NOC 73400: Heavy equipment operators
What heavy equipment operators do
Heavy equipment operators operate heavy equipment used in the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, airports, gas and oil pipelines, tunnels, buildings and other structures; in surface mining and quarrying activities; and in material handling work. They are employed by construction companies, heavy equipment contractors, public works departments and pipeline, logging, cargo-handling and other companies. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.
Main duties
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
- Operate heavy equipment such as backhoes, bulldozers, loaders and graders to excavate, move, load and grade earth, rock, gravel or other materials during construction and related activities
- Operate bulldozers or other heavy equipment to clear brush and stumps prior to logging activities and to build roads at logging and surface mining sites
- Operate heavy equipment with pile driver head to drive piling into earth to provide support for buildings, bridges or other structures
- Operate heavy dredging equipment to deepen waterways or reclaim earth fill
- Operate heavy paving and surfacing equipment to lay, spread or compact concrete, asphalt and other surface materials during highway and road construction
- Operate power shovels to excavate rock, ore or other materials from open-pit mines, strip mines, quarries or construction pits
- Operate heavy equipment to move, load and unload cargo
- Conduct pre-operational checks on equipment and clean, lubricate and refill equipment.
Job titles under NOC 73400
103 job titles are classified here, including backhoe operator, bulldozer operator, excavator operator.
- aerial tram operator
- apprentice heavy equipment operator
- asphalt batch plant operator
- asphalt plant operator
- asphalt roller operator
- asphalt spreader operator
- asphalt street paver operator
- asphalt-grooving machine operator
- asphalt-paving machine operator
- asphalt-paving screed operator
- backhoe operator
- bituminous paver operator - heavy equipment
- bobcat operator
- boom-conveyor operator
- bucketwheel operator
- bucketwheel-excavator operator
- buggy-operator skinner
- buggy-scraper operator
- bulldozer driver
- bulldozer operator
- cat operator
- cat skinner
- caterpillar car operator
- caterpillar operator
Employment requirements
- Some secondary school education is required.
- Completion of a one- to two-year apprenticeship program or Some high school, college or industry courses in heavy equipment operating combined with on-the-job training are required.
- Trade certification for heavy equipment operator (dozer, excavator, tractor-loader-backhoe) is compulsory in Quebec and available, but voluntary, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Ontario.
- Internal company certification may be required by some employers.
- Red Seal endorsement is also available to qualified heavy equipment operators upon successful completion of the interprovincial Red Seal examination.
Heavy equipment operators 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 | $24.00/hr | $32.50/hr | $45.00/hr |
Toronto ON | $23.08/hr | $35.00/hr | $50.12/hr |
Montréal QC | $23.25/hr | $38.16/hr | $43.75/hr |
Vancouver Lower Mainland region, BC | $26.00/hr | $37.00/hr | $50.00/hr |
Calgary AB | $25.00/hr | $34.00/hr | $43.00/hr |
Edmonton AB | $25.00/hr | $33.00/hr | $45.00/hr |
Ottawa ON | $19.00/hr | $31.00/hr | $38.75/hr |
Winnipeg MB | $23.00/hr | $28.92/hr | $37.00/hr |
Québec City Quebec region, QC | $24.00/hr | $36.00/hr | $43.40/hr |
Hamilton Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula region, ON | $26.00/hr | $35.00/hr | $47.30/hr |
Kitchener-Waterloo Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie region, ON | $23.63/hr | $30.00/hr | $45.63/hr |
London ON | $25.00/hr | $30.00/hr | $41.00/hr |
Halifax NS | $17.00/hr | $25.00/hr | $55.00/hr |
Victoria Vancouver Island and Coast region, BC | $27.50/hr | $32.00/hr | $50.00/hr |
Saskatoon Saskatoon–Biggar region, SK | $24.00/hr | $30.00/hr | $49.01/hr |
Regina Regina–Moose Mountain region, SK | $22.00/hr | $30.00/hr | $42.23/hr |
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Newfoundland and Labrador | $22.00/hr | $30.00/hr | $38.00/hr |
Nova Scotia | $18.00/hr | $25.00/hr | $35.50/hr |
New Brunswick | $20.00/hr | $25.00/hr | $34.50/hr |
Quebec | $24.00/hr | $36.00/hr | $43.40/hr |
Ontario | $23.63/hr | $32.00/hr | $47.70/hr |
Manitoba | $22.00/hr | $28.92/hr | $38.00/hr |
Saskatchewan | $24.00/hr | $30.00/hr | $44.00/hr |
Alberta | $26.00/hr | $34.30/hr | $45.00/hr |
British Columbia | $27.00/hr | $35.75/hr | $46.00/hr |
Using NOC 73400 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 103 titles above are how the same work is named across employers.
Not in this group
Similar jobs classified under a different NOC code:
- Contractors and supervisors, heavy equipment operator crews (NOC 72021)
- Crane operators (NOC 72500)
- Forklift operator (NOC 75101)
- Industrial truck operator (NOC 75101)
- Logging machinery operators (NOC 83110)
- Underground production and development miners (NOC 83100)
Frequently asked questions
What is the NOC code for heavy equipment operators?
Heavy equipment operators are NOC 2021 unit group 73400. Example job titles in this group include backhoe operator, bulldozer operator, excavator operator, gradall operator.
What TEER is NOC 73400?
NOC 73400 is TEER 3 (College or apprenticeship (under 2 years)). Usually requires a college program or apprenticeship of less than 2 years, or more than six months of on-the-job training. 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 heavy equipment operators earn in Canada?
Job Bank's 2025 wage data puts the median at $32.50/hr, about $63,000 a year full-time, with a range of $24.00/hr to $45.00/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.