72300 Plumbers

What this occupation covers

Plumbers install, repair and maintain pipes, fixtures and other plumbing equipment used for water distribution and waste water disposal in residential, commercial and industrial buildings. They are employed in maintenance departments of factories, plants and similar establishments, by plumbing contractors, or they may be self-employed. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 8 main duties for this code.

• Read blueprints, drawings and specifications to determine layout of plumbing system, water supply network and waste and drainage systems
• Install, repair and maintain domestic, commercial or industrial plumbing fixtures and systems
• Locate and mark positions for pipe connections, passage holes and fixtures in walls and floors
• Cut opening in walls and floors to accommodate pipe and pipe fittings
• Measure, cut, bend and thread pipes using hand and power tools or machines
• Join pipes using couplings, clamps, screws, bolts, cement or soldering, brazing and welding equipment
• Test pipes for leaks using air and water pressure gauges
• May prepare cost estimates.

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 8 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.

• 72302 Gas fitters
• 72012 Contractors and supervisors, pipefitting trades
• 72301 Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers

Excluded from this code

• Gas fitters (See 72302 Gas fitters)
• Plumbers supervisor (See 72012 Contractors and supervisors, pipefitting trades)
• Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers (See 72301 Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers)

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 plumber · journeyman/woman plumber · maintenance and repair plumber · maintenance and repair plumber (non-construction) · maintenance plumber · marine plumber · plumber · plumber - pipefitting · plumber apprentice · plumbing heat technician - Canadian Armed Forces · plumbing installer · plumbing mechanic · radiator plumber · residential construction plumber

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is usually required.
• Completion of a four- to five-year apprenticeship program or A combination of over five years of work experience in the trade and some high school, college or industry courses in plumbing is usually required to be eligible for trade certification.
• Trade certification is compulsory in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta and available, but voluntary, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, British Columbia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
• Red Seal endorsement is also available to qualified plumbers upon successful completion of the interprovincial Red Seal examination.