Material handlers (NOC 7452)

Nature of work

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.
- Continued…
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.