NOC 94123: Lumber graders and other wood processing inspectors and graders

Lumber graders and other wood processing inspectors and graders inspect and grade lumber, shingles, veneer, waferboard and similar wood products to identify defects, ensure conformance to company specifications and classify products according to industry standards. They are employed by sawmills, planing mills, wood treatment plants, waferboard plants and other wood processing companies.

Express Entry eligibility

• Skilled work (TEER 0 to 3): no, TEER 4 does not count for Express Entry.
• Canadian Experience Class: does not count.
• Federal Skilled Worker Program: does not count.
• Federal Skilled Trades Program: not one of the eligible trades.
• High-wage occupation (from November 3, 2026): no. No high-wage add-on, and a job offer in it earns no CRS points.

TEER 4: Occupations that usually need a high school diploma or several weeks of on-the-job training. Every program has other requirements too, such as language test results and, for FSW, a points test.

Category-based draws

NOC 94123 is not on any of IRCC’s occupation category lists. You can still be invited in general, Canadian Experience Class or other program draws if you qualify through other experience.

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

CRS points for work in NOC 94123

None. Work in TEER 4 and 5 occupations earns no Canadian work points in the CRS.

See Canadian work points and the median-wage rule.

Main duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

• Lumber graders
• Examine lumber visually for knots, holes, splits and other defects and sort for further drying, trimming or remanufacturing
• Measure lumber using callipers, gauges and tape measures to ensure specified thickness, length and width
• Classify and sort lumber according to industry standards and stamp lumber to indicate grade, wood type, moisture level and other characteristics
• Tally lumber
• Complete and maintain reports.
• Other wood processing inspectors and graders
• Inspect plywood panels, veneer sheets, panelboards, shingles and similar wood products visually for knots, holes, splits, straightness and other defects
• Mark defects and sort for repair or reprocessing
• Measure wood products to ensure conformance to specifications using standard measuring instruments
• Grade and label wood products according to quality standards
• Complete and maintain inspection and grading reports.

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

Example job titles

• grader - wood processing
• grader tallyman/woman - wood processing
• lumber grader
• particleboard grader - wood processing
• plywood grader
• plywood inspector
• veneer grader
• wood measurer

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is usually required.
• On-the-job training and up to two weeks of classroom training are provided for lumber graders.
• Previous experience as a sawmill machine operator, other wood processing operator or as a labourer in wood processing is usually required for graders and inspectors in this unit group.
• Lumber graders require a lumber grader's licence issued by a provincial lumber association.

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