NOC 2021 · 94106 · TEER 4
Machining tool operators
Unit group 94106 of the National Occupational Classification, 2021 Version 1.0.
Check which category draws this code qualifies for
What this group covers
Machining tool operators set up and operate or tend metal-cutting machines designed for repetitive machining work. They are employed by metal products and other manufacturing companies and in machine shops. This unit group also includes workers who etch or chemically mill metal pieces.
Example job titles
As Statistics Canada publishes them. Yours may be worded differently and still belong here.
- aircraft engine parts machine tool set-up operator
- aircraft parts etcher
- automated machine tool set-up operator
- automatic screw machine operator
- automatic transfer machine operator - metal machining
- axle lathe operator
- barrel rifler
- bearing borer
- bearing grinder
- bench machine tool set-up operator
- bolt-threading machine operator
- boring machine operator - metal machining
- boring mill operator - metal machining
- boring mill set-up operator - metal machining
- brake drum lathe operator
- broaching machine operator - metal machining
- broaching machine set-up operator - metal machining
- Bullard multiple-spindle lathe operator
- camming machine operator - metal machining
- centreless cylindrical grinder set-up operator
- centreless cylindrical-grinder operator
- centreless grinder operator
- centreless grinder set-up operator - metal machining
- chucking machine set-up operator
- computer numerical control (CNC) lathe operator - metal machining
- computer numerical control (CNC) machining tool operator
- computer numerical control (CNC) profile mill operator
- computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine set-up operator - metal machining
- computer numerically controlled (CNC) machining centre operator
- connecting rod borer
- countersinker - metal machining
- custom screw machine operator
- cutlery and tool etcher
- cylinder grinder - metal machining
- cylinder honer - metal machining
- diesinking machine set-up operator
- drill press operator - metal machining
- drill press set-up operator - metal machining
- drilling and milling machine operator - metal machining
- drilling machine operator - metal machining
- electrical discharge machine (EDM) operator
- electrical discharge machine (EDM) set-up operator
- electrical discharge machine (EDM) tender
- electrochemical machining tool operator
- electrolytic etcher - metal machining
- engine lathe set-up operator
- external cylindrical grinder set-up operator
- external cylindrical-grinder operator
- file cutter - metal machining
- file maker - metal machining
- firearms etcher
- gear cutter
- gear grinder
- gear-hob-milling machine set-up operator
- gear-lapping machine operator
- gear-milling machine set-up operator
- gear-rolling machine operator
- gear-shaper operator
- general machine tool set-up operator
- grinder set-up operator - metal machining
- grooving machine set-up operator - metal machining
- hand lapper - metal machining
- hand tool filer - metal machining
- heavy chucking lathe operator - metal machining
- honing machine operator - metal machining
- honing machine set-up operator - metal machining
- horizontal boring and milling machine set-up operator
- impressing machine tender - metal machining
- jig grinder set-up operator
- keyseating machine operator
- lapping machine operator
- lathe hand - metal machining
- lathe machining operator
- lathe operator - metal machining
- machine operator - metal machining
- machine router - metal machining
- machine shop layer-out
- machine shop layout marker
- machine tool operator - metal machining
- machine tool setter
- machine tool set-up man/woman
- machine tool set-up operator
- machine-tool setter - metal machining
- machining equipment set-up operator
- machining tool operator
- main bearing borer - metal machining
- metal band saw operator
- metal saw tooth grinder
- milling machine operator - metal machining
- milling machine setter
- milling machine set-up operator
- motor vehicle cylinder grinder
- multi-function metal-cutting tool operator
- multiple-spindle drill press operator - metal machining
- multiple-spindle screw machine operator
- multiple-spindle vertical boring mill set-up operator
- multiple-spindle vertical turret lathe set-up operator
- name plate stamper
- numerical control (NC) drilling machine operator - metal machining
- numerical control (NC) machining tool operator
- numerical control/computer numerical control (NC/CNC) machining tool operator
- numerically controlled (NC) machine operator - metal machining
- numerically controlled (NC) machine tool operator
- numerically controlled (NC) tracer operator - metal machining
- pantograph milling machine set-up operator
- pedestal drill operator - metal machining
- pipe-threading machine operator
- planer operator - metal machining
- precision grinder operator - metal machining
- precision grinder set-up operator
- precision honing machine operator - metal machining
- precision lapper - metal machining
- precision lathe operator - metal machining
- printing-roller finisher
- printing-roller grinder
- printing-roller polisher
- production machine tool operator
- production metal grinder operator
- profile milling machine operator - metal machining
- profiling machine operator - metal machining
- radial drill operator - metal machining
- radial drill press operator - metal machining
- radial drill set-up operator - metal machining
- rotary-head milling machine set-up operator
- router operator - metal machining
- screw machine operator - metal machining
- screw threader
- set-up operator - metal machining
- shaper set-up operator
- single-spindle drill press set-up operator - metal machining
- small arms barrel threader
- spiral bevel-gear cutting machine set-up operator
- spiral bevel-gear generator set-up operator
- spiral gear-generator operator
- straight bevel-gear cutting machine set-up operator
- straight bevel-gear generator set-up operator
- surface grinder set-up operator
- thread cutter - metal machining
- thread grinder set-up operator
- threader - metal machining
- thread-grinder operator
- threading machine operator
- thread-milling machine set-up operator
- tool grinder - metal machining
- tool grinder set-up operator
- tool lapper - metal machining
- tool-dresser operator
- transfer machine tender - metal machining
- turret lathe operator - metal machining
- turret lathe set-up operator
- universal grinder set-up operator
- vertical boring mill operator - metal machining
- vertical machining centre operator
- vertical-spindle milling machine operator - metal machining
What it pays, and where it is hiring
Job Bank publishes a wage estimate and a three-year employment outlook for each occupation, region by region. Both are below as published — where an estimate is missing from the source it is missing here too, because the alternative is inventing one.
