Gasfitting

Do you like working with your hands? Could you work with precision tools? Do you like machines? Can you work independently? Do you enjoy interacting with people? Are you looking for on-the-job variety? Then, gasfitter could be the career for you!

What the work is like

Gasfitters install, repair and maintain gas lines, meters and appliances in residential, commercial and industrial establishments. They are employed by gas utility companies and gas servicing companies. Gasfitters work in the new home building and renovation, heavy industrial, and institutional and commercial construction sectors.

Gasfitter duties

As a gasfitter, your duties may include:

    * Installing, repairing and maintaining gas meters, regulators, gas lines and gas appliances
    * Testing and replacing defective equipment
    * Attending to gas escape calls and assisting in the investigation of gas fires and explosions Advising clients on safety features and maintenance of gas units
    * Converting cars or appliances to use natural gas fuels
    * Preparing work reports
    * Reading and interpreting drawings and blueprints

There are two types of gasfitters: Gasfitter 1st Class and Gasfitter 2nd Class. Their jobs are very similar, with one main difference:

    * As a Gasfitter 1st Class you can work on all equipment
    * As a Gasfitter 2nd Class you can work on equipment with less than 400,000 British Thermal Units (BTUs)

Work conditions

The standard work week for gasfitters 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. You may also have to be available on short notice to respond to emergencies.

As a gasfitter, you may work indoors or outdoors. You will often work independently, but will interact with customers on most maintenance and repair jobs. As with all careers in the construction industry, safety is the top priority. Gasfitters 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:

    * Reading text—extracting information from written material
    * Document use—reading and interpreting documents to extract information
    * Numeracy—working with numbers to perform calculations
    * Writing—writing text in documents and on the computer
    * Oral communication—conveying or exchanging information verbally
    * Working with others—interacting with co-workers to get the job done
    * Continuous learning—continuing to learn on the job
    * Thinking skills
          o Problem solving—coming up with solutions to challenges
          o Decision making—making a choice among options
          o Critical thinking—analyzing a situation and making an assessment
          o Job task planning and organizing—working independently to plan and organize daily tasks
          o Significant use of memory—performing tasks that call upon greater memory use than most jobs
          o Finding information—locating information from a variety of sources, including text, people, computerized databases or information systems
    * Computer skills—working with computers to operate machinery or to input/extract information

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 gasfitters are:

    * Document use—reading and interpreting documents to extract information
    * Numeracy—working with numbers to perform calculations
    * Problem solving—coming up with solutions to challenges

Click here to see how Essential Skills are applied on the job. You can also visit www.skillplan.ca to learn how Essential Skills are used in other construction trades.
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 gasfitter, called a journeyperson.

As an apprentice, you earn while you learn and are paid by the hour for your on-site placements. 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 gasfitter apprenticeship programs vary across Canada. To enter a Gasfitter 1st Class apprenticeship program in most provinces and territories, you must:

    * have a Grade 9 education or equivalent
    * pass an entrance exam, or
    * have Gasfitter 2nd Class certification

To enter a Gasfitter 2nd Class apprenticeship program you must:

    * be a certified plumber or steamfitter/pipefitter

Program length

Gasfitter apprenticeship programs vary across Canada. Gasfitter 1st Class apprenticeship programs generally involve three 12-month periods, including at least 4,500 hours of on-the-job training, three 8-week blocks of technical training, and a final certificate examination. Gasfitter 2nd Class apprenticeship programs generally involve two 12-month periods, including at least 3000 hours of on-the-job training, and two 8 week blocks of technical training.

Related work experience or completion of a gasfitter program at a college or technical institute can reduce the time required to complete your apprenticeship.
Certification. Gasfitter certification is required in many provinces and territories. Certification tells employers and other workers that you are a skilled professional. It also helps you get jobs.

To be certified as a gasfitter, you usually need to complete a three-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 several years of on-the-job experience and have completed a high school, college or industry program in gasfitting, you may be eligible for gasfitting certification in some provinces and territories. Certification for gasfitters is compulsory in British Columbia.

In addition to certification, a provincial gasfitting licence is usually required.

Where to study in British Columbia

British Columbia Institute of Technology
Camosun College
College of the Rockies
Northern Lights College
Okanagan College

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 gasfitters across Canada, based on a 40-hour work week, without taking overtime into account.