Welders

NOC
72106

- Welders and related machine operators

use a variety of welding processes to join metal. They work in many industries, including construction, manufacturing and industrial repair.

Quick facts

3-Year Outlook

Limited
Limited

3-Year Job Openings

208
 

Median Hourly Wage

$24.00
$16.00
Low
$40.99
High

Average Salary

$53,400
 

Typically Required

College or apprenticeship

Employed

2,238
 
Job details

Full NOC Description

Welders operate welding equipment to weld ferrous and non-ferrous metals. This unit group also includes machine operators who operate previously set up production welding, brazing and soldering equipment. They are employed by companies that manufacture structural steel and platework, boilers, heavy machinery, aircraft and ships and other metal products, and by welding contractors and welding shops, or they may be self-employed. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.

Main Duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:
 

Welders

  • Read and interpret blueprints or welding process specifications
  • Operate manual or semi-automatic welding equipment to fuse metal segments using processes such as gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), gas metal arc welding (GMAW), flux-cored arc welding (FCAW), plasma arc welding (PAW), shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), oxy-acetylene welding (OAW), resistance welding and submerged arc welding (SAW)
  • Operate manual or semi-automatic flame-cutting equipment
  • Operate brazing and soldering equipment
  • Operate metal shaping machines such as brakes, shears and other metal straightening and bending machines
  • Repair worn parts of metal products by welding on extra layers.
  • Welders may specialize in certain types of welding such as custom fabrication, ship building and repair, aerospace precision welding, pressure vessel welding, pipeline construction welding, structural construction welding, or machinery and equipment repair welding.

Welding, brazing and soldering machine operators

  • Operate previously set up welding machines such as spot, butt and seam resistance or gas and arc welding machines to fabricate or repair metal parts
  • Operate previously set up brazing or soldering machines to bond metal parts or to fill holes, indentations and seams of metal articles with solder
  • Start up, shut down, adjust and monitor robotic welding production line
  • Assist with the maintenance and repair of welding, brazing and soldering equipment
  • May adjust welding heads and tooling according to work specifications.

Also Known As

  • aviation welding technician
  • brazing machine operator
  • brazing machine setter
  • electric arc welder
  • journeyman/woman welder
  • laser welding operator
  • pressure vessel welder
  • production welder
  • soldering machine operator
  • spot welder
  • submerged arc welder
  • welder
  • welder apprentice
  • welder-fitter
Requirements

Employment Requirements

  • Welders
  • Completion of secondary school is usually required.
  • Completion of a three-year apprenticeship program or A combination of over three years of work experience in the trade and some college or industry courses in welding is usually required to be eligible for trade certification.
  • Trade certification is compulsory in Alberta and available, but voluntary, in all other provinces and the territories.
  • Red Seal endorsement is also available to qualified welders upon successful completion of the interprovincial Red Seal examination.
  • Welding, brazing and soldering machine operators
  • Some secondary school education is required.
  • Several months of on-the-job training are usually provided.
  • Experience as a machine operator helper may be required.
  • Experience with robotics may be required.

Provincial Regulation

  • Provincially Regulated: Yes
  • Compulsory: No
  • Red Seal: Yes
Employment by Sex

The following graph shows the percentage of men and women working in this occupation in New Brunswick.

Data legend

2.3%
Female
97.7%
Male
Employment by age

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick by age group.

Data legend

15.8%
15-24
25.2%
25-34
19.2%
35-44
21.5%
45-54
14.3%
55-64
4.0%
65+
Employment by highest level of education

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick by highest level of education achieved.

Data legend

5.5%
No Certificate, Diploma or Degree
11.8%
High School, Diploma or Equivalent
30.7%
Apprenticeship or Trades Certificate or Diploma
52.0%
College or University Below Bachelor Level
0.0%
University - Bachelor Level or Above
Employment by Industry

The following graph shows the industry groups in which the largest shares of persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick are employed. Small percentages for all top three industry groups may suggest employment for this occupation is widely distributed amongst many industry groups.

Data legend

38.8%
Manufacturing
27.6%
Other services (except public administration)
16.1%
Construction
17.5%
All Other Industries
Employment by Economic Regions

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons employed in this occupation in New Brunswick by which economic region they reside in.

Data legend

34.30%
Northeast
20.90%
Southeast
21.10%
Southwest
6.90%
Central
16.90%
Northwest
Province of New Brunswick Economic Regions

Economic Regions

The following map displays New Brunswick’s five economic regions. An economic region (ER) is a grouping of counties, created as a standard unit for analysis of regional economic activity across Canada.

Annual Average Salary by Economic Regions

The following graph shows the average salary of all persons employed in this occupation in each of New Brunswick’s five economic regions.

Data legend

$50,000
Northeast
$53,600
Southeast
$58,800
Southwest
$58,000
Central
$52,800
Northwest
Province of New Brunswick Economic Regions

Economic Regions

The following map displays New Brunswick’s five economic regions. An economic region (ER) is a grouping of counties, created as a standard unit for analysis of regional economic activity across Canada.

Hourly Median Wages by Economic Regions

The following represents the median hourly wage of all persons employed in this occupation in each of New Brunswick’s five economic regions.

Northeast

$25.00
$17.00
Low
$44.00
High

Southeast

$24.00
$17.00
Low
$35.61
High

Southwest

$27.50
$18.00
Low
$42.00
High

Central

$24.00
$16.00
Low
$35.00
High

Northwest

$24.00
$16.00
Low
$40.99
High
Salary

The following shows the average salary of everyone who worked full-time and year-round in this occupation across each of the Atlantic Provinces and nationally.

New Brunswick

$53,400

Newfoundland

$87,600

Prince Edward Island

$48,800

Nova Scotia

$56,800

Canada

$62,150
Employment Outlook

The following represents the number of job openings that are expected to occur in this occupation over the next three and ten years respectively, broken down by openings expected to result from growth (“new jobs”) and openings expected to result from attrition (death and retirements).

Three Year Outlook

Total Openings: 3-Year

208
 

New Jobs: 3-Year

89
 

Retirements/Deaths: 3-Year

119
 

Ten Year Outlook

Total Openings: 10-Year

551
 

New Jobs: 10-Year

132
 

Retirements/Deaths: 10-Year

419