Operators, drillers and blasters
Drillers and blasters - surface mining, quarrying and constructionNOC 73402, TEER 3
NOC 73402 (Drillers and blasters - surface mining, quarrying and construction) is TEER 3.TEER 3
Occupations that usually require a college diploma, apprenticeship training of less than 2 years, or more than 6 months of on-the-job training
- Express Entry
- IRCC counts TEER 0 to 3 work for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class, so work in NOC 73402 sits inside that range.
- Skilled trades
- NOC 73402 is in Major Group 73, one of the groups IRPR s. 87.2 lists for the Federal Skilled Trades Program. The program sets other conditions, and an officer decides.
- 2026 categories
- IRCC's 2026 category lists do not include NOC 73402.
- Median wage
- $37.50 an hour across Canada, from Job Bank's 2025 wage release (2023-2024 data).
- Provincial programs
- Each province sets which occupations its streams take. From our registry: OINP Ontario Workforce Priority stream, status Open, verified November 12, 2026.
How to read this code
- Broad category
- The first digit is the broad occupational category, the widest grouping in the NOC.
- TEER
- The second digit, 3, is the TEER category: TEER 3.
- Group
- The first four digits, 7340, are the minor group: Operators, drillers and blasters.
- Occupation
- All five digits, 73402, are the unit group, the occupation itself: Drillers and blasters - surface mining, quarrying and construction.
Also called: construction driller, blaster - quarrying, driller - surface mine, open-pit blaster, rotary drilling machine operator
This page shows the official duties for NOC 73402, where its TEER sits in immigration rules, and the wages Job Bank reports. It describes the rules. It does not decide anyone's case.
What the job involves
Statistics Canada text, quoted word for word. IRCC compares your duties with this description, not your job title.
Lead statement
Drillers and blasters in surface mining, quarrying and construction operate mobile drilling machines to bore blast holes in open-pit mines and quarries and to bore holes for blasting and for building foundations at construction sites. Blasters in this unit group fill blast holes with explosives and detonate explosives to dislodge coal, ore and rock or to demolish structures. They are employed by mining, quarrying and construction companies and by drilling and blasting contractors.
Example job titles
- blaster - quarrying
- blaster - surface mining
- construction driller
- driller - surface mine
- open-pit blaster
- rotary drilling machine operator
Main duties: check yours
IRCC's rule for the Federal Skilled Worker Program: you must have performed "the actions in the lead statement" and "most of the main duties listed". Tick the duties you do. The count helps you compare. It is not a decision.
Verify on canada.ca(opens in a new tab)This group covers more than one job. Compare yourself with the duties under the job closest to yours.
Lead statement: not ticked. Main duties ticked: 0 of 10.
The rule asks for the lead statement and most of the main duties. IRCC gives no number for "most", and an officer decides.
Few ticks? Read "Classified elsewhere" below: it names the codes for jobs that sit close to this one.
Your ticks are kept in this browser only, so they are here when you come back. Nothing is sent. "Clear ticks" erases them.
If your duties look different
Statistics Canada names the jobs that belong in a different NOC. If one of these sounds more like your work, open that code and compare.
Classified elsewhere
- 83100Blaster - underground mining (See 83100 Underground production and development miners)
- 83101Driller - oil and gas drilling (See 83101 Oil and gas well drillers, servicers, testers and related workers)
- 83100Driller - underground mining (See 83100 Underground production and development miners)
- 72021Drilling and blasting foreman/woman - construction (See 72021 Contractors and supervisors, heavy equipment operator crews)
- 82020Surface mine supervisor (See 82020 Supervisors, mining and quarrying)
- 72501Water well drillers (See 72501 Water well drillers)
Usual employment requirements
- Completion of secondary school is usually required.
- On-the-job training is provided.
- Experience as a heavy equipment operator may be required for drillers.
- Experience as a blaster helper in surface mining and quarrying or construction may be required for blasters.
- Provincial blasting licence is usually required for blasters.
- Trade certification for blasters is compulsory in Nova Scotia.
Where TEER 3 sits in immigration rules
Each row gives the rule, then what it means for this occupation. The programs set many other conditions too, so read the official page before you act.
Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class
The rule: both programs count work experience only in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3.
What this means: NOC 73402 is TEER 3, so work in it is inside that range. The TEER is one condition, not the whole test. Both programs also set how much work you need (at least 1 year, or 1,560 hours), when you did it, and minimum language results.
Federal Skilled Trades Program
The rule: this program goes by NOC group, not by TEER alone. IRPR s. 87.2 lists Major Groups 72 (less Sub-major Group 726), 73, 82, 83, 92 and 93 (less Sub-major Group 932), Minor Group 6320 and Unit Group 62200, other than a restricted occupation.
What this means: NOC 73402 is in Major Group 73, so it is in a listed group. The group is one condition, not the whole test. The program also asks for at least 2 years of full-time work in the trade in the 5 years before applying, minimum language results, and either a job offer of at least 1 year or a Canadian certificate of qualification.
