73400 – Heavy equipment operators

Lead statement

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. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.

Main 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.

Employment requirements

• Some secondary school education is required.
• Completion of a one- to two-year apprenticeship program orsome 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.

Example job titles

aerial tram operator · asphalt batch plant operator · asphalt-grooving machine operator · asphalt-paving machine operator · asphalt spreader operator · backhoe operator · bobcat operator · boom-conveyor operator · bucketwheel-excavator operator · buggy-operator skinner · buggy-scraper operator · bulldozer driver · bulldozer operator · dozer operator · caterpillar car operator · concrete-grooving machine operator · concrete-paving machine operator · concrete spreader operator - heavy equipment · crawler tractor operator · ditching machine operator · dredge operator · dredge runner · earth-moving equipment operator · elevating grader operator · elevating scraper operator · heavy equipment operator · heavy-duty equipment operator · excavator operator · front end loader operator · gradall operator · grader operator · road grader operator · grooving machine operator - heavy equipment · pile-driving hammer operator · heater-planer operator · heavy equipment operator apprentice · apprentice heavy equipment operator · heavy-duty equipment operator apprentice · hydraulic excavator operator · industrial backhoe operator

Wages (per hour)

Source: Job Bank wages, 2025 release (ESDC). Low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles.