Graduates · Ontario · 2021 Census
What can you do with a welding, machining and precision trades trades certificate?
What graduates actually work as, from Statistics Canada, beside what Job Bank says about each job: openings, pay, and what it takes.
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What can you do with a welding, machining and precision trades trades certificate in Ontario?
In the 2021 Census, the most common jobs among employed Ontarians aged 25 to 34 with an apprenticeship or trades certificate in welding, machining and precision trades were welders and related machine operators (25.8%), sheet metal workers (9%) and ironworkers (8.6%). This is one of the more direct fields: the single biggest job, welders and related machine operators, covers 25.8% of these graduates, and the 12 most common jobs together cover 66.2%.
What graduates really do
What jobs do welding, machining and precision trades graduates in Ontario actually have?
Ontario is published for the precision production group (welding, machining, tool and die), so the lead table is Ontario people aged 25 to 34 whose highest credential is an apprenticeship or trades certificate.
| Job | Share of graduates | People | Job Bank outlook | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welders and related machine operatorsOur guide | 25.8% | 1,555 | Very limited | $28.00/hr |
| Sheet metal workers | 9% | 540 | Limited | $35.00/hr |
| Ironworkers | 8.6% | 520 | Moderate | $44.34/hr |
| Machinists and machining and tooling inspectorsOur guide | 5.6% | 340 | Limited | $30.00/hr |
| Construction trades helpers and labourers | 3.4% | 205 | Moderate | $27.00/hr |
| Tool and die makers | 3.2% | 190 | Limited | $34.00/hr |
| Contractors and supervisors, machining, metal forming, shaping and erecting trades and related occupations | 2.8% | 170 | Limited | $40.00/hr |
| Boilermakers | 2.1% | 125 | Moderate | $48.21/hr |
| Transport truck driversOur guide | 1.6% | 95 | Moderate | $26.00/hr |
| Structural metal and platework fabricators and fitters | 1.5% | 90 | Limited | $27.48/hr |
| CarpentersOur guide | 1.3% | 80 | Moderate | $32.00/hr |
| Construction millwrights and industrial mechanicsOur guide | 1.3% | 80 | Moderate | $35.59/hr |
How does it look for other groups?
These are different groups of people, shown separately on purpose: a different place, age group or level of education. Do not read them as one comparison.
| Job | Share of graduates | People | Job Bank outlook | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welders and related machine operatorsOur guide | 21.3% | 1,250 | Very limited | $28.00/hr |
| Machinists and machining and tooling inspectorsOur guide | 8.9% | 525 | Limited | $30.00/hr |
| Cabinetmakers | 3% | 175 | Moderate | $25.00/hr |
| Construction trades helpers and labourers | 2.9% | 170 | Moderate | $27.00/hr |
| Tool and die makers | 2.8% | 165 | Limited | $34.00/hr |
| CarpentersOur guide | 2.3% | 135 | Moderate | $32.00/hr |
| Construction millwrights and industrial mechanicsOur guide | 2.3% | 135 | Moderate | $35.59/hr |
| Ironworkers | 2.2% | 130 | Moderate | $44.34/hr |
| Sheet metal workers | 2% | 120 | Limited | $35.00/hr |
| Boilermakers | 1.5% | 90 | Moderate | $48.21/hr |
| Residential and commercial installers and servicers | 1.5% | 90 | Moderate | $25.00/hr |
| Transport truck driversOur guide | 1.4% | 85 | Moderate | $26.00/hr |
| Job | Share of graduates | People | Job Bank outlook | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welders and related machine operatorsOur guide | 24.9% | 36,015 | Very limited | $28.00/hr |
| Machinists and machining and tooling inspectorsOur guide | 8% | 11,520 | Limited | $30.00/hr |
| Sheet metal workers | 5.6% | 8,040 | Limited | $35.00/hr |
| Ironworkers | 3.4% | 4,935 | Moderate | $44.34/hr |
| Transport truck driversOur guide | 2.8% | 4,060 | Moderate | $26.00/hr |
| Contractors and supervisors, machining, metal forming, shaping and erecting trades and related occupations | 2.6% | 3,830 | Limited | $40.00/hr |
| Construction millwrights and industrial mechanicsOur guide | 1.9% | 2,740 | Moderate | $35.59/hr |
| Construction trades helpers and labourers | 1.8% | 2,625 | Moderate | $27.00/hr |
| Tool and die makers | 1.6% | 2,340 | Limited | $34.00/hr |
| Material handlers | 1.3% | 1,810 | Limited | $21.50/hr |
| Managers in agricultureOur guide | 1.2% | 1,770 | Good | $31.25/hr |
| Manufacturing managers | 1.2% | 1,755 | Moderate | $52.88/hr |
Do those jobs have openings?
