Explore occupational profile
- Version:
- OaSIS 2022 Version 1.0
Search the OaSIS
Overview
Example job titles
- Contract management officer
- Contracts officer
- Energy asset surface land analyst
- Furniture and furnishings purchaser
- Government supply officer
- Material management officer
- Procurement officer
- Purchasing agent
- Sourcing specialist
- Strategic sourcing analyst
Main duties
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
Procurement agents and officers
- Evaluate risk, assess, prepare forecasts, scenarios and other factors concerning the supply market, and write reports and recommendations
- Provides research and input into the financial sourcing aspects of contracts and calls for tender when information is not readily available
- Identify high impact cost reduction opportunities
- Leverage the organization’s buying power to optimize costs, access new suppliers, reduce lead times, and guarantee supply
- Develop and maintain relationships with existing and potential buyers and suppliers to the organization
- Respond to customer service inquiries and clarify requirements and provide information as needed.
Purchasing agents and officers
- Purchase general and specialized equipment and materials, business services and land or access rights for use or for further processing by their establishment
- Assess requirements of an establishment and develop specifications for equipment, materials and supplies to be purchased
- Invite tenders, consult with suppliers and review quotations
- Determine or negotiate contract terms and conditions, award supplier contracts or recommend contract awards
- Establish logistics of delivery schedules, monitor progress and contact clients and suppliers to resolve problems
- Negotiate land acquisition or access rights for public or private use, and may conduct field investigations of properties
- May hire, train or supervise purchasing clerks.
Additional information
- Progression to managerial positions is possible with experience.
- Procurement and purchasing agents and officers may specialize in the purchase of particular materials or business services such as furniture or access rights.
Similar occupations classified elsewhere
Exclusions:
NOC hierarchy breakdown
NOC version
NOC 2021 Version 1.0Broad occupational category
1 – Business, finance and administration occupationsTEER
2 – Occupations usually require a college diploma or apprenticeship training of two or more years; or supervisory occupationsMajor group
12 – Administrative and financial supervisors and specialized administrative occupationsSub-major group
121 – Specialized administrative occupationsMinor group
1210 – Administrative and regulatory occupationsUnit group
12102 – Procurement and purchasing agents and officersOccupational profile
12102.00 – Procurement and purchasing agents and officersWork characteristics
This section outlines the key elements of each occupation’s work environment, including the type of work done, its location, and the setting. There are three categories included in this section:
- Work Activities: describes common tasks undertaken by occupations, grouped into physical, mental, people-oriented, or information gathering activities
- Work Context: highlights key descriptors of the occupation’s setting, such as the physical work environment, physical demands, and the types of interactions with others
- Workplaces/employers: lists common industries or types of companies where the occupation is typically found
The most important descriptors are displayed, in descending order based first on complexity (for Work Activities) or other measurement dimensions (for Work Context) and then alphabetically. Expand the list to present the full list of descriptors and their ratings by selecting “see more”.
Work Activities
General types of work-related activities.
Workplaces/employers
- Establishements throughout the private and public sector
Work Context
Structural Job Characteristics
Physical Work Environment
Physical Demands
Interpersonal Relations
Skills and abilities
This section outlines the competencies required for an occupation in the categories of:
- Abilities: innate or developed aptitudes that enable a person to be able to perform expected tasks in this occupation, grouped into cognitive, psychomotor, sensory, and physical abilities
- Skills: developed capabilities that an individual must have to be effective in this occupation, grouped into foundational, analytical, technical, resource management, or interpersonal skills
- Personal Attributes: personal characteristics that are innate or developed through social context and personal experiences
Each category displays up to five descriptors, in descending order based first on proficiency level (for Skills and Abilities) or importance (for Personal Attributes) and then alphabetically. Expand the list to present the full list of descriptors and their ratings by selecting “see more”.
Abilities
Innate and developed aptitudes that facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and skills to carry out expected work.
Skills
Developed capabilities that an individual must have to be effective in a job, role, function, task or duty.
