72102 Sheet metal workers

What this occupation covers

Sheet metal workers fabricate, assemble, install and repair sheet metal products. They are employed by sheet metal fabrication shops, sheet metal products manufacturing companies, sheet metal work contractors and various industrial sectors. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 10 main duties for this code.

• Read engineering and architectural drawings, sketches and work specifications to be performed, and lay out, measure and mark sheet metal according to drawings or templates
• Develop patterns for sheet metal using computer-assisted design and drafting (CAD) software package
• Operate light metalworking machines such as shears, brakes, punches, and drill presses, including computer numerical control (CNC) equipment to cut, bend, punch, drill, shape or straighten sheet metal
• Operate computerized laser or plasma cutting equipment to cut sheet metal
• Install and use rigging and hoisting equipment
• Fit and join sheet metal parts using riveting, welding, soldering and similar equipment to fabricate products such as ventilation shafts, exhaust hoods, eavestroughs, partition frames, air and heat ducts, material handling systems, roof decking and sheet metal buildings
• Install sheet metal products according to specifications and building codes
• Grind and buff seams, joints and rough surfaces
• Inspect product quality and installation to ensure conformance to specifications.
• Sheet metal workers may specialize in on-site installation or shop manufacture of sheet metal products, or servicing and maintenance of installed equipment and systems.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 10 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 72404 Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors
• 72103 Boilermakers
• 72105 Ironworkers
• 94105 Metalworking and forging machine operators
• 72010 Contractors and supervisors, machining, metal forming, shaping and erecting trades and related occupations
• 72104 Structural metal and platework fabricators and fitters

Excluded from this code

• Aircraft sheet metal technician (See 72404 Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors)
• Boilermakers (See 72103 Boilermakers)
• Ironworkers (See 72105 Ironworkers)
• Metalworking and forging machine operators (See 94105 Metalworking and forging machine operators)
• Sheet metal workers supervisor (See 72010 Contractors and supervisors, machining, metal forming, shaping and erecting trades and related occupations)
• Structural metal and platework fabricators and fitters (See 72104 Structural metal and platework fabricators and fitters)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

aircraft layout man/woman sheet metal · apprentice sheet metal worker · apprentice tinsmith · construction sheet metal worker · coppersmith · custom sheet metal fabricator · fitter - sheet metal working · high rise sheet metal installer · industrial sheet metal worker · journeyman/woman sheet metal worker · maintenance sheet metal worker · metal furniture model maker · metal furniture patternmaker · plant tinsmith · precision sheet metal fabricator · precision sheet metal mechanic · precision sheet metal worker · residential (low rise) sheet metal installer · sheet metal fabricator · sheet metal installer · sheet metal lay-out worker · sheet metal mechanic · sheet metal mechanic apprentice · sheet metal mechanic bench hand

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is usually required.
• Completion of a three to five 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 sheet metal working is usually required to be eligible for trade certification.
• Trade certification for sheet metal workers is compulsory in New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and available, but voluntary, in all other provinces and the territories.
• Trade certification for precision sheet metal set-up operator is available, but voluntary in Quebec.
• Red Seal endorsement is also available to qualified sheet metal workers upon successful completion of the interprovincial Red Seal examination.