Heavy machinery

How to become a heavy equipment operator

Official title: Heavy equipment operator

Also called: Earthmoving machine operator, Excavator operator, Bulldozer operator, Asphalt operator, Construction equipment operator, Engineering equipment operator

Heavy equipment operators drive or control heavy equipment to dig and build tunnels, roads and other projects.

Main tasks

Operate heavy machinery
Move soil, rocks and building materials
Position machinery for safe operation
Load and unload construction materials
Clear land and prepare work sites
Monitor construction work and equipment
Guide machinery into correct position
Inspect equipment for damage or repairs

How to become one

You usually need training to become a heavy equipment operator. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job. Required: a Class 2, 3, 4 or 5 driver licence; a Wheels, Track and Rollers Course (WTR) endorsement. Other requirements: a driver licence with a special-type vehicle endorsement.

See the full Tahatū profile

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Most common pay: $66,000 to $100,000 a year (median $82,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
Lower: $51,000 a year · Upper: $122,000 a year
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Strong increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
People employed in the group Earthmoving Plant Operators: 9,777 at the 2018 Census and 8,226 at the 2023 Census (-15.9%). Past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 9,400 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Earthmoving Plant Operators, 6% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Earthmoving Plant Operators work (2023 Census): Auckland 22.9%, Waikato 12.9%, and Canterbury 12.5%.

Questions people ask

How do I become a heavy equipment operator?

How much does a heavy equipment operator earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $82,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $66,000 to $100,000 a year.

Has the number of people working as a heavy equipment operator grown in New Zealand?

It has grown strongly: TEC records a strong increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of a heavy equipment operator?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026