Which of those jobs are hiring?
None of the 12 most common jobs for these graduates has a good or very good Ontario outlook from Job Bank for 2025 to 2027; the best-rated are listed below. That means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hired. Outlook is a province-wide forecast of openings against job seekers, not a promise for any one town or employer.
- Ironworkers: Job Bank outlook moderate, 8.6% of these graduates.
- Construction trades helpers and labourers: Job Bank outlook moderate, 3.4% of these graduates.
- Boilermakers: Job Bank outlook moderate, 2.1% of these graduates.
- Transport truck drivers: Job Bank outlook moderate, 1.6% of these graduates.
- Carpenters: Job Bank outlook moderate, 1.3% of these graduates.
- Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics: Job Bank outlook moderate, 1.3% of these graduates.
When the degree is not enough
What does the degree not lead to on its own?
A precision production or machining program teaches shop skills, and it is not the same as a trade certificate. Machinist, welder and millwright are non-compulsory trades in Ontario, so work does not legally depend on certification, but employers may still ask for it.
A registered apprenticeship is the route to the trade certificate, and it needs a sponsor. Some welding tasks have their own separate certification requirement.
Routes that need more than the degree
Start a registered apprenticeship
Skilled Trades Ontario lists five steps: qualify (at least 16, authorized to work in Canada, the education the trade asks for, and a sponsor in Ontario), find a sponsor, apply, sign a Training Agreement with your sponsor, and download your logbook. It says about 20% of an apprenticeship is in-school training, in cycles of 8 to 12 weeks. A college program on its own is not an apprenticeship. Skilled Trades Ontario: starting your apprenticeshipGeneral machinist (429A)
Skilled Trades Ontario lists General Machinist as a non-compulsory trade, 8,000 hours including 720 in school, and a Red Seal trade known nationally as Machinist. Skilled Trades Ontario: general machinistWelder (456A)
Skilled Trades Ontario lists Welder as a non-compulsory trade, about 6,000 hours including 720 in school, and a Red Seal trade. It adds that certain welding tasks legally require certification from the Technical Standards and Safety Authority. Skilled Trades Ontario: welderIndustrial mechanic millwright (433A)
Skilled Trades Ontario lists this as a non-compulsory trade, 8,000 hours including 720 in school, and a Red Seal trade known nationally as Industrial Mechanic (Millwright). Skilled Trades Ontario: industrial mechanic millwright
Jobs to look at
Careers worth a closer look
Full guides: what the work is really like, who hates it, what it pays, and the route in.
- MachinistCutting metal into precision parts to a drawing, where being off by a hair means the part goes in the scrap bin.Career guide
- WelderJoining metal so it holds, usually to a drawing, usually to a tolerance somebody will inspect.Career guide
- MillwrightInstalling, aligning and repairing the heavy machinery inside factories and plants, so the line keeps moving.Career guide
- Heavy equipment operatorRunning the machines that dig, grade and lift on construction and civil sites, with a lot of waiting and a few minutes of exact work.Career guide
- Food processing operatorRunning and watching the machines that mix, cook, pack and package food in a plant, to a schedule and a safety standard.Career guide
- Aircraft maintenance engineerInspecting, repairing and signing off aircraft as safe to fly, where your signature is the legal point of the job.Career guide
Read this before you rely on it
What the numbers do not show
- The Census is from 2021. Jobs and hiring have moved since. Job Bank's outlook is current to 2025 to 2027.
- It counts employed people and what they do, not whether they wanted that job or use their degree in it. A graduate working as a retail supervisor is counted in the data exactly like one working in their field.
- It is a 25% sample, and Statistics Canada rounds every count to a multiple of five. Small groups are noisy.
- For Ontario the Census publishes bachelor's degree or higher together, so those tables include master's and doctoral graduates.
- Each person is counted once, by their highest credential. A person who finished a diploma and then a degree appears under the degree, not the diploma.
- The 12 jobs shown are the most common, not all of them. The rest of the graduates are spread across hundreds of other jobs.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population, tables 98-10-0447-01 and 98-10-0403-01; Job Bank (Employment and Social Development Canada) Ontario outlooks and wages, linked on each job. We join them by occupation code and change neither.
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