Explore Careers - Job Market Report

in
Printing Options
Welders and Related Machine Operators  (NOC 7265)
Athabasca--Grande Prairie--Peace River Region
Description |  Titles |  Duties |   Related Occupations

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.

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, welder, welder apprentice, welder-fitter.

View all

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.

Welding, brazing and soldering machine operators 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.
Included Cities in Region | Service Canada Offices

Grande Prairie, Athabasca, Barrhead, Beaverlodge, Fairview, Falher, Fox Creek, Grande Cache, Grimshaw, High Level, High Prairie, Manning, Mayerthorpe, Peace River, Sexsmith, Slave Lake, Spirit River, Swan Hills, Valleyview, Wembley, Westlock, Whitecourt

View all

View a list of Service Canada offices in this area.

Education & Job Requirements for Welders and Related Machine Operators in Athabasca--Grande Prairie--Peace River Region

Education and job requirements can vary by region. Workers in regulated occupations require a licence to work legally. Workers in non-regulated occupations do not require a licence, but employers may have other certification requirements.

List of Associations

AssociationsLink opens in a new window are organizations that may provide news to its members about networking events, professional development and other common issues for people working in the same industry.

[ Source: Labour Market Information - HRSDC ]

CanLearn Searches

  • Programs

    Detailed profiles, requirements and application and admissions information.

  • CEGEPs, Colleges and Universities

    Find the school that best suits your needs.

  • Scholarships

    Information on scholarships, bursaries, grants, and other forms of financial assistance.

[ Source: CanLearn - HRSDC ]

Local Training

Training to become a welder in Alberta:

To become a journeyman welder in Alberta, individuals must complete the apprenticeship program. To do this, students must be registered with Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training, which require students to have a minimum of an Alberta Grade 9 education or pass an entrance exam, and an employer that will hire and train an apprentice. Most employers prefer to hire individuals that have a high school diploma.

The welding apprenticeship program is three years (three 12-month periods) which includes a 1,560 hours of on-the-job training and 8 weeks of technical training each year. Students in high school may gain credits toward apprenticeship training while completing high school through the Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP).

There are many schools in Alberta that offer technical training, arranged by Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training, for welders:
- Keyano College
- Lakeland College
- Lethbridge Community College
- Medicine Hat College
- Red Deer College
- Portage College
- Northern Lakes College
- The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
- The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology

Pre-employment programs for potential apprentices and continuing education programs for journeymen may be available through these schools. Please see the individual school's websites for current program information.

In their final period of a program, an apprentice may wish to write the Interprovincial Exam. If successful, the apprentice will be granted a Red Seal, which is recognized throughout most of Canada.

For further information contact:

Government of Alberta
Apprenticeship and Industry Training
Toll-Free: 310-0000 (within Alberta)
Phone: 780-427-2711
E-mail: aitinfo@gov.ab.ca
Website: www.tradesecrets.org

Keyano College
8115 Franklin Avenue
Fort McMurray, Alberta
T9H 2H7
Toll-free: 1-800-251-1408
E-mail: registrar@keyano.ca
Website: www.keyano.ca

Lakeland College
5707 - 47 Avenue West
Vermilion, Alberta
T9X 1K5
Phone: 780-853-8400
Toll-Free: 1-800-661-6490 (within Canada)

Lethbridge Community College
3000 College Drive South
Lethbridge, Alberta
T1K 1L6
Phone: 403-320-3200
Toll- Free: 1-800-572-0103 (within Canada)
E-mail: info@lethbridgecollege.ab.ca
Website: www.lethbridgecollege.ab.ca

Medicine Hat College
200 Horticultural Road E
Brooks, Alberta
T1R 1E5
Phone: 403-362-1677
Fax: 403-362 1474
E-mail: info@mhc.ab.ca
Website: www.mhc.ab.ca

Red Deer College
100 College Boulevard
P.O. Box 5005
Red Deer, Alberta
T4N 5H5
Phone: 403-342-3300
Fax: 403-340-8940
Website: www.rdc.ab.ca

Portage College
Box 417, 9531 - 94 Avenue
Lac LaBiche, Alberta
T0A 2C0
Phone: 780-623-5551
Toll Free: 1-866-623-5551
Fax: 780-623-5639 (General)
Website: www.portagecollege.ca


Northern Lakes College
Bag 3000
Grouard, AB T0G 1C0
Phone: 780-751-3200
Toll-Free: 1-866-652-3456
Fax: 780-751-3376
E-mail: info@northernlakescollege.ca
Website: www.northernlakescollege.ca

Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
11762 - 106 Street,
Edmonton, Alberta
T5G 2R1
Phone: 780-471-7400
Toll-Free: 1-800-661-4077 (within Canada)
Fax: 780-471-8583
E-mail: registrar@nait.ca
Website: www.nait.ca

Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
1301 - 16th Avenue NW
Calgary, Alberta
T2M 0L4
Phone: 403-284-7248
Toll-Free: 1-877-284-7248
Fax: 403-284-7112
E-mail: advising@sait.ca
Website: www.sait.ab.ca


*****
This occupational profile is one of many tools available to Canadians. When making decisions, the use of multiple data sources is always recommended.
*****

[ Report Publication Date: 2012-01-18 | Source: Labour Market Information - HRSDC ]
Information for Newcomers

Getting your language skills assessed

If you do not know what your English or French language level is, visit one of the Language Assessment Centres across Canada. They will assess your language level and direct you to the appropriate language training program.

[ Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada ]
Please consult the Alberta and Canada tabs for more useful information related to education and job requirements.