Plumber

Are you looking for on-the-job variety? Do you like working with your hands and with machines? Are you disciplined and precise? Can you visualize detailed structures from drawings? Do you like dealing with people? Then, plumber may be the career for you!

What the work is like

Plumbers install, repair and maintain pipes and plumbing equipment used for water distribution and disposal.

They are employed by construction companies, plumbing contractors and maintenance departments, or they may also be self-employed.

Plumbers work mostly in the new home building and renovation, and institutional and commercial construction sectors.

Your duties

Plumbers usually specialize in either residential or commercial/institutional work.

As a plumber, your duties may include:

• Installing, repairing and maintaining domestic, commercial or industrial plumbing systems
• Marking positions for pipe connections and fixtures in walls and floors
• Cutting openings in walls and floors to accommodate pipes and pipe fittings
• Measuring, cutting, bending and installing pipes using hand and power tools
• Joining pipes using clamps, screws, bolts or cement
• Welding pipes
• Testing pipes for leaks
• Preparing cost estimates
• Reading and interpreting blueprints

Work conditions

The standard work week for plumbers 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.

As a plumber, you may work outdoors and indoors, alone or with a team of other construction professionals. The work can be physically demanding—you may have to stand or crouch for long periods of time, and you may have to lift heavy materials.

As with all careers in the construction industry, safety is the top priority. Plumbers are trained to work safely, and take special precautions 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 plumbers are:

• Numeracy—working with numbers to perform calculations
• Significant use of memory—performing tasks that call upon greater memory use than most jobs
• Working with others—interacting with co-workers to get the job done

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 plumber, 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 50% of a journeyperson’s hourly rate and increase during your apprenticeship, until you reach the full rate.

Entering an apprenticeship program

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

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

Program length

Apprenticeship training programs for plumbers vary across Canada, but generally involve four 12-month periods, including at least 6,000 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 plumber program at a college or technical institute can reduce the time required to complete your apprenticeship.

Certification

Plumber certification is required in some provinces, and is available but voluntary in most other provinces and territories. Even where certification is voluntary, it is still recommended. Certification tells employers and other workers that you are a skilled professional. It also helps you get jobs.

To be certified as a plumber, 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 construction experience and some high school, college or industry courses in plumbing, you may be eligible for plumber certification in some provinces and territories.

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

Certification for plumbers is compulsory in:

• Alberta
• British Columbia
• New Brunswick
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Saskatchewan
• Québec

It is available, but voluntary, in:

• Manitoba
• Newfoundland
• Northwest Territories
• Yukon

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 plumbers.

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 organizations 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 plumbers 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, including supervisory roles such as foreman or estimator. You can also transfer your skills to other construction trades, such as steamfitter/pipefitter or gasfitter. Another option is to become self-employed and start your own contracting business.

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