Crane operator

What does a crane operator do?

Drives and operates all types of cranes, including elevator cranes, tower cranes, suspended cranes, derrick cranes, self-propelled cranes on locomotives or truck-mounted on wheels or tracks, with hydraulic, electric, mechanical, and electromechanical attachments Operates travelling cranes, boring machines, piledrivers, and cranes equipped with piledriving equipment used to drive sheetpiles and cement, tubular, or other piles Manoeuvres concrete pumps with distribution mast
This description is drawn from several sources and may be quite different from the definition of the trade given in the Regulation Respecting the Vocational Training of the Workforce in the Construction Industry.

What does it take to become a crane operator?

PRECISION – AUTONOMY – GOOD PHYSICAL CONDITION AND COORDINATION – DEXTERITY – NOT SUFFER FROM VERTIGO, DIZZINESS, OR CLAUSTROPHOBIA INTEREST in acquiring knowledge related to applications of concepts of electricity, electronics, mathematics, and applied physics APTITUDE for interpretation of different symbols and signals, for effective communication, and for acting responsibly at all times due to the risks to the crane operator’s safety and that of others

Hourly wage

According to the collective agreements (May 2023)
Between $27.65 and $42.53

Job prospects

Very good

Training

DEP 870 hours

Interesting! Which academic program should I take?

Training required:

Diplôme d’études professionnelles – Conduite de grues (5248)

Training offered in the following regions :

Montérégie
Would you like to know about the program content? Consult Inforoute FPT

Academic prerequisites

There are different options for accessing the training program

HOLD A DIPLOMA

  • Hold a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent

OR

  • Hold a postsecondary diploma, such as a diploma of college studies or a bachelor’s degree

BE AT LEAST 15 YEARS OLD

  • Be at least 15 years old on June 30 of the school year preceding admission to a concurrent admission pilot project or the Trades and Occupations with a Promising Future training path

AND

  • Have reached vocational maturity
  • Have passed the Secondary 2 units in language of instruction, second language, and mathematics 
  • Continue general education (in youth or adult sector) concurrently with the vocational training to acquire the missing Secondary 3 prerequisites in order to obtain the diploma of vocational studies or the secondary school diploma as part of the Trades and Occupations with a Promising Future training path. Authorization from the Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec (MEQ) is required for a student in concurrent admission in Secondary 3 to enter this study program.

BE AT LEAST 16 YEARS OLD

  • Be at least 16 years old on September 30 of the school year during which the person begins the training program

AND

  • Have passed the Secondary 3 units in language of instruction, second language, and mathematics in the study programs established by the MEQ

OR 

  • Have completed recognized equivalent training

OR

  • Hold a training certificate for a semiskilled trade and have passed the required units in language of instruction, second language, and mathematics in Secondary Cycle One in general education in the youth sector or in Secondary 2 in general education in the adult sector

BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD 

  • Be at least 18 years old at the time training begins

AND

  • Have the functional prerequisites: have passed the general development test (GDT)
  • Have the prerequisites specific to the study program concerned

OR

  • Have completed recognized equivalent training
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