Personal Attributes
Personal characteristics that are innate and developed through the social context and personal experiences to which the individual is exposed. These qualities influence the way one is and does things and are considered to be valuable assets for work performance.
Employment requirements
Employment requirements include the education, training, certifications, and knowledge needed for each occupation. The Knowledge category displays up to five descriptors, in descending order based first on the knowledge level and then alphabetically. Expand the list to present the full list of descriptors and their ratings by selecting “see more”.
Education, certification and licensing
- Procurement and purchasing agents and officers usually require a bachelor's degree or college diploma in business administration, commerce or economics.
- Procurement and purchasing agents and officers purchasing specialized materials or business services may require a related university degree or college diploma. For example, a bachelor's degree or college diploma in engineering may be required for purchasers of industrial products.
- A certificate in purchasing from the Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC) may be required.
- Previous experience as a purchasing clerk or as an administrative clerk may be required.
- Certification from the International Right of Way Association (IRWA) may be required.
- Sourcing specialists and analysts usually require a bachelor's degree or college diploma in economics, logistics, operations management, finance, engineering, mathematics, or statistical analysis.
- Previous work experience in supply chain for sourcing specialists and analysts is usually required.
Skills for Success
The Skills for Success (SFS) is a model that outlines the fundamental and transferable skills needed to learn, work, and fully participate in daily life. It includes skills descriptions and proficiency levels for nine key skills: adaptability, collaboration, communication, creativity and innovation, digital, numeracy, problem solving, reading and writing.
This section is intended to help users navigate between the SFS model and the occupational competency requirements in the OaSIS.
For each occupational profile, the nine SFS are aligned with corresponding competencies in the OaSIS. The OaSIS provides valuable insights into the level of proficiency or importance required for over 240 competencies across 900 occupations.
To find out how the OaSIS ratings were developed, please consult the methodology here: Occupational and Skills Information System (OaSIS) methodology - Canada.ca
For questions or comments, feel free to contact us.
Interests
The OaSIS uses the Holland Codes to describe work-related interests. According to the Holland model, people perform best in work environments that match their preferences, meaning individuals and occupations can be matched for an optimal fit. In this model, occupational environments are categorized based on a combination of primary interests and related activities. There are six interests in the Holland typology: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. Each occupation in the OaSIS is assigned up to three of these interest types.
Interests
Preferences for work environments and outcomes.
Interests profile: CEI
Conventional (C)
Conventional occupations are characterized by the dominance of activities that entail the explicit, ordered, and systematic manipulation of data, such as keeping records, filing materials, reproducing materials, organizing written and numerical data according to a prescribed plan, and operating business and data processing machines. They often require following a clear line of authority or set procedures and routines, and usually involve working with data and details more than with ideas. They foster clerical competencies and achievements. Workers in those occupations are conforming, orderly, and methodical. They see the world in conventional, stereotypical, constricted, simple, and dependent terms. They are rewarded in their work environment for the display of conventional values: money, dependability, conformity.
Enterprising (E)
Enterprising occupations are characterized by the dominance of activities that entail the interaction with others to attain organizational or self-interest goals. They frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects, influencing, leading or mobilizing people and making decisions, and sometimes require risk taking and dealing with business. They foster enterprising competencies and achievements. Workers in those occupations are audacious, popular, self-confident, sociable, and possess leadership and speaking abilities. They see the world in terms of power, status, responsibility, and in stereotyped, dependent, and simple terms. They are rewarded in their work environment for the display of enterprising values and goals: money, power and status.
Investigative (I)
Investigative occupations are characterized by the dominance of activities that entail the observation and symbolic, systematic, and creative investigation of physical, biological, or cultural phenomena. These occupations require an extensive amount of thinking and frequently involve working with ideas, searching for facts, and figuring out problems mentally. They encourage scientific competencies and achievements. Workers in those occupations are erudite, have mathematical and scientific abilities, and see the world in complex, abstract, independent, and original terms. They are rewarded in their work environment for the display of scientific values.
This page includes information from the O*NET 27.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Employment and Social Development Canada has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.