Millwright

Are you good at problem-solving? Could you read blueprints and visualize a layout? Do you like working with heavy-duty equipment and machines? Do you like precise work? Are you looking for on-the-job variety? Then, millwright could be the career for you!

What the work is like

Millwrights install, maintain and repair stationary industrial machinery and mechanical equipment.

They are employed by manufacturing and construction companies, as well as amusement parks and ski hills.

Millwrights work in the heavy industrial, and institutional and commercial construction sectors.

Your duties

As a millwright, your duties may include:

• Inspecting, repairing, cleaning and maintaining industrial machinery and equipment
• Operating cranes and tractors to move machinery
• Operating lathes or grinders to build parts for maintenance of machinery and equipment
• Reading and interpreting blueprints and schematic drawings

Work conditions

The standard work week for millwrights is 40 hours (8 hours a day, 5 days a week). As with many careers in construction, there are peak periods that will require you to work overtime. The number of additional hours you work each week depends on the construction sector and region you work in, and will vary from one job to the next. If you do maintenance work, you may work in shifts.

As a millwright, you may work indoors or outdoors, often closely with other construction professionals including electricians, steamfitter/pipefitters, or welders. The job can be physically demanding—you may have to work with heavy equipment and materials.

As with all careers in the construction industry, safety is the top priority. Millwrights are trained to work safely, and wear special equipment to protect themselves from injury.

Essential skills

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) has identified nine essential skills that are necessary to succeed in the workplace. These skills provide the foundation for learning all other skills and are applicable to most construction careers. Best of all, you can learn and improve on these skills in school, on the job, and during your everyday life.

The most important Essential Skills for millwrights are:

• Document use—reading and interpreting documents to extract information
• Oral communication—conveying or exchanging information verbally
• Problem solving—coming up with solutions to challenges
• Decision making—making a choice among options
• Working with others—interacting with co-workers to get the job done
• Computer skills—working with computers to operate machinery or to input/extract information

Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship is one way of starting out in the construction industry. It involves both classroom studies and on-the-job training under the supervision of a certified millwright, called a journeyperson.

As an apprentice, you earn while you learn and are paid by the hour while working on the job site. Wages start at about 60% of a journeyperson’s hourly rate and increase during your apprenticeship, until you reach the full rate.

Entering an apprenticeship program

Requirements for millwright apprenticeship programs vary across Canada. In most provinces and territories, you must be at least 16 years old and have a Grade 12 education to enter a millwright apprenticeship program. You must also have courses in mathematics, science and English.

Some provinces and territories offer secondary school apprenticeship programs that allow high school students to work towards a career as a millwright.

Program length

Apprenticeship training programs for millwrights vary across Canada, but generally involve four 12-month periods, including at least 6,240 hours of on-the-job training, four 8-week blocks of technical training, and a final certificate examination.

Related work experience or completion of a millwright program at a college or technical institute can reduce the time required to complete your apprenticeship.

Certification

Millwright certification is not required to work as a millwright. It is available, but voluntary, in Ontario. Certification tells employers and other workers that you are a skilled professional. It also helps you get jobs.

To be certified as a millwright, you usually need to complete a four-year apprenticeship program. Once you successfully complete the on-the-job training, technical training and examinations required by the program, you are awarded a journeyperson certificate.

If you have over five years of on-the-job experience and some high school, college or industry courses for millwrights, you may be eligible for millwright certification in some provinces and territories.

As a certified millwright, you may attempt the Interprovincial Exam to qualify for the Interprovincial Standards’ Red Seal. With a Red Seal, you can work as a millwright anywhere in Canada.

In provinces and territories where certification is not available, it may be possible to study as an apprentice through your local labour organization.

To keep your skills current, you have to keep up with new technological developments by reading and talking with other millwrights.

Salary ranges

TYPICAL WORK WEEK/YEAR *

In addition to their hourly rate, many construction workers receive statutory holiday and vacation pay. Depending on the contract, you may also receive benefits such as group insurance for health, dental and vision care, retirement packages, and training benefits up to 30% of your hourly rate.

If you are self-employed, it’s up to you to arrange your own benefits.

* Wages vary across Canada, among labour organization locals and among open-shop construction contractors.

** Most construction work involves overtime, so your annual salary will vary depending on the number of hours you work. The salary range listed above represents the annual salary range for full-time journeyperson millwrights across Canada, based on a 40-hour work week, without taking overtime into account.

Building your career

With experience and additional training, you can move into more senior positions. Millwrights are involved with a variety of other construction workers, so they make good candidates for promotion to supervisory and superintendent positions.

As with most careers in the construction industry, your skills are portable. If you want to move, you can take your skills with you.

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