Occupation
Beekeeper
Beekeepers manage colonies of honey bees for honey, wax, queen rearing, or pollination contracts. The work is seasonal and physical: hives are inspected on a cycle, boxes are heavy, and colonies get moved between sites and crops. Colony health, disease reporting, and hive registration are a routine part of the job in many places.
Also known as: Apiarist · Apiculturist · Commercial beekeeper · Apiary worker
Occupation content
Part of Agriculture, animals and environment
What the work involves
- Inspect hives for queen status, brood pattern, food stores, and space to expand.
- Check for varroa, foulbrood, and other pests and diseases and apply approved treatments.
- Add or remove supers and split or combine colonies as the season demands.
- Extract, filter, and pack honey and clean extraction equipment.
- Move hives to pollination sites or nectar flows and secure loads for transport.
- Keep hive inspection, treatment, and movement records for registration and traceability.
How people commonly enter
- Hobby beekeeping and mentoring through a local beekeeping association, moving into paid apiary work.
- Direct entry as a seasonal apiary worker with on-the-job training from a commercial operation.
- A short course or certificate in apiculture, bee health, or honey production.
- A college diploma or degree in agriculture or entomology for research, inspection, and advisory roles.
Typical training: Short course or on-the-job training
Licensing: Regulated in some jurisdictions — confirm the current requirement with the regulator in your province, state, or country.
Typical work context
Outdoors · Physically active · Works independently · Involves travel · Varied work
Related interests
Realistic (hands-on) · Investigative (analytical)
Related aptitude preparation
These are preparation links only. They do not measure eligibility for this occupation and no score here qualifies or disqualifies anyone.
Skills to practise
Practice suites
Related learning
Family-level learning links for Agriculture, animals and environment.
Official sources
Labour-market facts such as pay and employment projections are not reproduced here. Open an official source below for figures, with its own geography and reference period.
- US BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations · United States
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- Canada Job Bank — Career planning and occupation search (Beekeeper) · Canada
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- EU ESCO — Occupations and skills classification · European Union
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Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)
This is broad family-level context for Agriculture, animals and environment in Canada, not a figure for Beekeeper. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.
This is a broad Agriculture, animals and environment family. Explore the official profile for the chosen occupation; entry education and training can differ within the family.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Agriculture, animals and environment: education pathways
Some roles in Agriculture, animals and environment may be regulated. Confirm whether the specific role requires registration, certification, or a jurisdiction-specific licence.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Agriculture, animals and environment: licensing
Find jobs
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- Search Canada Job Bank · Canada
- Search USAJOBS · United States federal
- Search EURES · European Union / EEA
- Search Indeed · International (choose location on Indeed)