Boat Operators
Job description
These individuals maneuver and operate boats and shipping equipment. They are owner-operators of boats or work for:
- The federal government
- Cable ferry and ferry landing operators
- Marine companies
- Port and canal authorities
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
- Climatic conditions
- Equipment, machinery, tools
- Vehicle or passenger compartment
- Hazardous workplaces
- Noise
- Vibration
Main tasks
Lock Staff
- Control the movement of ships near locks.
- Open or close lock gates.
- Raise, lower, or rotate the bridge.
- Monitor the passage of vessels through locks.
Cable Ferry Operators
- Tell passengers they can board and alight.
- Direct the loading of vehicles.
- Navigate the cable ferry across narrow waterways.
- Perform maintenance and repairs to the motor, cables, and winches.
Ferry Landing Workers
- Place or remove the landing gangway.
- Open or close the doors and gates.
- Attach, remove, and adjust docking devices.
- Tell passengers that they can board and alight.
- Direct the loading of vehicles.
- Collect tickets or payment for passage from passengers, as required.
- Operate heavy equipment to move, load, and unload cargo.
Boat Operators
- Steer boats (motorboats, ferries) to transport passengers and goods.
- Maintain boats and equipment on board (engines, fire extinguishers, life-saving equipment, etc.).
- Check for spills of pollutants (e.g. oil) in and around harbours.
- Monitor beaches and measure water depth.
Advancement and mobility
- There is some mobility between jobs in this group.
Boat Operators
- Additional training, experience, and certification lead to senior positions.
Hourly wage
Not available.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
All of Québec
Non available
Total jobs for 2023
All of Québec
150
All of Québec
na
Gender distribution
All of Québec
Not available.
- 13.2% Female
- 86.8% Male
Not available.
- 13.2% Female
- 86.8% 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
$66,500
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 48, 4985% of jobs
-
NAICS 9115% of jobs
-
NAICS 9115% of jobs
-
NAICS 9115% of jobs
-
NAICS 9115% of jobs
-
Others0% of jobs
All of Québec
Not available.
-
NAICS 48, 4985% of jobs
-
NAICS 9115% of jobs
-
NAICS 9115% of jobs
-
NAICS 9115% of jobs
-
NAICS 9115% of jobs
-
Others0% of jobs
Training and requirements
Formation
No specific training
Also required
- A certificate as Master of Small Craft or as Master of Small Craft for Passenger Transportation, issued by Transport Canada, is required for owner-operators of boats.
Sometimes required
- A few years of secondary school education are usually required.
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Operations and control
- Data collection
- Monitoring operations
- Active listening
- Critical thought
- Information processing
- Oral expression
- Result evaluation
- Solving complex problems
- Coordination
- Judgment and decision-making
- Active learning
- Reading comprehension
- Time management
- Teaching
- Service oriented
Abilities
- Distance vision
- Oral comprehension
- Verbal skills
- Spatial orientation
- Depth perception
- Awareness of issues
- Control accuracy
- Near vision
- Selective attention
- Deductive reasoning
- Response orientation
- Processing flexibility
- Tolerance to bright light
- Speech clarity
- Limb coordination
- Time sharing
- Inductive reasoning
- Perception speed
- Reaction time
- Visualization
- Written comprehension
- Speed control
- Colour perception and distinction
- Speech recognition
- Peripheral vision
- Information organization
- Information processing speed
- Auditory attention
- Written expression
- Hand-arm stability
- Classification
- Idea generation
- Hearing sensitivity
- Night vision
Knowledge and attributes
- Capacity to work under pressure
- Critical thinking
- Focussed on results
- Autonomy
- Versatility
- Respect standards and regulations
- Assiduity and punctuality
- Availability
- Timeliness
- Knowledge of geography
Interests
- Work in transportation and maintenance
- Self-employment
- Work outdoors
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.
- Enterprising
- People with this profile prefer having responsibilities, influencing others and responding to challenges.
Official name of the NOC 75210
Boat and cable ferry operators and related occupations
Job titles
- Motorboat captain
- Motor boat operator
- Cable ferry operator
- Loading bridge operator - ferry
- Launch owner-operator
- Beachcomber
- Barge captain
- Water taxi captain
- Sightseeing boat captain
- Charter boat captain
- Water bus captain
- Scow captain
- Launch captain
- Power cable ferry operator
- Reaction ferry operator
- Small craft operator
- Manual cable ferry operator
- Lock operator
- Canal lock operator
- Ferry terminal worker
- Barge operator
- Workboat operator
- Charter boat operator
- Sightseeing boat operator
- Water bus operator
- Water taxi operator
- Scow operator
- Launch operator
- Lighthouse keeper
- Bridge keeper - lock system
- Cable ferry deckhand
- Lockmaster
- Bridgemaster
- Bridgemaster - lock systems
- Loading bridge operator
- Dry dock worker - shipbuilding
- Bridge attendant - canal lock systems
- Ferry terminal attendant
- Lineshandler - canal lock system
- Canal lock tender
- Repair ship owner-operator
Skill type
Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations
Related occupations
Last update: January 29, 2026
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