A Canadian apprenticeship is a paid job with training built in: most of your hours on the tools with a journeyperson, short technical blocks at a college or union training centre. Finish, pass your exam, and the Red Seal makes your ticket good from Victoria to St. John’s.
Apprenticeship is provincially run. You register with your provincial or territorial apprenticeship authority — usually once an employer agrees to take you on (some provinces let you register first).
Typically 2–5 years depending on the trade: roughly 80% paid on-the-job hours under a certified journeyperson, plus short in-school technical blocks each level.
Apprentice pay is set as a percentage of the journeyperson rate and climbs each level — many trades start around half rate and finish near full rate before certification.
Pass your certification exam to become a journeyperson. In the 50+ Red Seal trades, writing the interprovincial Red Seal exam endorses your ticket for work anywhere in Canada.
The Red Seal is Canada’s interprovincial standard of excellence — a national endorsement on your provincial certificate. It matters for three reasons: mobility (work in any province or territory without re-certifying), wages (many employers and collective agreements peg top rates to it), and credibility (it’s the credential Canadian employers ask for by name). More than 50 trades are Red Seal designated, from electrician and plumber to welder, carpenter, and heavy-duty equipment technician.
Canada assesses foreign trade experience. Depending on your province and trade, documented work history can qualify you to challenge the certification exam directly. Start with your provincial apprenticeship authority and the Red Seal Program’s information for foreign-trained workers — links on our resources page.