94210 Furniture and fixture assemblers, finishers, refinishers and inspectors

What this occupation covers

Furniture and fixture assemblers assemble parts to form subassemblies or complete articles of furniture and fixtures. Furniture finishers finish new wood or metal furniture to specified colour and finish. Furniture refinishers refinish repaired, used or old furniture. Inspectors inspect furniture and fixture subassemblies and finished products to ensure product quality. They are employed by furniture manufacturing companies, manufacturing plants, retail furniture stores, refinishing and repair shops, or may be self-employed.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 23 main duties for this code.

• Prepare, sand and trim wooden furniture and fixture parts using hand and power tools
• Assemble wooden or metal furniture and fixture parts to form subassemblies and complete articles using hand and power tools
• Assemble a combination of parts made of wood, metal, plastic, cane or other materials to form subassemblies or complete furniture articles
• Reinforce assembled furniture and fixtures with dowels or other supports
• Install hardware such as hinges or clasps on furniture and fixtures.
• Set up and operate finishing machines or finish furniture by hand
• Stain or finish wood to specified colour with stains, paints or other materials using brush or spray gun
• Apply toners, highlights, glazes or shaders to obtain desired finish
• Apply lacquer or other sealers
• Decorate wood surfaces or mark surfaces to create antique or other effects using hand and power tools
• Clean and polish furniture
• Sand metal furniture to prepare for finish and spray with paint or other materials.
• Strip old finish from wood surfaces using steel wool, sandpaper and solvents
• Smooth gouges with wood filler and sand wood
• Match colours to obtain original finish and apply appropriate finish to stripped wood
• Polish and wax refinished surfaces
• Sand or grind metal surfaces to prepare for coating, and paint metal surfaces using electrostatic method, spray gun or other painting equipment
• Make minor repairs to furniture
• May perform duties of furniture finisher.
• Inspect furniture and fixture subassemblies and finished products for conformance to quality standards
• Mark defective parts or products for repair
• Make minor adjustments and repairs
• Record information on products inspected.

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 4 of its 23 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.

• 94211 Assemblers and inspectors of other wood products
• 92022 Supervisors, furniture and fixtures manufacturing
• 63221 Upholsterers
• 94124 Woodworking machine operators

Excluded from this code

• Assemblers and inspectors of other wood products (See 94211 Assemblers and inspectors of other wood products)
• Supervisors, furniture and fixtures manufacturing (See 92022 Supervisors, furniture and fixtures manufacturing)
• Upholsterers (See 63221 Upholsterers)
• Woodworking machine operators (See 94124 Woodworking machine operators)

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.

antiquer - furniture finishing · assembled furniture inspector · assembly inspector - furniture manufacturing · bed assembler · bedspring stretcher · bench worker - furniture manufacturing · billiard table assembler · box spring assembler · box spring frame assembler · box spring unit assembler - furniture manufacturing · cabinet assembler - furniture manufacturing · cabinet assembler - wood products manufacturing · cabinet inspector - furniture manufacturing · chair assembler · chair caner - furniture manufacturing · chair inspector - furniture manufacturing · chair seat weaver · coffin and casket fitter · decorator - furniture finishing and refinishing · desk assembler · drawer assembler · drawer fitter · finisher - furniture finishing · finishing machine operator - furniture manufacturing

Employment requirements

• Secondary school education is usually required.
• On-the-job training is provided.
• Experience as a labourer in the same company may be required for furniture and fixtures assemblers and inspectors.
• College, high school or industry courses in furniture finishing or refinishing may be required.