72204 Telecommunications line and cable installers and repairers

What this occupation covers

Telecommunications line and cable installers and repairers install, repair and maintain telecommunication lines and cables, cable television transmission and distribution systems and associated hardware. They are employed by cable television, telephone and other telecommunications service companies. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 9 main duties for this code.

• Install, remove, maintain and repair aerial and underground telephone, coaxial and fibre optic cable television, and other telecommunication transmission and distribution lines, cables and associated hardware
• Splice and repair various types and sizes of telephone and other telecommunication cables including single line, coaxial and fibre optic
• Repair or replace faulty cables, power supplies, amplifiers and other associated transmission and distribution equipment
• Inspect, monitor, test and adjust telecommunication transmission lines and cables and distribution systems
• Analyze and record test results
• Climb and work aloft on poles, ladders or other support structures or work in confined spaces such as trenches, tunnels and crawl spaces
• Communicate with other workers to coordinate the preparation and completion of work assignments
• Assist in the erection and removal of telecommunication poles, towers and associated support structures
• May operate excavation machinery and other heavy equipment.

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.

• 72011 Contractors and supervisors, electrical trades and telecommunications occupations
• 72203 Electrical power line and cable workers
• 72205 Telecommunications equipment installation and cable television service technicians

Excluded from this code

• Contractors and supervisors, electrical trades and telecommunications occupations (See 72011 Contractors and supervisors, electrical trades and telecommunications occupations)
• Electrical power line and cable workers (See 72203 Electrical power line and cable workers)
• Telecommunications equipment installation and cable television service technicians (See 72205 Telecommunications equipment installation and cable television service technicians)

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.

access technician - telecommunication · apprentice lineman/woman - telecommunications · cable installer - telecommunications · cable repair technician - telecommunications · cable repairer - telecommunications · cable television installation technician · cable television installer · cable television maintenance technician · cable tester - telecommunications · communication line technician · communication technician - construction · communications electrician - construction craft · community antenna television (CATV) installation technician · community antenna television (CATV) maintenance technician · construction technician - cable television · construction technician - telecommunications · fibre optic cable splicer · journeyman/woman lineman/woman - telecommunications · line inspector - telecommunications · line installer - telecommunications · line repairer - telecommunications · repair lineman/woman - telecommunications · rigger - telecommunications · section lineman/woman - telecommunications

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is required.
• For telecommunication line and cable installers and repairers, completion of a four-year telecommunications line and cable apprenticeship program or a combination of over three years work experience in the trade and some industry- related or other specialized courses or completion of a two-year college program in electronics is usually required.
• For cable television maintenance technicians, completion of a college program in electronics or a combination of college, correspondence or industry courses related to electronics and electrical systems and on-the-job training or completion of a four-year cable television technician apprenticeship program is required.
• Trade certification for network cabling specialists is available, but voluntary, in Ontario.