NOC 72501: Water well drillers
What water well drillers do
Water well drillers operate a variety of mobile water well drilling rigs and equipment to drill and monitor residential, commercial and industrial water wells. They are employed by water well drilling contractors and governments, or they may be self-employed. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.
Main duties
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
- Review client requirements and proposed locations for water wells
- Operate water well drilling rigs and other equipment to drill, bore and dig for residential, commercial and industrial water wells or environmental assessment, and install well screens, casings and other well fixtures
- Document geological formations encountered
- Clean and disinfect wells in preparation for use
- Perform routine mechanical maintenance work on water well drilling rigs and equipment
- Install, test, maintain and repair water well pumps, piping systems and equipment and perform pumping tests to assess well performance
- May provide other drilling services, such as repair or dismantling of existing water well structure, elevator shaft drilling and hydro pole drilling.
- Water well drillers may specialize in a specific method of drilling, such as cable, rotary, auger, hammer or reverse circulation drilling.
Job titles under NOC 72501
8 job titles are classified here, including cable tool driller - water well drilling, churn drill operator - water well drilling, water well driller.
- apprentice water well driller
- cable tool driller - water well drilling
- churn drill operator - water well drilling
- journeyman/woman water well driller
- water well driller
- water well driller apprentice
- water well driller journeyman/woman
- water well drilling technician
Employment requirements
- Completion of secondary school is usually required.
- Completion of a two- to three-year water well drilling apprenticeship program or Two to three years of work experience in the trade combined with college or industry courses in water well drilling is usually required to be eligible for trade certification.
- Trade certification is available, but voluntary, in New Brunswick, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
Water well drillers wages in Canada
Low, median and high hourly wages from Job Bank’s 2025 wage data. Annual figures assume full-time work (1,950 hours a year).
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Canada | $21.60/hr | $30.00/hr | $41.92/hr |
Québec City Quebec region, QC | $24.00/hr | $30.33/hr | $41.86/hr |
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Quebec | $24.00/hr | $30.33/hr | $41.86/hr |
Using NOC 72501 for your resume or Express Entry profile
- IRCC asks you to make sure the main duties listed for your NOC match what you actually did at your job. If they don’t, look for another unit group whose duties do.
- Describe your own work in your own words. Recruiters and ATS software look for concrete tools, results and scope, not text copied from the NOC.
- Applying from outside Canada? Run your resume through the Canadian resume format checker to catch things Canadian employers don’t expect, like a photo or date of birth.
- Use the job title the employer’s posting uses. The 8 titles above are how the same work is named across employers.
Not in this group
Similar jobs classified under a different NOC code:
Frequently asked questions
What is the NOC code for water well drillers?
Water well drillers are NOC 2021 unit group 72501. Example job titles in this group include cable tool driller - water well drilling, churn drill operator - water well drilling, water well driller, water well driller apprentice.
What TEER is NOC 72501?
NOC 72501 is TEER 2 (College diploma or apprenticeship (2+ years)). Usually requires a 2–3 year college program or a 2–5 year apprenticeship, or the occupation carries supervisory or significant safety responsibilities. TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 work counts as skilled work experience for Express Entry’s Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience Class programs.
How much do water well drillers earn in Canada?
Job Bank's 2025 wage data puts the median at $30.00/hr, about $59,000 a year full-time, with a range of $21.60/hr to $41.92/hr.
Related occupations
Sources: Statistics Canada, National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Version 1.0; Employment and Social Development Canada, Job Bank wages (2025). Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. OfferJetAI is not affiliated with the Government of Canada. Check IRCC’s NOC guidance before you apply.