Advancing Vocational Rehabilitation: Why OaSIS is Replacing the Career Handbook

Transferable Skills Analysis (TSA) is a structured process used in vocational rehabilitation to identify occupations consistent with a client’s skills, abilities, and work interests, particularly when employment changes are necessary due to illness or injury. For many years, vocational consultants in Canada have relied on the Career Handbook to support this work.

As of October 31, 2024, the Career Handbook has been archived by the Government of Canada. While still accessible, it is no longer updated, is not aligned with the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021, and its advanced search functionality has been discontinued. This makes it increasingly unsuitable as the primary reference for defensible vocational assessments.

The Government of Canada now provides the Occupational and Skills Information System (OaSIS) as the modern framework for describing work requirements. OaSIS is integrated with NOC 2021 and provides consultants with the precision and depth needed to ensure their work remains evidence-informed, credible, and aligned with current labour market realities.

What is OaSIS?

The Occupational and Skills Information System (OaSIS) is Canada’s most current and comprehensive system for describing the requirements of work. It organizes occupational information into seven distinct components:

• Knowledge – organized sets of information required to perform a job (e.g., accounting, teaching, or technical design).
• Skills – learned capacities that enable specific tasks (e.g., oral communication, critical thinking, active listening, or resource management).
• Abilities – enduring human traits or aptitudes that influence performance (e.g., pattern identification, dynamic strength, or near vision).
• Interests - preferences for work environments or outcomes (using the Holland Codes).
• Personal attributes – personal characteristics that influence the way one is and does things (e.g., independence, adaptability, or leadership).
• Work Activities – the tasks and behaviours central to a role (e.g., scheduling work and activities, coaching and developing others, analyzing data).
• Work Context – the physical, social, and environmental setting where the work occurs (e.g., freedom to make decisions, exposure to noise, waking and running).

This modular structure provides a far more detailed and nuanced picture of occupations than was previously possible, enabling consultants to examine work requirements with clarity and specificity.

How OaSIS Offers More Detail

The Career Handbook summarized occupations in general terms. For example, a job might be described as involving “medium strength” or “working with people.” These descriptions were useful at a broad level but lacked the specificity required to justify recommendations in today’s complex labour market.

In contrast, OaSIS descriptors:

• Break down physical requirements into specific demands (e.g., lifting frequency, vision needs, coordination).
• Capture cognitive abilities such as memory, reasoning, or selective attention—areas critical when clients experience brain injury or mental health conditions.
• Identify interpersonal and communication skills that influence whether a client can succeed in collaborative or customer-facing roles.
• Highlight the work context, such as environmental hazards, pace of work, or level of independence required.

This additional level of detail and precision enables consultants to better match a client’s preserved abilities with realistic job options and to explain why some occupations are not appropriate.

OaSIS improvements:

• Current and Aligned – OaSIS descriptors are integrated with NOC 2021, Canada’s official occupational taxonomy and is actively maintained by the Government of Canada.
• Detailed and Nuanced – provides a multi-dimensional picture of work requirements including skills, knowledge, abilities, activities, and context, rather than broad summaries.
• Evidence-Informed and Defensible – developed and maintained by the Government of Canada, ensuring credibility in legal, clinical, and insurance settings.
• Future-Ready – structured to evolve as occupations, industries, and technologies change.

Benefits of Adopting OaSIS

For Clients

• Better job matches: OaSIS descriptors help ensure recommendations are tailored to the client’s actual functional abilities, restrictions, and transferable skills.
• Clarity and confidence: Clients can see how their skills translate into new roles, increasing buy-in and engagement in the vocational planning process.
• Sustainable outcomes: More precise matching improves the likelihood of safe, realistic, and lasting employment.

For Employers

• Targeted recommendations: Employers receive clearer information on the demands of the job, which supports informed hiring and accommodation decisions.
• Improved retention: Matching skills with role requirements reduces turnover and increases productivity.
• Transparency: Reports based on OaSIS provide employers with confidence that vocational planning is grounded in reliable, government-supported data.

For Insurers and Funders

• Defensible analysis: OaSIS offers stronger evidence for claims adjudication and legal proceedings.
• Consistency: Use of a standardized, government-endorsed system reduces variability across assessments.
• Future-proof decisions: OaSIS evolves with the labour market, ensuring long-term relevance of recommendations.

For Consultants

• Professional credibility: Reliance on Canada’s most current occupational system demonstrates adherence to best practice.
• Clearer documentation: The ability to link client skills to specific occupational descriptors strengthens the transparency and defensibility of reports.
• Efficiency: OaSIS integration in platforms like the TransitionsApp streamlines workflow while supporting thorough, evidence-based analysis.

Practical Example

A warehouse worker with a back injury cannot return to heavy lifting.

• Using the Career Handbook: Options identified would likely emphasize other physical roles (e.g., delivery driver, stock clerk), overlooking transferable organizational and coordination skills.
• Using OaSIS: Descriptors highlight scheduling, inventory control, coordination, and time management, pointing to roles such as Shipping Coordinator or Scheduling Clerk. These positions reduce physical strain while leveraging the client’s existing abilities, leading to safer and more sustainable outcomes.

Conclusion

The Career Handbook, though still accessible, is archived and increasingly outdated. It does not align with NOC 2021 and lacks the detail required for today’s complex vocational decisions.

By adopting OaSIS, vocational consultants ensure their Transferable Skills Analyses are accurate, transparent, and defensible. This benefits clients seeking sustainable employment, employers needing reliable information, insurers requiring evidence-informed reports, and consultants striving for professional credibility.

The shift to OaSIS should be seen as an investment in professional practice—future-proofing vocational assessments and reinforcing the integrity of recommendations across Canada’s evolving labour market.

References

Corbett, G. (2016). Transferable skills analysis: A Canadian perspective. Canadian Assessment, Vocational Evaluation and Work Adjustment Society.

Employment and Social Development Canada. (2021). National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021. Government of Canada. https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/noc

Employment and Social Development Canada. (2023). Occupational and Skills Information System (OaSIS). Government of Canada. https://noc.esdc.gc.ca/OaSIS/OaSISWelcome

Transitions Vocational Assessment. (2024). TransitionsApp: A Canadian vocational assessment platform. Cornerstone Occupational Therapy Consultants. https://cornerstoneot.mykajabi.com/

Vocational Rehabilitation Association of Canada. (2023). Professional standards of practice and training resources. https://vracanada.com

Recommended Further Reading

• Employment and Social Development Canada – OaSIS
  Explore OaSIS modules in detail, including skills, knowledge, abilities, work activities, and work context.
  https://noc.esdc.gc.ca/OaSIS/OaSISWelcome
• Employment and Social Development Canada – National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021
  The official taxonomy of occupations in Canada, fully integrated with OaSIS.
  https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/noc