75101
Canada Limited

Material handlers

Material handlers 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.

Employment Outlooks

Economic Region Outlooks

Select your region(s)

Choose up to 3 regions to see employment outlooks. This occupation has data for 72 economic regions.

Salary Information

National wage data for this occupation
Entry-level
CA$16.55
/hr
Typical
CA$22.00
/hr
Experienced
CA$30.29
/hr

Average: CA$22.98/hr

81.6% of workers in this occupation receive non-wage benefits

Source: Job Bank Canada. Wages may vary by region and experience.

Examples

Illustrative Examples
  • bin filler
  • coal handler
  • conveyor console operator
  • forklift truck operator
  • freight handler (except air transport)
  • furniture mover
  • lumber piler - building supplies
  • material handler
  • railway car loader
  • stockpiler
  • storage worker - material handling
  • truck loader
  • warehouseman/woman
All Examples
  • forklift truck operator
  • ash handler
  • automated storage and retrieval system operator
  • automatic pallet equipment operator
  • bandoleer packer - explosives manufacturing
  • belt conveyor attendant
  • beltman/woman
  • bin attendant
  • bin filler
  • binman/woman
  • box bander
  • box filler
  • boxcar loader
  • bucket elevator operator
  • bulk materials carrier operator
  • bulk materials loader operator
  • bulk materials unloader
  • cement loader and sacker
  • coal conveyor operator
  • coal conveyor operator - surface mining
  • coal dumper
  • coal handler
  • coal loader-unloader
  • coal wheeler
  • coal-moving equipment operator
  • conveyor belt attendant
  • conveyor belt operator (except underground mines)
  • conveyor belt patroller-controller
  • conveyor console operator
  • conveyor operator - material handling (except underground mines)
  • conveyor tender - material handling (except underground mines)
  • cribber - grain elevator
  • disposal worker - warehouse
  • dockman/woman - truck transport
  • dumper - material handling
  • dumper - surface coal mining
  • electric dolly operator
  • electric mule operator
  • electric truck operator
  • explosives handler
  • explosives packer
  • express service handler (except air transport)
  • fats and oils loader
  • feed mill loader
  • forklift operator
  • freight car loader
  • freight car unloader
  • freight handler (except air transport)
  • freight loader (except air transport)
  • freight unloader (except air transport)
  • furniture loader-unloader
  • furniture mover
  • glass cut-off machine unloader
  • grain conveyor operator
  • grain elevator operator
  • grain handler
  • grain weigher
  • hand bagger - material handling
  • hand bundler
  • hand packager
  • hand sacker - material handling
  • hand truck operator
  • heavy materials handler
  • household goods mover
  • industrial truck operator
  • jack lift operator
  • jitney driver - material handling
  • labourer - material handling
  • labourer - warehousing and storage
  • lift driver
  • lift jack operator
  • lift scoop operator
  • lift truck operator
  • light materials handler
  • liquids loader-unloader
  • loader-unloader - material handling
  • lumber handler - building supplies
  • lumber piler - building supplies
  • lumber stocker - material handling
  • lumber unloader - material handling
  • malthouse worker
  • material handler
  • material handler - manufacturing and warehousing
  • Mobilift operator
  • munitions handler
  • package lift operator
  • packer - material handling
  • pallet lift operator
  • pallet loader operator
  • pallet truck operator
  • palletizer operator
  • paper wrapper - material handling
  • pick-up machine operator
  • piler - material handling
  • piler (except processing)
  • pole distributor operator
  • pole stacker operator
  • power truck driver - material handling
  • railway car loader
  • reach truck operator
  • ready-mix truck loader
  • recycled paper handler
  • shingle piler - material handling
  • shipment assembler
  • skidder - fruit packing
  • stacker - material handling
  • stacker operator - material handling
  • stacking machine operator - material handling
  • stacking machine tender - material handling
  • stock helper
  • stock-keeper helper
  • stockpiler
  • storage man/woman
  • storage worker - material handling
  • straddle carrier operator
  • straddle truck operator
  • supermarket jigger operator
  • tank truck loader
  • tier lift truck operator
  • tipman/woman - surface coal mining
  • tow motor driver (except air transport)
  • truck load weigher
  • truck loader
  • used building materials yard attendant
  • van loader
  • warehouse keeper helper
  • warehouse worker - material handling
  • warehouseman/woman
  • warehouseperson

Main Duties

Main Duties
  • This group performs 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.
  • 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.

Requirements

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

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Data from Statistics Canada (NOC 2021), ESDC Labour Market Information, and Job Bank Canada