NOC 72501: Water well drillers

Water well drillers operate a variety of mobile water well drilling rigs and equipment to drill and monitor residential, commercial and industrial water wells. They are employed by water well drilling contractors and governments, 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 72501

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:

• Review client requirements and proposed locations for water wells
• Operate water well drilling rigs and other equipment to drill, bore and dig for residential, commercial and industrial water wells or environmental assessment, and install well screens, casings and other well fixtures
• Document geological formations encountered
• Clean and disinfect wells in preparation for use
• Perform routine mechanical maintenance work on water well drilling rigs and equipment
• Install, test, maintain and repair water well pumps, piping systems and equipment and perform pumping tests to assess well performance
• May provide other drilling services, such as repair or dismantling of existing water well structure, elevator shaft drilling and hydro pole drilling.
• Water well drillers may specialize in a specific method of drilling, such as cable, rotary, auger, hammer or reverse circulation drilling.

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

Example job titles

• cable tool driller - water well drilling
• churn drill operator - water well drilling
• water well driller
• water well driller apprentice

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is usually required.
• Completion of a two- to three-year water well drilling apprenticeship program or Two to three years of work experience in the trade combined with college or industry courses in water well drilling is usually required to be eligible for trade certification.
• Trade certification is available, but voluntary, in New Brunswick, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

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