 52120. Unfortunately, I can’t see any other way to increase my score since I already have two bachelor’s degrees and achieved the maximum score on the CELPIP. My only hope is to use NOC 21233 instead.
With all this in mind, my questions are:
- Does the NOC I submit need to match the one listed in the work attestation provided by my employer?
- Is there a way to convince the PNP immigration office to accept a different NOC from my work attestation if I can demonstrate that my duties align more closely with it?
