Heavy Equipment Operators

The employment outlook will be Moderate for heavy equipment operators (NOC 73400) in Nova Scotia for the 2025-2027 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.
• Due to the seasonal nature of this occupation, employment opportunities tend to be more favourable during the summer months.

Here are some key facts about heavy equipment operators in Nova Scotia:

• Approximately 2,450 people work in this occupation.
• Heavy equipment operators mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Construction (NAICS 23): 68%
  • Support activities for transportation (NAICS 488): 5%
• 51% of heavy equipment operators work all year, while 49% work only part of the year, compared to 62% and 38% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 41 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• 7% of heavy equipment operators are self-employed compared to an average of 11% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: more than 95% compared to 51% for all occupations
  • Women: less than 5% compared to 49% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 30% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 32% compared to 27% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 28% compared to 12% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 9% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: less than 5% compared to 20% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 10% for all occupations