Your Apprenticeship and Career
How a trades career works from the first day to running your own shop, followed through a first-year plumbing apprentice on a Hamilton high-rise: choosing a trade and reading the labour market, Ontario's apprenticeship system (Skilled Trades Ontario, the ministry, sponsors and compulsory trades), finding a sponsor and registering, training agreements, wage schedules, ratios and your rights, logging hours and competencies, in-school levels, Certificate of Qualification and Red Seal exam preparation, the Red Seal Program and working across Canada, union and non-union paths, paying for an apprenticeship with EI, the Canada Apprentice Loan and the 2026 federal grants, careers after certification, and starting a small trade business.
TRD-107 12 lessons · 3 h 48 min ▶ Video lessons coming soon
Offered by HSM University · Trades Core
This is the Canadian version of this course. See the American version.
What you'll learn
- Choose a trade by matching its work, physical demands, setting and lifestyle to yourself and by reading national, regional and local labour market information.
- Explain how apprenticeship works in Ontario and other provinces, including the roles of Skilled Trades Ontario, the ministry, training delivery agents and sponsors, and the difference between compulsory and voluntary trades.
- Prepare for, find and approach a sponsor, interview effectively and complete the registration that starts an apprenticeship.
- Describe what an apprenticeship agreement covers, calculate apprentice wages from a wage schedule, explain supervision ratios and act on problems with pay, school release or training.
- Keep accurate records of hours and competencies, request honest sign-offs, track the range of work and project a completion date.
- Prepare for and succeed in in-school training, plan income during full-time blocks, and use the code book and labs effectively.
- Prepare for a certification or licensing exam using the exam blueprint, practice results, a study plan and good multiple-choice technique.
- Explain the Red Seal Program, how certified tradespeople and apprentices move between provinces and the trade equivalency route for experienced and internationally trained workers.
- Compare union and non-union paths fairly, including how hiring, training, wages, benefits and work between jobs differ, and compare offers by total value.
- Identify the costs of an apprenticeship and the federal, provincial and employer supports available, and build a budget that covers school periods and lumpy costs.
- Describe career paths after certification, including specialist, foreman, superintendent, estimator, project manager, inspector, instructor and designer, and the training each needs.
- Outline the steps to start a small trade business, including structure, registrations, licences, insurance, pricing from overhead and billable hours, contracts and cash flow.
Course content
12 lessons · 3 h 48 min total · final exam
- 1 Choosing a trade and reading the job market 19 min · quiz
- 2 Apprenticeship in Canada: provincial systems 19 min · quiz
- 3 Finding an employer sponsor and getting registered 19 min · quiz
- 4 Your agreement, wages and rights as an apprentice 19 min · quiz
- 5 Logging hours and competencies 19 min · quiz
- 6 Technical training: in-school levels 19 min · quiz
- 7 Certification exams and how to prepare 19 min · quiz
- 8 The Red Seal Program and working across Canada 19 min · quiz
- 9 Union and non-union paths 19 min · quiz
- 10 Paying for your apprenticeship: wages, grants, loans and tax breaks 19 min · quiz
- 11 After certification: foreman, estimator, inspector and other paths 19 min · quiz
- 12 Running your own business 19 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Description
How a trades career works from the first day to running your own shop, followed through a first-year plumbing apprentice on a Hamilton high-rise: choosing a trade and reading the labour market, Ontario's apprenticeship system (Skilled Trades Ontario, the ministry, sponsors and compulsory trades), finding a sponsor and registering, training agreements, wage schedules, ratios and your rights, logging hours and competencies, in-school levels, Certificate of Qualification and Red Seal exam preparation, the Red Seal Program and working across Canada, union and non-union paths, paying for an apprenticeship with EI, the Canada Apprentice Loan and the 2026 federal grants, careers after certification, and starting a small trade business.