75101 – Material handlers

Lead statement

Material handlers (manual) handle, move, load and unload materials by hand.

Main duties

• Load, unload and move products and materials by hand or using basic material handling equipment
• Perform other material handling activities such as counting, weighing, sorting, packing and unpacking.
• May perform other activities, such as opening containers and crates, filling warehouse orders, assisting in taking inventory and weighing and checking materials.
• Move household appliances and furniture onto and off moving trucks or vans
• Operate winches and other loading devices to load and unload materials onto and off trucks, railway cars and loading docks of warehouses and industrial establishments
• Operate industrial trucks, tractors, loaders and other equipment to transport materials to and from transportation vehicles and loading docks and to store and retrieve materials in warehouses
• Connect hoses or pipes and operate equipment to load and unload liquid petroleum, chemical or other products into or from tank cars, tank trucks or storage tanks
• Operate equipment to dump materials such as coal, ore and grain into or to remove materials from railway cars, trucks or other vehicles
• Operate conveyors and equipment to transfer grain or other materials from transportation vehicles to elevators, bins or other storage areas

Employment requirements

• Some secondary school education may be required.
• Physical strength is required for manual material handlers who work with heavy materials.

Example job titles

bin attendant · binman/woman · disposal worker - warehouse · hand packager · stockpiler · warehouseman/woman · warehouseperson · storage man/woman · furniture mover · lift driver · forklift operator · forklift truck operator · jack lift operator · lift jack operator · Mobilift operator · pallet loader operator · palletizer operator · coal conveyor operator · coal-moving equipment operator · industrial truck operator

Wages (per hour)

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