National Occupational Classification (NOC): 32101
Fast Facts
- Average Pay: N/A
- Future Growth: N/A
- Skill Level: N/A
- Employment Size: N/A
- Unemployment: N/A
- Full-time Share: N/A
Sample Job Titles
- Certified nursing assistant
- Graduate nursing assistant
- Licensed nursing assistant
- Licensed practical nurse (L.P.N.)
- Medical technician - Canadian Armed Forces
- Operating room technician
- Registered nursing assistant (R.N.A.)
- Surgical nursing assistant
- Surgical technician - nursing
What do 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.
Licensed practical nurses perform some or all of the following duties:
- 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 perform some or all of the following duties:
- 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.
Source: National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021, Employment and Social Development Canada
Licensed practical nurses work in the following subsectors (NAICS) in Newfoundland and Labrador:
- 622 Hospitals
- 623 Nursing and residential care facilities
- 624 Social assistance
- 813 Religious, grant-making, civic, and professional and similar organizations
- 912 Provincial and territorial public administration
Source: Census 2021, Statistics Canada
Short and Long Term Occupational Projections
Short Term Projections for 2025-2027
The employment outlook will be good for licensed practical nurses in Newfoundland and Labrador (rating of 4 out of 5) for the 2025-2027 period.
Source: Job Bank, Government of Canada
Number of Job Postings in 2025
During 2025, there were 268 public job postings for this occupation, with the following distribution:
| Avalon: 9% | Western: 24% |
| Eastern: 3% | Labrador: 15% |
| Central: 18% | NL-unspecified: 32% |
Source: Vicinity Jobs (note: data used in this analysis reflects new unique monthly postings which are totaled for the calendar year)
Who works as licensed practical nurses in Newfoundland and Labrador?
During the reference week of May 2021, there were approximately 1680 people working in this occupation in Newfoundland and Labrador. 10% of those employed were Male+ and 90% of those employed were Female+.
Here is the age group breakdown for this group of workers:
| 15 to 24 | 25 to 54 | 55 to 64 | 65+ |
| 7% | 79% | 13% | 1% |
Source: Census 2021, Statistics Canada
How much do licensed practical nurses make?
Annual Earnings
The median employment income for all licensed practical nurses in the reference year 2020 (1,750 workers in total, including those working part-time and full-time, as well as part-year and full-year) was $58,000.
Source: Census 2021, Statistics Canada
Hourly Earnings
Salary information for licensed practical nurses in Newfoundland and Labrador is as follows:
| Low ($/hour) | Median ($/hour) | High ($/hour) | |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $26.44 | $29.58 | $32.08 |
The following low, median, and high wages are for Canada:
| Low ($/hour) | Median ($/hour) | High ($/hour) |
| $25.00 | $31.32 | $38.00 |
Source: Job Bank, Government of Canada
Most Frequently Sought Skills from Job Postings (2025)
- Patient care
- Communication skills
- Long term care
- Basic life support
- Decision-making
- Interpersonal skills
Source: Vicinity Jobs
What training is required?
- 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.
- Working under the direction of a medical practitioner or registered nurse is not required for licensed practical nurses in all jurisdictions.
Source: National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021, Employment and Social Development Canada
* Find public and private education, training and skills development opportunities in Newfoundland and Labrador here.