72103 Boilermakers

What this occupation covers

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.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 9 main duties for this code.

• 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.

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 9 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.

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

Excluded from this code

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

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.

boiler fitter · boiler installer · boiler repairer · boiler repairman/woman · boiler shop mechanic · boilermaker · boilermaker apprentice · boilermaker-welder · construction boilermaker · erection and repair boilermaker · industrial boilermaker · industrial construction boilermaker · industrial heat exchanger boilermaker · journeyman/woman boilermaker · maintenance boilermaker · marine boilermaker · pressure vessel 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.