Trade Programs: Crane and Hoisting Equipment Operator

This trade is compulsory. To legally work in this trade in Manitoba, you must be a registered apprentice or hold a Certificate of Qualification.

For more information about this trade, contact the training co-ordinator.

What does a Crane and Hoisting Equipment Operator do?

A crane and hoisting equipment operator operates and maintains specific types of cranes or draglines that lift, move, position or place machinery, equipment and other large objects. This does not include equipment used exclusively for fire fighting or towing motor vehicles.

Operators can work on some or all of the following equipment:

• Mobile and tower cranes that lift, move, position or place equipment and materials at construction sites, shipyards, industrial yards and similar locations
• Pile driving cranes that drive pilings into the earth to provide support for buildings and other structures
• Cranes equipped with dredging attachments to dredge waterways
• Gantry cranes to load and unload ship cargo
• Locomotive cranes to move objects and materials at railway yards
• Bridge or overhead cranes that lift, move and place plant machinery and materials
• Offshore oil rig cranes that unload and reload supply vessels
• Cranes mounted on boats or barges that lift, move and place equipment and materials

In Manitoba, you can train to be:

• a mobile crane operator or
• a boom truck hoist operator or
• a tower crane operator

What is a mobile crane operator?

A mobile crane operator maintains and operates mobile cranes that are capable of raising, lowering or moving materials. A mobile crane is a mechanical device or structure incorporating a boom that:

• is mounted on a mobile base or chassis
• moves vertically and horizontally
• raises, lowers, or moves a load suspended from the boom by a hook or rope
• includes a telescoping (hydraulic) or articulated (conventional) boom

What is a boom truck hoist operator?

A boom truck hoist operator can train for certification in three different branches of the trade:

• maintenance and operation of boom trucks that can raise, lower or move materials weighing 7300 kilograms+

A boom truck is similar to a mobile crane except the device is mounted on a truck chassis. The truck incorporates a telescopic or articulated boom that:

• moves vertically and horizontally
• raises, lowers or moves a load suspended from the boom by a hook or rope
• can transport as well as load and unload materials on and off the truck chassis

What is a tower crane operator?

A tower crane operator maintains and operates tower cranes. A tower crane is a mechanical device or structure classified as traveling, fixed or climbing, and has:

• a boom, power-driven drum and wire rope to raise, lower or move material
• a vertical mast or tower and jib

What skills/abilities are required?

Regardless of the equipment, the duties of an operator remain relatively constant and include:

• regular inspection, maintenance and repair of equipment and rigging
• determining a machine’s load weight capability, rigging requirements and executing engineered and specialty lifts
• preparing a job site and confirming crane positioning and lifting procedures
• on-site assembling and disassembling of cranes and specialty attachments

A mechanical aptitude and mathematical ability are essential to the trade. Operators must have excellent vision, a high degree of physical coordination and the ability to concentrate for long periods of time. They often work under time deadlines, for long hours in isolation in cramped cab quarters and during inclement weather.

How long is the apprenticeship program?

Mobile Operator: The apprenticeship is three years consisting of two levels. Practical and technical training is a minimum of 1700 hours per level. About 80 per cent of the time is spent learning practical on-the-job skills under the supervision of a certified journeyperson and 20 per cent consists of learning the theoretical and technical aspects of the trade through in-school training. The third year of training is devoted entirely to acquiring on-the-job experience.

Boom Truck Hoist Operator: The apprenticeship is two years consisting of two levels. Practical and technical training is a minimum of 1250 hours per level. About 80 per cent of the time is spent learning practical on-the-job skills under the supervision of a certified journeyperson and 20 per cent consists of learning the theoretical and technical aspects of the trade through in-school training.

Tower Crane Operator: The apprenticeship is two years consisting of two levels. Practical and technical training is a minimum of 1500 hours per level. About 80 per cent of the time is spent learning practical on-the-job skills under the supervision of a certified journeyperson and 20 per cent consists of learning the theoretical and technical aspects of the trade through in-school training.

What is the supervision ratio?

As experience comprises the bulk of apprenticeship training, it is essential that each apprentice has on-site access to a skilled journeyperson and receives the attention and guidance necessary to perform the tasks of the trade safely and efficiently.

For every apprentice working in this trade, the employer is required to maintain a 1:1 ratio of apprentices to journeypersons on-site and must ensure that the apprentice is directly supervised by a certified journeyperson in the trade.

What are the entrance requirements?

Senior Years Apprenticeship Option: Begin your apprenticeship training in high school. A minimum age of 16 years in required.

General Admission: A Grade 12 or equivalent high school academic standing is required, including recommended course(s) in Math and Science. If you are 19 years or older and do not hold a high school diploma, you can also qualify as a Mature Student. Prior Learning Recognition and Assessment may be required.

Trades Qualification: If you are experienced in the trade, but do not hold a Certificate of Qualification, you may become a certified journeyperson based on years of proven industry experience and successful completion of the Red Seal Examination. A Trades Qualification Application and trade specific work experience form must be submitted. Trades professionals whose entrance readiness is less than that required, must take appropriate upgrading.

For additional details on entrance requirements and how to begin your apprenticeship or obtain certification, see section on "How to Start".

Do I get a certificate?

When you successfully complete your apprenticeship training you receive a provincial Certificate of Qualification confirming status as a journeyperson.

A provincially certified Mobile Crane Operator can also apply for the "Red Seal" endorsed (Interprovincial) certification through the Trades Qualification with examination process. Applicants must attain a minimum mark of 70 per cent on this examination. A Mobile Crane Operator with interprovincial certification can work in other jurisdictions in Canada where the "Red Seal" is recognized.

What salary can I expect as an apprentice?

Manitoba’s Crane and Hoisting Equipment Operator Regulation has set the following provincial minimum rate of wages for apprentices:

Trade	Year/Level 1	Year/Level 2	Year 3
Mobile Crane Operator	Minimum wage plus 60%	Minimum wage plus 140%	Minimum plus 180%
Boom Truck Hoist Operator	Minimum wage plus 60%	Minimum wage plus 140%
Tower Crane Operator	Minimum plus 100%	Minimum plus 180%

Apprentices who work for unionized employers are entitled to the wage rate specified by the collective agreement if it is greater than those wages in the trade regulation.

Employers may also provide other benefits such as group insurance for health, dental and vision care and training benefits. In total, the value of the benefits can range from 20 per cent to 30 per cent over and above the basic hourly pay rate.

Current wage details are available by downloading the training wage schedule

What are the career prospects?

Crane and Hoisting Equipment Operators are employed in a variety of industries. In manufacturing, crane operators are involved in the movement of large storage containers and the assembly of large heavy industrial products. In the transportation industry they work at shipyards and ports as well as railroad yards where large containers are loaded and unloaded onto flatcars. The construction, utility, energy, crane rental, petrochemical and paper industries also employ crane and hoisting equipment operators.