Job prospects Welder in Manitoba

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "welder" in Manitoba or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Manitoba

The recent trends from the past 3 years were updated on July 25, 2025. The job outlooks over the next 3 years were updated on December 10, 2025.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be Limited for welders and related machine operators (NOC 72106) in Manitoba for the 2025-2027 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment decline will lead to the loss of some positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are several unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

• Demand for this occupation is primarily driven by conditions in manufacturing, which is currently tariff exposed and subject to economic cycles.
• Key trends in this occupation include collaborative robots (cobots), precision welding, advanced welding materials such as high temperature alloys, and virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) for training.
• Jobs are concentrated in the South Central and North Central regions.

Here are some key facts about welders and related machine operators in Manitoba:

• Approximately 3,900 people work in this occupation.
• Welders and related machine operators mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Fabricated metal product manufacturing (NAICS 332): 27%
  • Computer, electronic and electrical product manufacturing (NAICS 334-335): 20%
  • Repair and maintenance (NAICS 811): 17%
  • Construction (NAICS 23): 8%
  • Primary metal manufacturing (NAICS 331): 6%
• 69% of welders and related machine operators work all year, while 31% work only part of the year, compared to 65% and 35% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 45 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
• 6% of welders and related machine operators are self-employed compared to an average of 12% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: more than 95% compared to 53% for all occupations
  • Women: less than 5% compared to 47% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 17% compared to 12% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 25% compared to 31% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 38% compared to 12% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 14% compared to 17% 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 8% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Manitoba by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

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