Occupation

Boilermaker

Boilermakers fabricate, erect, and repair boilers, pressure vessels, tanks, and heavy plate structures. The work is heavy, code-governed, and frequently carried out inside vessels or at height during plant outages. Rigging, layout, cutting, fitting, and welding are all part of the same job.

Also known as: Boilermaker-welder · Plate fabricator · Pressure vessel fabricator

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Occupation content

Part of Skilled trades, maintenance and repair

A visual day in the work

What the work involves

  1. Lay out and mark plate and structural sections from fabrication drawings and templates.

  2. Cut, bevel, roll, and form plate, then fit and tack sections into position.

  3. Weld seams and attachments to the applicable procedure and present work for inspection.

  4. Rig and move heavy sections with hoists, cranes, and lifting gear.

  5. Strip out, replace, and repair tubes, refractory, and worn vessel internals during outages.

  6. Work to confined-space, hot-work, and isolation permits and complete the associated records.

Entry-route stepper

How people commonly enter

  1. A registered boilermaker apprenticeship with an industrial contractor, shipyard, or fabrication shop.

  2. A college welding or metal fabrication programme used to enter the boilermaking trade.

  3. Movement from structural welding or plate fabrication into pressure and vessel work with added qualification testing.

  4. A union or employer trainee intake placing candidates into supervised shop and field work.

Typical training: Apprenticeship

Licensing: Certification common, not usually required

Pathways: Apprenticeship route

Work-context map

Typical work context

  • Client sites
  • Physically active
  • Team based
  • High responsibility
  • Shift work
  • Outdoors

Client sites · Physically active · Team based · High responsibility · Shift work · Outdoors

Related interests

  • Realistic (hands-on)
  • Conventional (organizing)

Realistic (hands-on) · Conventional (organizing)

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Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)

This is broad family-level context for Skilled trades, maintenance and repair in Canada, not a figure for Boilermaker. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.

This is a broad Skilled trades, maintenance and repair 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

Skilled trades, maintenance and repair: education pathways

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Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period

Skilled trades, maintenance and repair: licensing

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