Across Canada
$25.00 an hour
Low $17.50, high $33.08
Where it pays most
- Edmonton · Alberta$28.49
- Calgary · Alberta$28.09
- Vancouver Island and Coast · British Columbia$28.05
- Red Deer · Alberta$27.47
- London · Ontario$27.00
Economic regions only. A province’s figure is an average over the regions inside it, so including one would rank a province above its own best region and read as a finding.
By province and territory
| Where | Median hourly | Low to high | Outlook 2025–2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Not published | Not published | Undetermined |
| Prince Edward Island | Not published | Not published | Undetermined |
| Nova Scotia | $26.76 | $21.52 – $33.66 | Undetermined |
| New Brunswick | $26.70 | $23.21 – $33.47 | Undetermined |
| Quebec | $25.26 | $20.61 – $33.53 | Moderate |
| Ontario | $24.00 | $17.60 – $34.50 | Limited |
| Manitoba | $25.00 | $17.50 – $28.00 | Moderate |
| Saskatchewan | $26.30 | $22.16 – $30.29 | Limited |
| Alberta | $30.00 | $22.00 – $40.87 | Limited |
| British Columbia | $26.40 | $22.00 – $31.75 | Limited |
| Yukon Territory | Not published | Not published | Undetermined |
| Northwest Territories | Not published | Not published | Undetermined |
| Nunavut | Not published | Not published | Undetermined |
By economic region
The 28 economic regions where Job Bank publishes a wage or a rated outlook, of 72.
| Where | Province | Median hourly | Low to high | Outlook 2025–2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capitale-Nationale | Quebec | $24.20 | $19.39 – $30.30 | Moderate |
| Chaudière-Appalaches | Quebec | $26.07 | $20.79 – $31.96 | Moderate |
| Estrie | Quebec | $24.96 | $20.46 – $31.92 | Moderate |
| Centre-du-Québec | Quebec | $25.39 | $20.22 – $32.21 | Moderate |
| Montérégie | Quebec | Not published | Not published | Moderate |
| Montréal | Quebec | $25.36 | $19.68 – $32.71 | Limited |
| Laval | Quebec | $25.16 | $20.44 – $31.59 | Limited |
| Lanaudière | Quebec | Not published | Not published | Limited |
| Laurentides | Quebec | Not published | Not published | Limited |
| Mauricie | Quebec | $26.48 | $21.13 – $37.70 | Moderate |
| Saguenay--Lac-Saint-Jean | Quebec | Not published | Not published | Moderate |
| Ottawa | Ontario | $26.43 | $21.68 – $32.12 | Very limited |
| Kingston--Pembroke | Ontario | $25.35 | $21.24 – $31.19 | Undetermined |
| Toronto | Ontario | $26.23 | $20.27 – $33.17 | Limited |
| Kitchener--Waterloo--Barrie | Ontario | $25.00 | $18.00 – $34.50 | Limited |
| Hamilton--Niagara Peninsula | Ontario | $25.67 | $20.58 – $34.18 | Limited |
| London | Ontario | $27.00 | $20.00 – $42.00 | Limited |
| Windsor--Sarnia | Ontario | $27.00 | $22.00 – $36.06 | Limited |
| Stratford--Bruce Peninsula | Ontario | $26.85 | $22.39 – $33.79 | Moderate |
| Northeast | Ontario | $26.04 | $21.13 – $32.44 | Limited |
| Southeast | Manitoba | $24.00 | $21.12 – $28.23 | Undetermined |
| South Central | Manitoba | $24.75 | $21.39 – $27.77 | Undetermined |
| Winnipeg | Manitoba | $25.00 | $17.50 – $28.00 | Moderate |
| Calgary | Alberta | $28.09 | $23.06 – $33.16 | Limited |
| Red Deer | Alberta | $27.47 | $23.13 – $34.73 | Undetermined |
| Edmonton | Alberta | $28.49 | $22.66 – $33.65 | Limited |
| Vancouver Island and Coast | British Columbia | $28.05 | $23.03 – $34.97 | Undetermined |
| Lower Mainland | British Columbia | $26.39 | $22.43 – $32.21 | Moderate |
Job Bank rates employment prospects for each occupation in each economic region from very good to very limited over 2025–2027, and says “undetermined” where it has not got enough to rate. It is an assessment of prospects, not a count of vacancies.
The estimates on this page come from Labour Force Survey (2023-2024) · Small Area Estimation (2024).
Job Bank publishes an estimate for 24,364 of the 44,376 occupation-and-place pairs in this release. The rest are suppressed rather than modelled, and appear here as not published.
Wage estimates from the 2025 Wages release, revised 19 November 2025; employment outlooks from 2025-2027 Employment Outlooks - NOC 2021, released 8 December 2025. Both are updated annually. Estimates for different regions come from different surveys, so comparing two regions is exactly as sound as Job Bank’s own regional comparison and no more.
Source: Statistics Canada — National Occupational Classification 2021 V1.0; Employment and Social Development Canada — Job Bank wages; Employment and Social Development Canada — Job Bank 3-year employment outlooks. Data current as of 13 August 2026. NOC 2021 Version 1.0. The classification is versioned rather than dated — IRCC moved to it in November 2022, and a new version would be a new classification rather than an update.