72401 Heavy-duty equipment mechanics

What this occupation covers

Heavy-duty equipment mechanics repair, troubleshoot, adjust, overhaul and maintain mobile heavy-duty equipment used in construction, transportation, forestry, mining, oil and gas, material handling, landscaping, land clearing, farming and similar activities. They are employed by companies which own and operate heavy equipment, and by heavy equipment dealers, rental and service establishments, railway transport companies and urban transit systems. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 9 main duties for this code.

• Check bulldozers, cranes, graders and other heavy construction, agricultural, logging and mining equipment for proper performance and inspect equipment to detect faults and malfunctions
• Diagnose faults or malfunctions using computerized and other testing equipment to determine extent of repair required
• Adjust equipment and repair or replace defective parts, components or systems, using hand and power tools
• Test repaired equipment for proper performance and to ensure that work meets manufacturers' specifications
• Clean, lubricate and perform other routine maintenance work on equipment
• Service attachments and working tools such as harvesting and tillage equipment, blades, ploughs, winches and side booms
• May perform repair work on heavy trucks
• May attach components and adjust new farm equipment.
• Heavy-duty mechanics may specialize in specific types of machinery such as combines or tracked vehicles, or in engine overhaul, power shift transmissions, fuel injection, hydraulics or electronics.

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.

• 72400 Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics
• 72020 Contractors and supervisors, mechanic trades
• 72410 Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers

Excluded from this code

• Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics (See 72400 Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics)
• Heavy equipment mechanics supervisor (See 72020 Contractors and supervisors, mechanic trades)
• Motor vehicle diesel engine mechanic (See 72410 Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical 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.

agricultural equipment technician · apprentice farm equipment mechanic · apprentice farm machinery mechanic · backhoe mechanic · caterpillar tractor repairer · construction equipment mechanic · construction equipment repairman/woman · crane repairer · crane service technician · diesel engine mechanic · diesel engine mechanic - heavy equipment · diesel engine mechanic apprentice · diesel engine repairman/woman - railway · diesel locomotive repairman/woman · diesel mechanic · diesel mechanic - heavy equipment · diesel mechanic apprentice · dredge mechanic · dredge repairer · earthmoving equipment mechanic · excavating equipment mechanic · farm equipment mechanic · farm equipment technician · farm machinery mechanic

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school and training courses or a vocational program is usually required.
• Completion of a three- to five-year apprenticeship program or A combination of over four years of work experience and industry courses in heavy equipment repair is usually required to be eligible for trade certification.
• Heavy-duty equipment technician trade certification is compulsory in Quebec (only in the construction industry) and Alberta and available, but voluntary, in all other provinces and the territories.
• Agricultural equipment technician trade certification is available, but voluntary, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
• Red Seal endorsement is also available to qualified heavy duty equipment technicians and agricultural equipment technicians upon successful completion of the interprovincial Red Seal examination.