Welder

NOC #72106

  • Environment Primarily outdoor work
  • Education High school diploma
  • Average salary $50,000 to $94,000

Career profile

Welders work with tools such as blow torches and hand-welding and flame-cutting equipment to join metal components or to fill holes, indentations or seams of fabricated metal products. They may be required to use advanced digital tools for some high precision work.

Welders are responsible for ensuring the safety of their workplaces given their work with heat and open flames. Additionally, they are responsible for ensuring a high quality standard in their work as a poor weld can present a significant safety and/or environmental issue. To ensure the quality of a weld, welders often check it via x-ray, pressure-testing and other methods.

Oil and gas services, Oil sands, Pipelines, Emissions reduction, Contracted and turnaround maintenance, Modular fabrication, Construction

In this occupation activities may include:

  • Analyzing engineering drawings, blueprints, specifications, sketches, work orders and material safety data sheets to plan layout, assembly and welding operations
  • Operating manual or semi-automatic flame-cutting equipment, brazing and soldering equipment
  • Operating metal shaping, straightening, and bending machines, such as brakes and shears
  • Selecting and installing torches, torch tips filler rods and flux, according to welding chart specifications or types and thicknesses of metals
  • Setting up and operating hand and power tools common to the welding trade, such as shielded metal arc and gas metal arc welding equipment

Education

  • A high school diploma (or equivalent) is typically required. Certified welders can build on their qualifications and capabilities for more advanced welding.

Certifications

  • Standard and emergency first aid
  • Construction Safety Training System (CSTS)
  • Pipeline Construction Safety Training (PCST)
  • H2S Alive®
  • Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
  • Fall protection
  • Confined space entry

Licensing

  • Completion of a three- to five-year apprenticeship program is required to become a certified tradesperson. Another route into apprenticeship training is a pre-apprenticeship foundation program.
  • Certified welders can build on their qualifications and capabilities for more advanced welding.
  • The Red Seal endorsement is the interprovincial standard of excellence, and is available to tradespersons upon successful completion of the interprovincial Red Seal examination

  • Travel likely required
  • Shiftwork/variable work hours
  • Primarily outdoor work
  • Physical work
  • Safety-sensitive environment
  • Work away from home/in camps

Welders have a certain spark. You’re a solid team player, but also analytical and capable of problem solving when you encounter flaws with a design or materials. You’re skilled with your hands and able to cut metal with precision. You’re also proficient at math and interpreting blue prints.

  • Public safety and security
  • Active listening
  • Selecting equipment
  • Monitoring operations
  • Attention to detail
  • Mathematics
  • Mechanical
  • Quality control analysis
  • Repairing machines and systems
  • Judgment and decision making