Express Entry category-based selection, 2026
The rule: IRCC publishes a closed list of NOC codes for each category. NOC 73402 is not on any 2026 occupation list.
What this means: People in this occupation can still be invited in general or program-specific rounds. French-language proficiency is a separate category: it depends on test results (NCLC 7 in all 4 abilities), not on the occupation.
IRCC page modified October 16, 2026, checked November 12, 2026.
Atlantic Immigration Program
The rule: the program takes job offers in TEER 0 to 4 from designated employers in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The job must be full-time and non-seasonal.
What this means: A TEER 3 offer must last at least 1 year from the day the person becomes a permanent resident.
Provincial Nominee Programs
The rule: each province and territory sets its own requirements and streams, including which occupations and TEER levels a stream takes.
What this means: Check the stream's own page for this NOC code. One example from our program status registry:
Program status: OINP Ontario Workforce Priority stream: Open
The stream has launched and the expression of interest portal opened on August 4, 2026. It covers skilled workers with a qualifying job offer in any NOC occupation, plus self-employed physicians.
Verified November 12, 2026 · Official source
Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
The rule: an employer, not a worker, applies for an LMIA, and ESDC assesses each job offer. The wage offered, compared with the provincial or territorial threshold, puts the job in the high-wage or low-wage stream.
What this means: Service Canada refuses to process low-wage applications for jobs in census metropolitan areas where unemployment is 6% or higher. Some sectors are exempt, such as primary agriculture, construction, food manufacturing, hospitals, and nursing and residential care. ESDC updates the list of areas each quarter. When this page was checked (September 26, 2026), the ESDC page showed the list for July 10 to October 8, 2026; open the ESDC page for the list in force today. A separate pause covers low-wage jobs in Montréal and Laval.
Wages in Canada
The wages Job Bank publishes for NOC 73402, for Canada as a whole and for each province and territory.
- Low
- $27.00
- per hour
- Median
- $37.50
- per hour
- High
- $49.00
- per hour
What this means: half of the people in this occupation earn less than the median and half earn more. Pay changes with the province, the employer and your experience.
Median by province or territory
| Province or territory | Median (per hour) |
|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $36.00 |
| Prince Edward Island | Not published |
| Nova Scotia | Not published |
| New Brunswick | Not published |
| Quebec | $39.82 |
| Ontario | $35.00 |
| Manitoba | $32.55 |
| Saskatchewan | $37.75 |
| Alberta | $38.00 |
| British Columbia | $40.00 |
| Yukon | Not published |
| Northwest Territories | Not published |
| Nunavut | Not published |
Reference period 2023-2024. Data source: Employment Insurance Survey Data. ESDC Job Bank wages, release revised 2025-11-19. (opens in a new tab)
Search jobs for NOC 73402 on Job Bank(opens in a new tab)ClearToEnter is not affiliated with Job Bank or ESDC.
Related occupations
Codes in the same NOC group as 73402, the closest first.
Questions about this code
What is the TEER of NOC 73402?
NOC 73402 (Drillers and blasters - surface mining, quarrying and construction) is TEER 3: occupations that usually require a college diploma, apprenticeship training of less than 2 years, or more than 6 months of on-the-job training. In NOC 2021, the second digit of a code is its TEER: in 73402, it is 3. Every job title in this unit group, such as construction driller, shares that TEER.
Is NOC 73402 eligible for Express Entry?
IRCC counts work experience in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class. NOC 73402 is TEER 3, so work in it sits inside that range. IRCC's 2026 category lists do not include NOC 73402. People in this occupation can still be invited in general or program-specific rounds. IRCC decides each case.
What is the median wage for NOC 73402?
Job Bank reports a median wage of $37.50 an hour for NOC 73402 across Canada. The low figure is $27.00 and the high is $49.00. Medians by province and territory run from $32.55 in Manitoba to $40.00 in British Columbia. The figures come from Job Bank's 2025 wage release (Employment Insurance Survey Data, 2023-2024).
What job titles are under NOC 73402?
Statistics Canada lists 6 example job titles for NOC 73402, including construction driller, blaster - quarrying, driller - surface mine, open-pit blaster and rotary drilling machine operator. The title alone does not set the code: IRCC compares your duties with the lead statement and main duties on this page.
Can an employer hire for NOC 73402 through an LMIA?
An employer, not a worker, applies for an LMIA, and ESDC assesses each job offer, including the wage. For low-wage jobs, Service Canada refuses to process applications in census metropolitan areas where unemployment is 6% or higher, with some exemptions.
Next steps
Read the rules behind this page, then compare pathways.
Guides
The law
Compare pathways for this occupation
The Pathway Explorer lists each major program and its published criteria. Take NOC 73402 and its TEER with you.
NOC 2021 Version 1.0: Statistics Canada and ESDC.