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Boilermakers (7262)

Job titles

Nature of work

Boilermakers fabricate, assemble, erect, test, maintain and repair boilers, vessels, tanks, towers, heat exchangers and other heavy-metal structures. They are employed in boiler fabrication, manufacturing, shipbuilding, construction, electric power generation and similar industrial establishments.

Fields of interest

  • Making or building things, constructing, doing repairs, and performing installations
  • Working with your hands

Main duties

  • Boilermakers perform some or all of the following duties:
  • - Read blueprints or specifications to plan sequence of operation
  • - Lay out plate, sheet steel or other heavy metal and mark bending and cutting lines on work piece using protractors, compasses and drawing instruments or templates
  • - Set up and operate heavy-metal working machines such as brakes, rolls, shears, flame cutters and drill presses to cut, shape and form metal into parts or sections
  • - Fit and weld metal parts or sections together to fabricate boilers, vessels, tanks, heat exchangers, piping and other heavy-metal products
  • - Erect and install boilers and other heavy-metal products according to specifications using hand and power tools
  • - Repair and perform maintenance work on boilers and other heavy-metal products
  • - Direct activities of hoist or crane operators and other workers during fabrication, assembly, installation or repair of structures
  • - Test finished structures using a variety of methods.
  • * Boilermakers may specialize in rigging and hoisting, preparation and layout, or welding aspects of the trade.

Main characteristics of the occupation

These headings are provided for the following occupation(s) :

Boilermakers (7262)

Employment requirements

  • * Completion of secondary school is usually required.
  • * Completion of a three- to four-year apprenticeship program orA combination of over four years of work experience in the trade and some high school, college or industry courses in boilermaking is usually required to be eligible for trade certification.
  • * Trade certification is compulsory in Quebec and Alberta and available, but voluntary, in all other provinces.
  • * Interprovincial trade certification (Red Seal) is also available to qualified boilermakers.

Skill type

  • Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations

Skill level

  • Technical

More information

  • * Progression to supervisory positions is possible with experience
  • * Red Seal trade certification allows for interprovincial mobility.

Job titles - Classified elsewhere