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  6. Medical Laboratory Technicians

Exploring Trades and Occupations

Medical Laboratory Technicians

On this page

  • Job description
  • Advancement and mobility
  • Hourly wage
  • Job prospects for 2024-2028
  • Sectors of activity
  • Training and requirements
  • Main skills and characteristics
  • Personality profiles (RIASEC)
  • Additional information

Job description

These individuals perform routine medical laboratory tests. They ensure the technical validity of the results for diagnostic purposes or research. These tests include laboratory analyses and examinations on specimens. They work in laboratories for:

  • Hospital centres
  • Clinics
  • Research facilities
  • Government research

Environment

  • Controlled ambient temperature
  • Hazardous chemical
  • Biological agents

Main tasks

  • Collect samples from patients (blood, tissue samples, etc.).
  • Record patient samples and prepare them for testing.
  • Perform laboratory tests and analyze samples.
  • Ensure quality control of test administration techniques.
  • Set up, clean, prepare, and maintain the laboratory and its equipment.

Advancement and mobility

  • Laboratory Technicians work primarily in any of the following areas: blood banking, biochemistry, molecular biology, cytogenetics, cytology, hematology-haemostasis, immunology, serology, microbiology, anatomical pathology, parasitology, or sampling.

Hourly wage

The hourly wage is calculated by averaging wages from 2022 to 2024.
Minimum
$20.00
Median
$28.05
Maximum
$37.00

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

3,500

All of Québec

na

Gender distribution

All of Québec

Not available.
76.5% Female
23.5% Male

Not available.
  • 76.5% Female
  • 23.5% 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

$58,800

All of Québec

Other characteristics

All of Québec

  • Non traditional for men
  • None

All of Québec

  • Non traditional for men
  • None

Sectors of activity

All of Québec

Not available.
  1. Health Care
    NAICS 621, 622, 623
    70% of jobs
  2. Management, Scientific and Technical Services and Scientific Research and Development Services
    NAICS 5416, 5417
    10% of jobs
  3. Public Administration
    NAICS 91
    5% of jobs
  4. Educational Services
    NAICS 61
    4% of jobs
  5. Petroleum, Coal and Chemical Manufacturing
    NAICS 324, 325
    2% of jobs
  6. Others
    9% of jobs

All of Québec

Not available.
  1. Health Care
    NAICS 621, 622, 623
    70% of jobs
  2. Management, Scientific and Technical Services and Scientific Research and Development Services
    NAICS 5416, 5417
    10% of jobs
  3. Public Administration
    NAICS 91
    5% of jobs
  4. Educational Services
    NAICS 61
    4% of jobs
  5. Petroleum, Coal and Chemical Manufacturing
    NAICS 324, 325
    2% of jobs
  6. Others
    9% of jobs

Training and requirements

Formation

Bachelor’s degree or diploma of college studies

Sometimes required

  • Accreditation by the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) may be required.

Main skills and characteristics

Skills

  • Information processing
  • Data collection
  • Active listening
  • Reading comprehension
  • Oral expression
  • Critical thought
  • Science
  • Quality control analysis
  • Teaching
  • Result evaluation
  • Written expression
  • Time management
  • Solving complex problems
  • Monitoring operations
  • Active learning
  • Coordination
  • Judgment and decision-making
  • Service oriented
  • Social perception
More Less skills

Abilities

  • Near vision
  • Verbal skills
  • Information organization
  • Awareness of issues
  • Oral comprehension
  • Written comprehension
  • Digital dexterity
  • Selective attention
  • Speech clarity
  • Classification
  • Manual dexterity
  • Written expression
  • Colour perception and distinction
  • Control accuracy
  • Deductive reasoning
  • Speech recognition
  • Processing flexibility
  • Hand-arm stability
  • Basic numeracy
  • Inductive reasoning
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Perception speed
More Less abilities

Knowledge and attributes

  • Capacity to work under pressure
  • Critical thinking
  • Autonomy
  • Sense of responsibility
  • Capacity to work in a team
  • Versatility
  • Rigour
  • Commitment to quality
  • Knowledge of biology
  • Knowledge of chemistry

Interests

  • Work manually
  • Conduct tests and trials, control processes

Personality profiles (RIASEC)

Investigative
People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
Realistic
People with this profile prefer carrying out concrete tasks and being physically involved in what they do.
Conventional
People with this profile prefer specific, well-defined tasks. They like to respect the order of things and follow established rules.
Additional information

Official name of the NOC 33101

Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations

Job titles

  • Medical laboratory aide
  • Medical laboratory technical assistant
  • Technical assistant - medical laboratory
  • Histology technician
  • Clinical laboratory technician
  • Phlebotomy aide
  • Medical laboratory assistant
  • Phlebotomist
  • Technicien en laboratoire
  • Blood bank technician
  • Medical laboratory technician
  • Renal technician
  • Community health technician - medical laboratory
More Less job titles

Skill type

Health

Related occupations

  • Biological technologists and technicians
  • Chemical technologists and technicians
  • Medical laboratory technologists

See also

  • Glossary (PDF 229 Kb)
  • Québec emploi

Last update: January 29, 2026

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