NOC 72103: Boilermakers

Boilermakers fabricate, assemble, erect, test, maintain and repair boilers, vessels, tanks, towers, heat exchangers and other heavy-metal structures. They are employed in boiler fabrication, manufacturing, shipbuilding, construction, electric power generation and similar industrial establishments. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.

Express Entry eligibility

• Skilled work (TEER 0 to 3): yes, TEER 2.
• Canadian Experience Class: counts as skilled Canadian work (1 year in the last 3 years).
• Federal Skilled Worker Program: counts as skilled work (1 year of continuous work in the last 10 years).
• Federal Skilled Trades Program: an eligible skilled trade (2 years in the last 5 years).
• High-wage occupation (from November 3, 2026): yes, 1.5× tier.

TEER 2: Occupations that usually need a college diploma, an apprenticeship of 2 or more years, or supervisory duties. Every program has other requirements too, such as language test results and, for FSW, a points test.

Category-based draws

NOC 72103 is not on any of IRCC’s occupation category lists. You can still be invited in general, Canadian Experience Class or other program draws.

Category lists checked on canada.ca on 2026-10-17. IRCC category-based selection

CRS points for work in NOC 72103

With 12+ months of Canadian work here, from November 3, 2026, by years of skilled Canadian work:

See Canadian work points and the median-wage rule.

Main duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

• Read blueprints or specifications to plan sequence of operation
• Lay out plate, sheet steel or other heavy metal and mark bending and cutting lines on work piece using protractors, compasses and drawing instruments or templates
• Set up and operate heavy-metal working machines such as brakes, rolls, shears, flame cutters and drill presses to cut, shape and form metal into parts or sections
• Fit and weld metal parts or sections together to fabricate boilers, vessels, tanks, heat exchangers, piping and other heavy-metal products
• Erect and install boilers and other heavy-metal products according to specifications using hand and power tools
• Repair and perform maintenance work on boilers and other heavy-metal products
• Direct activities of hoist or crane operators and other workers during fabrication, assembly, installation or repair of structures
• Test finished structures using a variety of methods.
• Boilermakers may specialize in rigging and hoisting, preparation and layout, or welding aspects of the trade.

For Express Entry your duties must match the lead statement and most of the main duties above.

Example job titles

• boiler fitter
• boiler installer
• boilermaker
• boilermaker apprentice
• construction boilermaker
• industrial boilermaker
• marine boilermaker
• pressure vessel fabricator

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is usually required.
• Completion of a three- to four-year apprenticeship program or a combination of over four years of work experience in the trade and some high school, college or industry courses in boilermaking is usually required to be eligible for trade certification.
• Trade certification is compulsory in Nova Scotia, Quebec and Alberta and available, but voluntary, in all other provinces.
• Red Seal endorsement is also available, in all provinces, to qualified boilermakers upon successful completion of the interprovincial Red Seal examination.

Similar jobs with a different code

• 72105Ironworkers
• 72104Structural metal and platework fabricators and fitters
• 72106Welders and related machine operators