职业描述：Heavy Equipment Operators (742)

At Work
People in this group work for construction companies, heavy equipment contractors, pipeline, logging, cargo-handling and other companies, governments and private contractors.
Heavy equipment operators operate backhoes, bulldozers, loaders, graders, side-booms, dredging and heavy paving equipment, power shovels, pile drivers and other heavy equipment.
Heavy equipment operators excavate, load, grade and clear land in the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, airports, oil and gas pipelines, tunnels, buildings and other structures, in surface mining and quarrying activities, and in material handling work.
Public works maintenance equipment operators operate garbage trucks, street cleaning equipment, snowploughs, sewer maintenance equipment, sanding and oiling trucks and other maintenance equipment.
This occupational group also includes backhoe, bulldozer and grader operators, garbage truck drivers, sand spreader operators, street flusher operators and salt truck operators.

Education, Training and Experience
People in this group usually have some high school education.

Heavy equipment operators must complete a one-to-two-year apprenticeship, or some high school, college or industry courses in heavy equipment operating combined with on-the-job training.
Heavy equipment operators require trade certification in Quebec. It is available, but voluntary, in Newfoundland. These operators may require company certification at their place of employment.
Public works maintenance operators usually need experience as public works labourers. They usually get on-the-job training and may require a driver's licence appropriate to the equipment they are driving.
With experience, they may progress to supervisory positions.

About these Occupations
85,000 persons were employed in these occupations in 1996, an increase of 8.5% from 1986. Over the same period, employment in all occupations grew by 13.1%.

83% of these workers are heavy equipment operators, and 17% are public works maintenance equipment operators.
7% of these equipment operators work part-time, well below the average of 19% for all occupations.
15% of these equipment operators are self-employed, compared to an average of 16% for all occupations.
7% of these equipment operators are women, well below the average of 45% in all occupations.
The unemployment rate in these occupations averaged 13.6% from 1994 to 1996, well above the average of 6.7% for all occupations. These rates are among the highest for occupations at this skill level and for occupations in trades, transport and equipment operation.
Average earnings of year-round, full-time workers in these occupations in 1995 were $36,100, compared to an average of $35,700 for all occupations. These earnings are among the highest for occupations at this skill level.
The separation rate in these occupations is high, due in large part to the seasonal character of employment in these occupations.
Employment in these occupations is highly sensitive to overall economic conditions and highly seasonal.

Full-Time Earnings

1995 Full-Time Earnings*
$53,000 Highest
$36,100 Average
$19,100 Lowest

* Full-time earnings of the highest 10%, the average and the lowest 10% of workers. $35,700 is the average for all occupations.

Looking to the Year 2001
Current labour market conditions for new entrants in these occupations are poor. Labour market conditions for new entrants will remain poor through 2001.

As goverments' fiscal situation improves, they may invest in new infrastructure and in deferred upkeep of existing infrastructure, increasing demand in these occupations.
Most of the increase in labour requirements through 2001 for these occupations will occur in the construction industry.