Welders and Welding Machine Operators
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Job description
These individuals weld, braze, or modify metal parts. They are self-employed or work for:
- Manufacturers of structural steel and sheet metal components
- Boiler, heavy machinery, and metal product manufacturers
- Transportation equipment manufacturers
- Manufacturers of other types of machines
- Welding contractors
- Welding workshops
- The construction sector
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
- Climatic conditions
- Equipment, machinery, tools
- Hazardous chemical
- Odours
- Nontoxic dust
- Radiation
- Uncontrolled ambient temperature
- Noise
- Fire, steam, hot surfaces
- Electricity
- Falling objects
Main tasks
Welders
- Operate thermal welding and cutting equipment.
- Assemble metal products by thermal process.
- Cut and form metals.
- Repair metal parts
Welding and Brazing Machine Operators
- Read and interpret welding drawings or technical specifications.
- Operate welding and brazing equipment.
- Manufacture, repair, and bond metal components.
- Start, adjust, and monitor robotic welding equipment.
- Participate in the maintenance and repair of welding and brazing machines.
- Adjust, as required, welding heads and machine tools according to technical specifications.
Advancement and mobility
- Welders may specialize in various types of welding (custom fabrication, ship construction and repair, pipeline construction, etc.).
- Experience leads to supervisory positions.
- Qualified Welders receive a Red Seal endorsement upon successful completion of the Interprovincial Examination.
- Additional qualifications may be obtained from the Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB).
Hourly wage
The hourly wage is calculated by averaging wages from 2022 to 2024.- Minimum
- $21.00
- Median
- $28.55
- Maximum
- $41.00
Job prospects for 2024-2028
Les 2 champs de sélection ci-dessous vous permettent de comparer 2 régions. Les données des régions seront automatiquement mises à jour à la sélection. Par défaut, la province de Québec est sélectionnée pour la première région.
Job prospects for 2024-2028
Job prospects
All of Québec
Non available
Limited
Good
Very good
Very good
All of Québec
Non available
Limited
Good
Very good
Non available
Total jobs for 2023
All of Québec
22,000
All of Québec
na
Gender distribution
All of Québec
Not available.
- 4.6% Female
- 95.4% Male
Not available.
- 4.6% Female
- 95.4% Male
Job types
All of Québec
Not available.
- Full time
- Part time
Not available.
- Full time
- Part time
Yearly wage on 2020
All of Québec
$48,000
All of Québec
Other characteristics
All of Québec
- Non traditional for women
- None
All of Québec
- Non traditional for women
- None
Sectors of activity
All of Québec
Not available.
-
NAICS 8121% of jobs
-
NAICS 33221% of jobs
-
NAICS 33311% of jobs
-
NAICS 2310% of jobs
-
NAICS 336 [excluding 3364]9% of jobs
-
Others28% of jobs
All of Québec
Not available.
-
NAICS 8121% of jobs
-
NAICS 33221% of jobs
-
NAICS 33311% of jobs
-
NAICS 2310% of jobs
-
NAICS 336 [excluding 3364]9% of jobs
-
Others28% of jobs
Training and requirements
Formation
Most training programs are offered in French only.
Secondary
AVS in soudage haute pression
Code : 5234
Placement rate: 84.9%
7.9% of graduates pursue further studies
DVS in soudage-montage
Code : 5195
Placement rate: 80.2%
14.9% of graduates pursue further studies
Also required
- Certificate of competence.
Sometimes required
Welding and Brazing Machine Operators
- Experience as an apprentice machine operator may be required.
- Experience in robotics may be required.
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Data collection
- Information processing
- Operations and control
- Critical thought
- Reading comprehension
- Result evaluation
Abilities
- Hand-arm stability
- Near vision
- Limb coordination
- Control accuracy
- Awareness of issues
- Visualization
- Manual dexterity
- Selective attention
- Static muscle power
- Information organization
- Depth perception
- Oral comprehension
- Digital dexterity
- Core strength
- Verbal skills
- Deductive reasoning
- Speech recognition
Knowledge and attributes
- Focussed on results
- Sense of responsibility
- Capacity to work in a team
- Rigour
- Sense of initiative
- Attention to detail
- Respect standards and regulations
- Desire to upgrade one’s competencies
- Commitment to quality
- Patience
Interests
- Make, build, install
- Work manually
Personality profiles (RIASEC)
- Realistic
- People with this profile prefer carrying out concrete tasks and being physically involved in what they do.
- Investigative
- People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
- Social
- People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
Official name of the NOC 72106
Welders and related machine operators
Job titles
- Welders
- Welder-Assemblers
- Pipe Welders
- Welder-assembler
- Fit-up welder
- Brazer
- Machine operator - welding, brazing and soldering
- Apprentice welder
- Assembler tack welder
- Metal brazier and heater
- Brazer and hammerer
- Production induction brazier
- Torch brazer
- Iron brazer
- Furnace brazer
- Hydrogen braze furnace man/woman
- Gas brazer
- Lead welder
- Resistance brazer
- Journeyman/woman welder
- Blowtorch operator
- Hydrogen braze furnace operator
- Soldering machine operator
- Brazing machine operator
- Flame-brazing machine operator
- Induction brazer operator
- Welder operator
- Gas-shielded arc welding machine operator
- Laser welding operator
- Automatic welding machine operator
- Automated welding machine operator - flash butt process
- Battery lead-burner operator
- Submerged arc welding machine operator
- Mesh-welding machine operator
- Electric spot welder operator
- Laser beam machine-welder operator
- Laser beam welding machine operator
- Machine type solderer
- Side seaming tender
- Resistance welder tender
- Electric spot welder
- Solderer
- Production line solderer
- Furnace solderer
- Auto body solderer
- Solderer-dipper
- Induction solderer
- Downhand welder - pipeline
- Metal solderer
- Metal straightener and heater
- Brazing machine setter
- Torch brazing machine setter
- Flame-brazing machine setter
- Resistance welding machine setter
- General welder
- Industrial welder
- Hand arc welder
- Hand electric arc welder
- Jig welder-fitter
- Resistance welder-setter
- Acetylene welder
- Arc welder
- Arc welder - pipeline
- Shielded-metal arc welder
- Electric arc welder
- Heliarc welder
- Gas-shielded arc welder
- Metal inert gas (mig) welder
- Submerged arc welder
- Maintenance welder
- Oxyacetylene welder
- Oxyhydrogen welder
- Machine welder
- Portable spot welder
- Blowtorch welder
- Oxyacetylene torch welder
- Gas welder
- Hot gas welder
- Gas and arc welder
- Production welder
- Lead burner
- Battery lead burner
- Aircraft welder
- Rig welder
- Drilling rig welder
- Tool and die welder
- Cable welder
- Boiler welder
- Fabrication welder
- Wire welder
- Metal welder
- Pipeline welder
- Drilling platform welder
- Precision welder
- Pressure vessel welder
- Tungsten inert gas (tig) welder
- Flash butt welder
- Production line welder
- Thermite welder
- Laser beam welder
- Dielectric welder
- Spot welder
- Production line spot welder
- Production spot welder
- Combination welder
- Radio-frequency welder
- Resistance welder
- Hand resistance welder
- Resistance seam welder
- Spot resistance welder
- Vibration welder
- Aviation welding technician
- Welding lay-out man/woman
Skill type
Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations
Last update: January 29, 2026
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