NOC 72106: Welders and related machine operators

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. 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): no. No high-wage add-on, and a job offer in it earns no CRS points.

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

• Trade occupations

  At least 12 months of full-time work (or the same amount part-time) in this occupation within the last 3 years, in Canada or abroad.

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

CRS points for work in NOC 72106

Skilled Canadian work in this occupation earns the standard points, the same before and after November 3, 2026, with no high-wage add-on:

See Canadian work points and the median-wage rule.

Main duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

• Welders
• 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
• 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.

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

Example job titles

• 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
• submerged arc welder
• welder
• welder apprentice
• welder-fitter

Employment requirements

• Welders
• Completion of secondary school is usually required.
• Completion of a three-year apprenticeship program or A combination of over three years of work experience in the trade and some college or industry courses in welding is usually required to be eligible for trade certification.
• Trade certification is compulsory in Alberta and available, but voluntary, in all other provinces and the territories.
• Red Seal endorsement is also available to qualified welders upon successful completion of the interprovincial Red Seal examination.
• Welding, brazing and soldering machine operators
• Some secondary school education is required.
• Several months of on-the-job training are usually provided.
• Experience as a machine operator helper may be required.
• Experience with robotics may be required.

Similar jobs with a different code

• 94201Wave soldering machine operator
• 22230Weld tester
• 72010Welder supervisor
• 22101Welding technologist