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Welders and Related Machine Operators  (NOC 7265)
Annapolis Valley 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.

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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

Berwick, Bridgetown, Hantsport, Kentville, Middleton, Windsor, Wolfville

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View a list of Service Canada offices in this area.

Outlook & Prospects for Welders and Related Machine Operators in Annapolis Valley Region

The future forecast and current conditions for an occupation can vary based on location or due to changes in the economy, technology, or demand for a product or service.

Local Employment Potential Information

Table on the employment potential for Welders and Related Machine Operators in Annapolis Valley Region as well as in the rest of the Nova Scotia.
Location Employment Potential Release Date
Annapolis Valley Region Fair 2011-10-11

Currently the chances of qualified Welders finding employment are considered to be fair in the local area. The main reason why the employment potential is Fair in the local area is that there appears to be some demand for skilled people within this occupation and a relatively low supply. The demand is spread through various sectors, for example - machine shops and heavy equipment operations, but can also be found in manufacturing, non-residential construction, and others so there may be opportunities in one sector when another is not as active in hiring. There has been an increase in the number of advertised job openings in the past few years and some slight growth projected by local machine shops.

Welder is a designated trade that qualifies for the Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program which allows qualified tradespersons to practice the trade in any province or territory in Canada where the trade is designated without having to write further examinations.

In addition to employment opportunities locally, opportunities may exist in other areas of the province or in other regions of the country. People who are able to work elsewhere may want to research opportunities for this occupation in other labour markets within Nova Scotia and across the country. The future employment outlook for Welders in Nova Scotia is expected to be fair over the next 5 years.

Additional information on Welders (opportunities in other areas, training, who hires, current job openings, statistics and other information), is available on other parts of this web site.

[ Source: Labour Market Information - HRSDC ]
Please consult the Nova Scotia and Canada tabs for more useful information related to outlook.