72205 Telecommunications equipment installation and cable television service technicians

What this occupation covers

Telecommunications equipment installation and cable television service technicians install, test, maintain and repair cable and satellite television, internet signal and associate equipment, telephones, telephone switching equipment and other telecommunications equipment related to transmission and processing of voice, video signals and other data over a variety of media including fibre optics, microwave, radio and satellite. They are employed by cable and satellite television, telephone and other telecommunications transmission service companies. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 18 main duties for this code.

• Install, arrange, remove and maintain telephone equipment, wiring and associated hardware
• Test installed telephone systems to locate transmission faults
• Repair or replace defective and damaged telephones, wire and associated equipment.
• Install electromechanical, analog and digital trunking systems, circuits and equipment in telecommunications central offices and switching centres
• Inspect and test trunking systems, circuits and equipment
• Analyze test results and adjust, change or repair switching system, network, associated equipment and software.
• Operate computerized testing systems to conduct service tests on customer lines and equipment
• Determine the nature, cause and location of service trouble
• Dispatch appropriate repair personnel
• Complete test reports and maintain test and service records
• May assist repair personnel to test lines, circuits and systems, isolate and clear cable faults and verify records.
• Install, remove and maintain various telecommunications equipment and related systems such as telex and facsimile machines, teletypewriters, mobile radios, cellular telephones, pagers and other telecommunications equipment
• Configure operating systems and install software for access to the Internet
• Inspect and test operation of telecommunications equipment
• Diagnose and locate equipment faults, and adjust, replace or repair telecommunications equipment.
• Communicate with subscribers and company personnel to determine work assignments
• Connect, disconnect and relocate cable outlets, install splitters, converters, decoders, terminals, digital boxes and satellite equipment, and install other cable or wireless modems, routers and software to enable Internet access at subscriber's premises
• Inspect, test and repair cable and satellite television signals and associated equipment at subscriber's premises.

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 3 of its 18 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
• 22311 Electronic service technicians (household and business equipment)
• 72204 Telecommunications line and cable installers and repairers

Excluded from this code

• Contractors and supervisors, electrical trades and telecommunications occupations (See 72011 Contractors and supervisors, electrical trades and telecommunications occupations)
• Electronic service technicians (household and business equipment) (See 22311 Electronic service technicians (household and business equipment))
• Telecommunications line and cable installers and repairers (See 72204 Telecommunications line and cable installers and repairers)

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.

apprentice communication electrician - switching · apprentice electrician - telecommunications equipment · apprentice telephone switchman/woman · army communication and information systems specialist · branch exchange repairer - telecommunications · business telephone equipment installer and repairer · business telephone equipment maintainer · cable station tester - telecommunications · cable television service installation technician · cable television service technician · cablevision servicer · cellular phone installer · cellular telephone technician · central office equipment inspector - telecommunications · central office equipment installer - telecommunications · central office equipment maintainer - telecommunications · central office equipment repairer - telecommunications · central office frame servicer - telecommunications · central office repairer - telecommunications · central office technician - telecommunications · central office tester - telecommunications · charging equipment attendant - telecommunications · combination man/woman - telecommunications · communication electrician - network craft

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is required.
• Telephone and switch network installers and repairers require completion of an apprenticeship program ranging from three to four years or a combination of over three years work experience in the trade and some high school, college or industry related courses.
• Cable television service technicians require 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
• Telecommunications equipment technicians usually require completion of a college electrical and electronics program and several months of on-the-job training or completion of a three- or four-year apprenticeship training program.
• Trade certification for communication technicians is available, but voluntary, in Nova Scotia, Alberta, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
• Experience as an installer and repairer (telephone and switch network) is usually required for service testers.