94123 Lumber graders and other wood processing inspectors and graders

What this occupation covers

Lumber graders and other wood processing inspectors and graders inspect and grade lumber, shingles, veneer, waferboard and similar wood products to identify defects, ensure conformance to company specifications and classify products according to industry standards. They are employed by sawmills, planing mills, wood treatment plants, waferboard plants and other wood processing companies.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 10 main duties for this code.

• Examine lumber visually for knots, holes, splits and other defects and sort for further drying, trimming or remanufacturing
• Measure lumber using callipers, gauges and tape measures to ensure specified thickness, length and width
• Classify and sort lumber according to industry standards and stamp lumber to indicate grade, wood type, moisture level and other characteristics
• Tally lumber
• Complete and maintain reports.
• Inspect plywood panels, veneer sheets, panelboards, shingles and similar wood products visually for knots, holes, splits, straightness and other defects
• Mark defects and sort for repair or reprocessing
• Measure wood products to ensure conformance to specifications using standard measuring instruments
• Grade and label wood products according to quality standards
• Complete and maintain inspection and grading reports.

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 10 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.

• 22100 Chemical technologists and technicians
• 22112 Forestry technologists and technicians
• 22302 Industrial engineering and manufacturing technologists and technicians
• 92014 Supervisors, forest products processing

Excluded from this code

• Forest products technologist (See 22100 Chemical technologists and technicians)
• Log scaler (See 22112 Forestry technologists and technicians)
• Production technologist - sawmill (See 22302 Industrial engineering and manufacturing technologists and technicians)
• Supervisors, forest products processing (See 92014 Supervisors, forest products processing)

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.

board grader - wood processing · flooring grader - wood processing · grader - wood processing · grader tallyman/woman - wood processing · green lumber grader · inspector - wood processing · lumber grader · lumber inspector · lumber marker · panel inspector - wood processing · particleboard grader - wood processing · planer grader - wood processing · planer mill grader - wood processing · plywood and veneer matcher - wood processing · plywood grader · plywood grader - wood processing · plywood inspector · plywood inspector - wood processing · pole inspector - wood processing · shake inspector - wood processing · shingle inspector - wood processing · stake grader - wood processing · tie and timber inspector · treated pole tester - wood processing

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is usually required.
• On-the-job training and up to two weeks of classroom training are provided for lumber graders.
• Previous experience as a sawmill machine operator, other wood processing operator or as a labourer in wood processing is usually required for graders and inspectors in this unit group.
• Lumber graders require a lumber grader's licence issued by a provincial lumber association.