7452- Material handlers

Canada NOC: 
7452
Job Title: 

Material handlers

Job Description: 

This unit group includes workers who handle, move, load and unload materials by hand or using a variety of material handling equipment. They are employed by transportation, storage and moving companies, and by a variety of manufacturing and processing companies and retail and wholesale warehouses.

Main Duties: 

Material handlers (manual) perform some or all of the following duties:


Load, unload and move products and materials by hand or using basic material handling equipment
Move household appliances and furniture onto and off moving trucks or vans
Perform other material handling activities such as counting, weighing, sorting, packing and unpacking.
Material handlers (equipment operators) perform some or all of the following duties:


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
May perform other activities, such as opening containers and crates, filling warehouse orders, assisting in taking inventory and weighing and checking materials.

Employment Requirements: 

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

Classified Elsewhere: 

Freight attendants (in 7534 Air transport ramp attendants)
Heavy equipment operators (except crane) (7521)
Longshore workers (7451)
Mover helpers (in 7622 Railway and motor transport labourers)
Storekeepers and partspersons (1522)
Supervisors of material handlers (in 7302 Contractors and supervisors, heavy equipment operator crews)
Warehouse supervisors (in 1215 Supervisors, supply chain, tracking and scheduling co-ordination occupations)

Source Of Info: 

National Occupation Classification, (2011)

Statistics Canada and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada,

February 2012,

Catalogue no. 12-583-X