NOC 32101: Licensed practical nurses
What licensed practical nurses do
Licensed practical nurses provide nursing care usually under the direction of medical practitioners, registered nurses or other health team members. Operating room technicians prepare patients and provide assistance to medical practitioners prior to and during surgery. Licensed practical nurses are employed in hospitals, nursing homes, extended care facilities, rehabilitation centres, doctors' offices, clinics, companies, private homes and community health centres. Operating room technicians are employed in hospitals.
Main duties
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
- Licensed practical nurses
- Provide nursing services, within defined scope of practice, to patients based on patient assessment and care planning procedures
- Perform nursing interventions such as taking vital signs, applying aseptic techniques including sterile dressing, ensuring infection control, monitoring nutritional intake and conducting specimen collection
- Administer medication and observe and document therapeutic effects
- Provide pre-operative and post-operative personal and comfort care
- Monitor established respiratory therapy and intravenous therapy
- Monitor patients' progress, evaluate and document effectiveness of nursing interventions and collaborate with appropriate members of health care team
- Provide safety and health education to individuals and their families.
- Operating room technicians
- Prepare patients for surgery by washing, shaving and sterilizing the patients' operative areas
- Assist in surgery by laying out instruments, setting up equipment, assisting surgical teams with gowns and gloves and passing instruments to surgeons
- Monitor patients' status during surgery, such as intake, output and loss of blood, and communicate and document any changes
- Clean and sterilize the operating room and instruments.
Job titles under NOC 32101
14 job titles are classified here, including graduate nursing assistant, licensed practical nurse (L.P.N.), operating room technician.
- certified nursing assistant (CNA)
- graduate nursing assistant
- licensed nursing assistant
- licensed practical nurse (L.P.N.)
- medical technician - Canadian Armed Forces
- nurse educator - cannabis
- nursing assistant (registered - Québec)
- operating room technician
- operating room technician - Canadian Armed Forces
- operating room technician - nursing
- registered nursing assistant (R.N.A.)
- registered practical nurse (R.P.N.)
- surgical nursing assistant
- surgical technician - nursing
Employment requirements
- Completion of a vocational, college or other approved program for licensed practical nurses is required.
- Registration with a regulatory body is required in all provinces and territories.
- Completion of a registration examination is required in all provinces and territories.
- Operating room technicians require additional academic training in operating room techniques.
Licensed practical nurses wages in Canada
Low, median and high hourly wages from Job Bank’s 2025 wage data. Annual figures assume full-time work (1,950 hours a year).
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Canada | $25.00/hr | $31.32/hr | $38.00/hr |
Toronto ON | $25.32/hr | $31.00/hr | $37.94/hr |
Montréal QC | $25.00/hr | $30.00/hr | $32.75/hr |
Vancouver Lower Mainland region, BC | $28.00/hr | $32.04/hr | $40.38/hr |
Calgary AB | $27.25/hr | $33.00/hr | $36.00/hr |
Edmonton AB | $25.80/hr | $32.00/hr | $36.00/hr |
Ottawa ON | $28.00/hr | $32.00/hr | $37.05/hr |
Winnipeg MB | $25.00/hr | $32.00/hr | $39.00/hr |
Québec City Quebec region, QC | $24.21/hr | $30.00/hr | $33.00/hr |
Hamilton Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula region, ON | $25.00/hr | $33.00/hr | $37.04/hr |
Kitchener-Waterloo Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie region, ON | $25.00/hr | $32.00/hr | $37.49/hr |
London ON | $24.73/hr | $30.00/hr | $37.05/hr |
Halifax NS | $28.96/hr | $31.00/hr | $35.11/hr |
Victoria Vancouver Island and Coast region, BC | $29.00/hr | $34.57/hr | $42.00/hr |
Saskatoon Saskatoon–Biggar region, SK | $25.00/hr | $37.45/hr | $38.72/hr |
Regina Regina–Moose Mountain region, SK | $33.60/hr | $38.71/hr | $48.08/hr |
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Newfoundland and Labrador | $26.44/hr | $29.58/hr | $32.08/hr |
Nova Scotia | $28.00/hr | $30.42/hr | $35.11/hr |
New Brunswick | $27.00/hr | $31.50/hr | $35.00/hr |
Quebec | $24.21/hr | $30.00/hr | $33.00/hr |
Ontario | $25.32/hr | $31.00/hr | $37.94/hr |
Manitoba | $25.00/hr | $33.57/hr | $38.57/hr |
Saskatchewan | $33.00/hr | $38.09/hr | $42.00/hr |
Alberta | $25.80/hr | $32.00/hr | $36.00/hr |
British Columbia | $29.00/hr | $34.57/hr | $42.00/hr |
Using NOC 32101 for your resume or Express Entry profile
- IRCC asks you to make sure the main duties listed for your NOC match what you actually did at your job. If they don’t, look for another unit group whose duties do.
- Describe your own work in your own words. Recruiters and ATS software look for concrete tools, results and scope, not text copied from the NOC.
- Applying from outside Canada? Run your resume through the Canadian resume format checker to catch things Canadian employers don’t expect, like a photo or date of birth.
- Use the job title the employer’s posting uses. The 14 titles above are how the same work is named across employers.
Not in this group
Similar jobs classified under a different NOC code:
Frequently asked questions
What is the NOC code for licensed practical nurses?
Licensed practical nurses are NOC 2021 unit group 32101. Example job titles in this group include graduate nursing assistant, licensed practical nurse (L.P.N.), operating room technician, registered nursing assistant (R.N.A.).
What TEER is NOC 32101?
NOC 32101 is TEER 2 (College diploma or apprenticeship (2+ years)). Usually requires a 2–3 year college program or a 2–5 year apprenticeship, or the occupation carries supervisory or significant safety responsibilities. TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 work counts as skilled work experience for Express Entry’s Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience Class programs.
How much do licensed practical nurses earn in Canada?
Job Bank's 2025 wage data puts the median at $31.32/hr, about $61,000 a year full-time, with a range of $25.00/hr to $38.00/hr.
Related occupations
Sources: Statistics Canada, National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Version 1.0; Employment and Social Development Canada, Job Bank wages (2025). Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. OfferJetAI is not affiliated with the Government of Canada. Check IRCC’s NOC guidance before you apply.