National Occupational Classification (NOC): 72106
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
- Aviation welding technician
- Electric arc welder
- Journeyman/woman welder
- Laser welding operator
- Pressure vessel welder
- Soldering machine operator
- Spot welder
- Welder
- Welder apprentice
- Welder-fitter
What do welders and related machine operators do?
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.
Welders perform some or all of the following duties:
- 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.
They perform some or all of the following duties:
- 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.
Source: National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021, Employment and Social Development Canada
Welders and related machine operators primarily work in the following subsectors (NAICS) in Newfoundland and Labrador:
- 811 Repair and maintenance
- 238 Specialty trade contractors
- 212 Mining and quarrying (except oil and gas)
- 332 Fabricated metal product manufacturing
- 336 Transportation equipment manufacturing
- 236 Construction of buildings
- 237 Heavy and civil engineering construction
Source: Census 2021, Statistics Canada
Short and Long Term Occupational Projections
Short Term Projections for 2023-2025
The employment outlook will be moderate for welders and related machine operators in Newfoundland and Labrador (rating of 3 out of 5) for the 2023-2025 period.
Source: Job Bank, Government of Canada
Long Term Projections for 2023-2032
Welders and related machine operators are forecast to be balanced (rating of 2.4 out of 4) over the next several years, meaning expected labour supply should meet anticipated job openings.
Source: Department of Finance, Occupation Projections (Summer 2023)
Number of Job Postings in 2023
During 2023, there were 52 public job postings for this occupation, with the following distribution:
| Avalon: 56% | Western: 12% |
| Eastern: 8% | Labrador: 13% |
| Central: 6% | NL-unspecified: 6% |
Source: Lightcast (note: data used in this analysis reflects new unique monthly postings which are totaled for the calendar year).
Who works in this occupation in Newfoundland and Labrador?
During the reference week of May 2021, there were approximately 1,000 people working in this occupation in Newfoundland and Labrador. 97% of those employed were Male+ and 3% 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+ |
| 8% | 74% | 15% | 5% |
Source: 2021 Census, Statistics Canada.
How much money do they make?
The median employment income for all welders and related machine operators in the reference year 2020 (1,335 workers in total, including those working part-time and full-time, as well as part-year and full-year) was $58,400.
Source: 2021 Census, Statistics Canada.
Hourly Earnings
Salary information for welders and related machine operators in Newfoundland and Labrador at low, median, and high wages are:
| Low ($/hour) | Median ($/hour) | High ($/hour) |
| $26.15 | $36.47 | $54.00 |
Salary information for welders and related machine operators in Canada:
| Low ($/hour) | Median ($/hour) | High ($/hour) |
| $20.00 | $28.00 | $42.50 |
Source: Job Bank, Government of Canada
Most frequently sought skills from Job Postings (2023)
- Welding
- Brazing (Metal Work)
- Machinery
- Lifting Equipment
- Oxy-Fuel Welding And Cutting
- Arc Welding
- Drilling
- Hoisting
- Brakes
- Soldering
Source: Lightcast
What training is required?
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.
Additional information
- The Red Seal endorsement allows for interprovincial mobility.
- Progression to supervisory positions is possible with experience.
- 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.
* Find public and private education, training and skills development opportunities in Newfoundland and Labrador here.