- Environment Primarily indoor/office work
- Education High school diploma
- Average salary $39,000 to $70,000
Career profile
Warehouse technicians are responsible for products within a warehouse environment. They receive, store and issue materials, equipment, and other items from the stockroom, warehouse or storage yards. In the energy sector, warehouse technicians may also connect hoses or pipes and operate equipment to load and unload liquid petroleum, chemical or other products into or from tank cars, tank trucks or storage tanks. They keep records and compile stock reports and may process orders from supplier company facilities/plants or external customers.
Warehouse technicians interact with internal and external clients and warehouse supervisory staff and use equipment such as forklifts, dollies, hand lifts, cranes etc. to move materials. They may need experience in cycle count processes and inventory/warehouse management processes.
In this occupation activities may include:
- Maintaining a clean and safe working environment. Using safe handling techniques
- Receiving materials from external vendors. Requisitioning supplies and materials
- Operating material handling equipment (for example, dollies, hand trucks, pallet jacks, forklifts, cranes, conveyers)
- Operating equipment to load and unload liquid petroleum, chemical or other products into or from tank cars, tank trucks or storage tanks
- Processing orders, customer product returns and the return of products to suppliers
Education
- This occupation requires a high school diploma and some employers may require a supply chain management diploma or trades certification.
Certifications
- Standard and emergency first aid
- H2S Alive®
- Traffic control
- Forklift
- Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
Licensing
- Trade certification for parts persons is available, but voluntary, in all provinces and territories
- In some jurisdictions, materials handlers require apprentice certificates or a journeyman’s ticket
- Red Seal endorsement is also available to qualified parts persons upon successful completion of the interprovincial Red Seal examination
Additional Requirements
- Experience in a related clerical occupation, or as a warehouse worker, may be required for parts persons
- Physical strength is required for manual material handlers who work with heavy materials
- Minimal or no travel
- Shiftwork/variable work hours
- Primarily indoor/office work
- Physical work
You are very organized, and a concise record keeper. You have strong interpersonal skills and can maintain strong working relationships with a variety of personalities. You are fit enough to lift and move product as needed.
- Transportation
- Critical thinking
- Attention to detail
- Operation and control
- Public safety and security
- Equipment selection
- Coordination
- Active listening
- Document use
- Service orientation
