Hire a heavy equipment operator in Québec.

The ratio is 1 apprentice per 2 journeypersons (2-1 ratio). In other words, for every apprentice, you need at least 2 journeypersons on the job. This trade is excluded from the exemptions that raise the ratio, unlike several other trades. Check the exact requirements for your sector on ccq.org. This trade is one of the few excluded from any ratio exemption, so you can't stretch beyond 2-1 even with an apprentice in their final period. With only 204 new apprentices admitted in 2024 — below the 256-per-year average — planning your crews around that fixed ratio is worth doing early. That fixed ratio applies regardless of operator class (A, B, or AA), so budget for at least two journeypersons whenever you bring on an apprentice, no matter which piece of equipment they're training on.

That's right — the DEP in Heavy Equipment Operation (5220) is only offered in Montérégie and Chaudière-Appalaches. Journeypersons are found province-wide, but the pipeline of new apprentices is geographically concentrated. A construction-focused recruiting agency can widen your reach into those pools and screen candidates by CCQ card and required specialty. It also helps to know the trade skews toward civil engineering and roads, which accounts for 85% of positions, so candidates with that sector experience tend to be the strongest fit regardless of where they trained. With 6,177 active operators across Quebec, the journeyperson pool is wider than the DEP's regional footprint suggests. Given the CCQ projects 213.3 million hours of work across the industry in 2026, expanding your search beyond the two DEP regions is likely to stay necessary for the next few years.

Require: (1) a valid CCQ competency certificate (CCA apprentice or CCC journeyperson, with the specialty matching the equipment to operate), (2) a valid ASP Construction card (health and safety), and (3) confirmation the candidate is properly registered in the CCQ database. For an apprentice, also confirm they're in their first and only apprenticeship period (2,000 hours). It's also worth checking their specialty matches your equipment fleet — tractors, graders, pavers, or rollers each fall under a distinct certificate. Given the CCQ rates job prospects for this trade as excellent and the average operator is now 45.3 years old, verifying credentials carefully upfront helps you retain the workers you do find. Rates for the position also depend on operator class (A, B, or AA), so matching the certificate to your equipment avoids paying — or underpaying — for the wrong classification.