Job prospects Production Welder in Alberta

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "production welder" in Alberta or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Alberta

The recent trends from the past 3 years were updated on July 25, 2025. The job outlooks over the next 3 years were updated on December 10, 2025.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be Limited for welders and related machine operators (NOC 72106) in Alberta for the 2025-2027 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a few new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are several unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

• Employment prospects for welders are tightening due to slower growth in key sectors, fewer job openings, a steady supply of experienced workers, and project delays in energy and infrastructure.

Here are some key facts about welders and related machine operators in Alberta:

• Approximately 17,100 people work in this occupation.
• Welders and related machine operators mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Repair and maintenance (NAICS 811): 27%
  • Construction (NAICS 23): 16%
  • Fabricated metal product manufacturing (NAICS 332): 13%
  • Machinery manufacturing (NAICS 333): 8%
  • Support activities for mining, oil and gas (NAICS 213): 6%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 94% compared to 80% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 6% compared to 20% for all occupations
• 49% of welders and related machine operators work all year, while 51% work only part of the year, compared to 61% and 39% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 39 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• 22% of welders and related machine operators are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: more than 95% compared to 53% for all occupations
  • Women: less than 5% compared to 47% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 6% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 10% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 68% compared to 13% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 13% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: less than 5% compared to 21% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 9% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Alberta by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

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