73101 Tilesetters

What this occupation covers

Tilesetters cover interior and exterior walls, floors and ceilings with ceramic, marble and quarry tile, mosaics or terrazzo. They are employed by construction companies and masonry contractors, or they may be self-employed. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 13 main duties for this code.

• Prepare, measure and mark surface to be covered
• Build underbeds and install anchor bolts, wires and brackets
• Mix, apply and spread mortar, cement, mastic, glue or other adhesives using hand trowel
• Set tiles in position and apply pressure to affix tiles to base
• Align and straighten tile using levels, squares and straightedges
• Cut and fit tiles around obstacles and openings using hand and power cutting tools
• Pack grout into joints between tiles and remove excess grout
• Install tile strips
• Lay and set mosaic tiles to create decorative wall, mural and floor designs
• Mix, lay and polish terra surfaces
• Cut, polish and install marble and granite
• Remove and replace cracked or damaged tiles
• May prepare cost estimates and orders.

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 13 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.

• 72320 Bricklayers
• 73102 Plasterers, drywall installers and finishers and lathers
• 72014 Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers

Excluded from this code

• Bricklayers (See 72320 Bricklayers)
• Plasterers, drywall installers and finishers and lathers (See 73102 Plasterers, drywall installers and finishers and lathers)
• Tilesetters supervisor (See 72014 Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers)

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 tilesetter · artificial marble setter · ceramic tile installer · ceramic tilesetter · granite setter · journeyman/woman tilesetter · marble layer · marble mason · marble mechanic · marble setter · marble tilesetter · mosaic tilesetter · terrazzo finisher · terrazzo floor layer · terrazzo layer · terrazzo mason · terrazzo mechanic · terrazzo polisher · terrazzo setter · terrazzo worker · terrazzo, tile and marble setter · tile fitter · tile floor layer · tile installer

Employment requirements

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